Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Failed floor, need help

At the end of August, I moved into a new house. I have engineered wood flooring laid on grade level concrete. It is now four months and the floor has peaking/cupping throughout. The installer is saying that this is normal and will get better with time.

Is the installer correct or do I have a "failed" floor?

Thank you.

Hi
This is not "normal" and will not get better. When you say engineered wood, i'm assuming you mean actual wood composite that has been prefinished? Not like a Pergo or Bruce that is actually the laminate with a top wear layer, applied to a composite backing?

It sounds like you have moisture coming thru the slab, thats the most common problem, or that the installer did not leave a gap around the perimeter if this is a floating floor.

Best thing to do, since its a new home, is to have a manufacturers rep come out and take a look. Of course you will need to know who the manufacturer is.

Address this now with all urgency. It should be covered under your warranty from the builder.

Best thing to do, since its a new home, is to have a manufacturers rep come out and take a look. Of course you will need to know who the manufacturer is.

Address this now with all urgency. It should be covered under your warranty from the builder.



The mill rep, is going to say... It is not a manufacturing related claim... Not our problem!! And they are correct. Mill reps are basically clueless and biased. You need and independent NWFA inspector, fast!!!!! Your claim is with the floor company that subcontracts to this builder. They accepted the substrate to be within specifications, by mandatory testing(or did they???) and installed over a wet slab(very common in new construction)

Hi Carpets
I didn't mean to imply that the manufacturer would warrant anything. But the final say on whether something is installed correctly or not comes down to the company that produces the product. In my experience, independant inspectors, or other installers have no weight when it comes to whether something was installed correctly or not. And we all know the person who put it down doesn't care, he's already been paid and is on to the next bad job.

We're in agreement, just looking at it from diffent levels.

******
OOPs, sorry, didn't mean to imply that inspectors don't have any say in things, just that if you ever went to arbitration or court, if the manufacturer says "its not right", then the installer or the builder is liable. Laymen jsut want the basics, not a lot of gobbledygook.

The mill rep, is going to say... It is not a manufacturing related claim... Not our problem!! And they are correct. Mill reps are basically clueless and biased. You need and independent NWFA inspector, fast!!!!! Your claim is with the floor company that subcontracts to this builder. They accepted the substrate to be within specifications, by mandatory testing(or did they???) and installed over a wet slab(very common in new construction)

I am having some difficulty understanding some of your comments.

You state that a mill rep will say "it is not a manufacturing related claim" and "it is not our problem". Based on the facts given, these are correct statements. I fail to understand how a mill rep making correct statements could be clueless and biased.

I am having some difficulty understanding some of your comments.

You state that a mill rep will say "it is not a manufacturing related claim" and "it is not our problem". Based on the facts given, these are correct statements. I fail to understand how a mill rep making correct statements could be clueless and biased.


A sales rep is just that, a SALESMAN. He is an employee of the mill with a bias to the mill that pays him a paycheck... His job is on the line. A rep is only going to say, yes, I see your concerns. His customer, is not the end user, it is the retailer that sold the product that keeps him employeed. The enduser may never see the reps or a mill hired inspectors, report, to protect the flooring retailer that sold the product.

Mill reps are not certified inspectors!!! They are clueless as to cause and effect. They do know how to tell you what you want to hear, even if it is the stretched truth, or a complete lie, just like any SALESMAN.

Here are a few letters back to me, after a Mill rep, looked at their claims, and nothing was being done about it. They just told them, it was not their problem. One was installation and manufacturing, the other manufaturing only.

Thanks for all of your help - - in the end, Jim did agree to cover the cost of the replacement wood and refunded us the amount that we paid the first installer. I agree with you that Jim should be covering the cost of your services and hauling away the old floors, but there is also language in his contract that disclaims some of that liability, so i decided not to press it as long as he reimbursed us everything that we paid to begin with. so now the new wood order should be here on Wed and we were able to delay our move by 5 days, and our general contractor's team (Sid, who you met) has agreed to do the job right, and in a rush.

thanks again - - best $500 we've spent on this house!

Kristen


Another.....



You did an inspection for my wife and I several weeks ago. Thanks again, after all the drawn out run around, B.... finally have ageed to replace the flooring. Without your knowledge and well put together report, we would have been screwed. It is scary how a unscrupulous product manufacturers are these days. Screw B....! Could you recommend what to look for when picking our next wood? What brands should we look at, which ones should be stay away from? We are looking at engineered floors again, what is the minimum thickness of wood or wear layer that we should look for? Any literature that you have would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks again for the help,



Kevin

If I am commissioned by a mill to inspect a claim, They have strict instructions to not say a word to the homeowner/enduser. Not one word to answer any questions the homeowner has. I can question the homeowner to get a timeline of events of the claim, but that is about it. The inspector, leaves and the report is given to the mill. The mill then notifies the retailer that sold the manufacturers product, but you, the enduser, has no right to see the report. So you, the enduser will never know what is going on, unless you hire your own certifed independent inspector.


You should see some of the reports homeowners get from having another flooring company, not a certified inspector, come out and look at their concerns!!!! It is hilarious and very biased, just trying to get the work, with bogus findings. (that SALESMAN, thing again)

Why would you edit my post.