Plumber has ripped vinyl floor

[troublegum]

Had a plumber round two days ago to add some pipework so our new washing machine could be plumbed in - what was there wasn't suitable for the waste water outlet pipe.

He finished what he was doing and put the washing machine back into place but in doing so he dragged it across the vinyl floor and made a 12-inch tear in the floor. I know vinyl isn't great and scuffs easily but this is really bad - flapping around and a trip hazard.

I haven't yet paid him for the work he did on the pipes and not sure where to go from here. He has arranged for someone he knows in flooring to come round tomorrow to "see what they can do" - but what should I expect? Who pays for the floor? Should I still pay him for the plumbing job? Obviously he didn't do it on purpose, but surely he should have been careful moving the washing machine?

He should have insurance. Ask him.

He should be insured or at least put it right. Our tiler dropped a tool through our new bath and it was replaced without question.

If he is a proper plumber he will be insured.

If he’s a bloke of FB to does handyman stuff including a bit of plumbing, you might have an issue

As above, if he’s a real plumber, he’ll have insurance to cover this. Don’t accept a botch job of repair either. Ask for his insurance details.

Ok. It says on his website he has insurance but I didn't check this before he started work. I did mention his insurance when we first noticed the tear but he seemed to brush it off. Should I pursue this rather than his flooring friend? How does it work - does he contact his insurers or us?

Maybe wait and see what his flooring friend does? My kitchen man damaged our vinyl floor in loads of places putting our kitchen in but he got someone into replace the planks (it's like wood?) that were scratched with exactly the same stuff, I didn't pay. It was stressful but then I was glad I didn't make a big deal out of it as it wasn't a big deal for him to get it replaced.

Remembered his brushing insurance off was when he was claiming it was the fault of the floor as it wasn't attached correctly. So I think it would be a battle to go down the insurance route.

Feel a bit worried about letting his flooring friend fix it - as AdoretheBeach says the repair/replacement might be a botch up. The plumber hasn't said he will pay for this either, so I don't know what to expect in terms of paying.

We wouldn’t even bother with insurance for something like this. We’d just get the customer to get a couple of quotes and pay to have it made good.

Was it sealed down properly though?

Vinyl 'hugs' the floor - it's not supposed to be glued down. I'd guess he'll try to get you a repair your happy with which costs less than his excess.

You're happy with. Darned autocorrect.

That's the thing MittsMajuna, he seemed to be saying it wasn't, and that's why it had happened. He WAS very careless though - when I first noticed the tear he denied it was him, and showed me how he had moved the machine - by moving it back over the tear, ripping it even more and making it three times worse than it had been, as well as making another tear elsewhere!

Can vinyl floor rips be repaired? That would be ideal if so, rather than get a whole new floor put in. The floor we put in is only a year old so feels wasteful to replace it. The rip is big though and goes in three directions.

It is supposed to be put down with adhesive and the edges should be sealed as well.

It depends. I had heavy duty vinyl which doesn't need to be stuck down.

I know this thread is a few weeks old but we are currently in the exact same position. OP, what did you do in the end to resolve it? Any advice much appreciated.