Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Gaps and Warping Brazilian Cherry

I need help with the hardwood floors in my home. We bought our condo unit, which is one of two units on the ground floor of a six-flat building built in 2002 in Chicago, about 1.5 years ago. All of the units in the building featured beautiful brazilian cherry hardwood floors, which was one of the reasons we decided upon them. Our home was sold to us with a 1 year warrantee against defects in manufacture from the builder.

During the first winter (2003-2004), large gaps of 1/4 inch or so became visible in the floors, but only in the living room, kitchen, and hallfway, and areas of the floor were noticable warped. Other areas with hardwood floors, such as the bedroom were fine, with no gaps or warping. Our unit is the only one affected with such a problem. I called the builder to discuss the issue with him, and he said he would have the problem repaired. What he did was seal the gaps, sand the floors, and refinish them in the summer of 2004. Initially the gaps disappeared, and we thought all was well.

This winter, the gaps have reappeared, worse than before, with the sealing that was placed between the gaps cracking. I can also feel draughts of air coming up from these gaps, making the floors almost unbearable during especially cold nights. In addition, you can feel noticeable "give" in certain areas of the floor, with "creaks" developing.

I had a flooring contractor come out to take a look at the floors to get an "objective" assessment of what was going on. The contractor thought that this was the result of the floors being laid down improperly, and commented that he felt the floor was not level. He thought that some areas of the floor were high, and others were low, on cursory examination. The thought that the "furring strips" had not been laid or levelled properly and that this was due to improper installation of the floor. He also said not to quote him on this because he didn't want to be involved in any kind of potential lawsuit!

Now, I don't know much about this, but I'm really concerned that I'm being taken advantage of by the builder. The house is equipped with a humidifier that we keep on in the winters. As I mentioned before, none of the other units in the building have similar issues with the flooring. One additional note is that when our unit was still under construction, but the floors had already been installed, there was a some kind of theft of a dishwasher from our unit, and a large amount of water had leaked from the plumbing leading to the dishwasher onto floors in the kitchen and living room areas.

Does anyone have any advice about issues like this? Is there anyone that someone out there can recommend to have a look at my floors to get an honest assessment? What do you guys, who are much more knowledgable about this than I, think about the flooring situation, and should the builder be held responsible for this issue (because the floor issue began prior to the expiration of the one year warrantee on the unit)? Is the water damage responsible for my flooring problems? Is there any validity to the contractor's assessment of the improper installation? Is there anything I can do??????

Sorry for the length of this post, but I just wanted to get all the information out there so I could get a better idea of what was going on. TIA.

Without actually seeing the floor and inspecting things it is hard to say. However, I think the water is the cause of the problem. I also think there may be a moisture problem (no vapor barrier). I think the wood swells in the summer because of excess moisture and then drys out in the winter creating gaps. See if the builder will work with you. I wouldn't say anyone is at blame, maybe you can get a deal where builder covers materials and you cover labor. It doesn't sound like the builder is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, so try to work with him. The contract is probably protecting him from full liability so be nice and hope he is too. Another note, you might be able to sell the wood once you pull it up. Some people like to buy used wood.
Good luck
Bryan

There are very specific instructions for installing hardwood flooring over concrete above grade (not in basement). You can go to www.nofma.org to learn the specific instructions. Moisture content of concrete and hardwood flooring should have been tested. Vapor retarder should have been installed over concrete. If installers used a sleeper system for installation with 3/4" plywood or OSB over that, wood should have been properly nailed approximately every 8". Seasonal changes in temperature & humidity will subject wood to expansion and contraction and may result in gaps. If wood is properly acclimated (given time to adjust to temperature & humidity) in its new environment before installation and there are no moisture issues then there tends to be few problems. Gaps between boards should not be filled. Expansion & contraction will force out any fillers. Cupping, crowning, and warping are usually secondary to moisture issues. Although the dimensional stability rating of Brazilian Cherry is high when you examine hardwood flooring charts for stability ratings, Brazilian Cherry does tend to exhibit significant movement in unstable environments.