|
| This is a new constructed house. Had engineered hardwood floor glued down to concrete. Moved in last october. All was well until january. Wood floor started to come unglued in many places, making hollow sounds, moving when walked on, popping, ticking noises. Told builder and worked with them from then till this past september. They only would use the drytac as a repair for this. Problem is that they were out no less that 3 times, drilled about 30 holes each time in the wood floor to inject the glue and now I still cant walk more that two steps before a plank or two pops, ticks, creaks or lifts back up where I just picked my foot up from.
Now its hit the one year mark but at month 11 I asked that the entire floor be pulled up and redone. Builder turned it over to the subs insurance who said something about the subs policy would not cover material but will cover labor. We had the builder to buy the flooring where they told us we should and we purchased within their allowance cost. How should I handle this? Isn't the builder or sub responsible for the total cost to pull up floor, buy new wood planks and install correctly? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| I know it doesnt seem right. But most insurances will only cover labor. You next option would dont accept any offer and hire a floor inspector (ceritified NWFA) and see if he can tell if there was a poor install done. If he determines that then you take the contractor to court and sue. If it is determined the install was done accordingly you may be out of luck |
|
| Read the contract you made with the builder. It may tell you how long you have to make a claim for poor workmanship and tell you other important things. I certainly think that if you made your claim at month 11 (and can prove it), and get a certified NWFA inspector report that indicates a defective installation, then I agree with the previous poster that you may have a case to bring to court. I think business people and customers come out ahead when they can come to satisfactory agreements out of court. However, should you go the suit route, then get the guidance of a savvy attorney. Good luck. |
|
| Builder got a NWFA inspector to do an inspection. He said concrete slab is at 16% moisture with wood planks are at 10%. He indicates that issues show that moisture could have been high during curing phase affecting adhesive. Flooring contractor did not do any moisture checks prior to installation. Also I dont think HVAC war operational. They said it was. Slab is on grade on tight clay known to hold water on top. NWFA says that entire floor movement and noise would require tear out. Noises only in certain areas require injection. His conclusion is noise and says injection is approved repair and builder agrees. I have issue with this as the issue is movement and noise throughout entire floor. So I read it as tear out. I have contacted the inspector as I was told I could to go over the issues and seek clarification. Any thoughts? |
|
| I'm not sure what 16% moisture means in the slab. Did they do a calcium chloride or other test? Moisture is usually expressed in pounds per 1000 square feet per 24 hours. There is a threshold above where a moisture barrier is required between the wood floor and concrete subfloor. If the floor job is defective you shouldn't have to pay to replace but you may have to pay for the added moisture barrier upon replacement. |
|
| The only moisture test they have done was just during the visit from the NWFA inspector the other week. It was with a pin or probe style moisture meter. I believe the reading indicates it is above a threshold which would mean a CC test ought to be done, but they did not do any sort of moisture tests before install nor afterwards except for this one. I have not heard yet from the inspector. How would someone use to define the terms "throughout the entire floor" and "within a certain area" ? Could a percentage be applied to those terms? Count of moving planks vs count of non moving? Thanks all for the advice so far. Is there any more advice that can be offered? |
|
| I'm not aware of the acceptable range of moisture from a pin type concrete meter. My advice is to pay an NWFA inspector for your own inspection. Moisture in concrete is tricky. The simple meters and even a C test might not always indicate that the concrete is going to have a problematic moisture condition after a floor is installed on top. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Flooring Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.