Flash cove base — also called coved base or integral cove base — is a resilient flooring installation technique in which the floor covering material (sheet vinyl, rubber flooring, or occasionally LVT) is turned up the wall and heat-formed into a curved profile at the wall-floor junction, creating a seamless, integrated base. Flash cove eliminates the gap and joint between the floor and wall — a harboring point for bacteria, moisture, and soil.
Flash cove is specified wherever hygiene and cleanability are critical requirements:
Flash cove requires a cove stick — a quarter-round base molding installed at the wall-floor junction — that the sheet material is heat-formed over to create the curved profile. The material must be heated with a heat gun or seam iron to achieve the bend without cracking. Inside and outside corners require careful pattern matching and heat forming to avoid wrinkles or voids. Seams at cove must be heat-welded or chemically welded to maintain the seamless, hygienic surface.
Flash cove adds material and labor cost beyond standard flooring installation. The turn-up height (typically 4" or 6") must be added to the floor material quantity. Cove sticks are estimated by linear foot at the base of all walls receiving cove. Labor rates for sheet vinyl with flash cove run significantly higher than flat installation — the forming and seam-welding work is time-intensive and skill-dependent.
Novi Bid is built for commercial flooring stores — from takeoff to signed contract.
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