Epoxy slopped all over.

One of many gaps with a quarter in it

What has the store said who sent this installer out? Have they been any help?

The sales guy hasn't said much, just that I should let them come back to scrape off the epoxy on top.

Did they say anything about the gaps?

The outlet work is horrible. they shouldnt even be messing with epoxy, they should have just reworked that area.

and the gaps need to be addressed. a quarter should not fit in any gap.

If the store wont do anything more, that's when you get a certified floor inspector.

Honestly, I wouldn't be so concerned about the gaps in the wood planks. Wood is going to expand in the summer when it gets warm and the humidity rises. In the winter it will contract. Walk into any old home with wood floors in the winter and you will see large gaps between the planks.

If you wedge that wood in so tight in the winter then come summer you're going to have cupping or buckling of some sort. No way around it. The wood just has to have somewhere to go - 'tis the nature of wood. If it's engineered wood - as that appears to be - there will be less movement but still there will be some. Solid wood flooring will have more movement between the seasons.

The cutting around the outlets is another matter altogether. That's just sloppy work. I would have them remove those planks and redo it. (Not by the same person either.)

I would for sure show that to an inspector if the store where you bought it won't stand behind their installation.

no seasonal movement will ever close that gap, the one with the quarter almost looks like one board may be a bad mill, hence the gap. there is a tolerance for gaps that's deemed acceptable, but its way smaller than what a quarter can fit.

Any gap that a quarter can fit should be addressed. hands down.

This shows the problem with the flooring industry today. There are very few certified installers in the business anymore. Since most dealers will not pay what the work is worth, they scrape the bottom of the barrel and this is what the consumer gets as a value added end result (sarcasm).

And that kind of work is why people stay at the bottom of the social scale. Criminal record, well there's a big surprise...

Anyone with a parent that even tried to teach them the value of doing a good job would be horrified at that work.

If the store truly recommended this guy or in any way arranged him to be in your home, I would take pictures, walk into the store that recommended this contractor and tell them to send someone else out to fix it, on their dime.

This is a floating floor over radiant heat. I thought that the boards were supposed to be attached to each other (hence no gaps) and the entire floor expands and contracts together. At least that's what the sales guy told us for why we needed a floating floor.
I think this also explains why the installer doesn't want to replace just a few boards around the outlets. You run the risk of problems down the road, plus it sounds tricky to do.
Yes, the store hired this guy to do the install. I guess no one does background checks, or cares what the results would be anyway.
How do I find an independant flooring consultant in my area?

http://woodfloors.org/certified-inspector.aspx

just fill it out and it should tell you the closest guy in your area.

Check out my floors can do!

They had the flooring manufacturer rep here yesterday to check things out. He couldn't say for sure why they have failed. I am waiting patiently for their decision on who will be paying to redo it.

Sort of good news, they are replacing the entire floor. Good because hopefully this problem will be fixed. Bad because I don't think I can live in the house for the few days it will take. All I've heard it that it is an installation problem. The thing is, they want to send the same criminal who messed it up the first time. I don't think so.

The next issue on the horizon is the carpet pad...apparently they used one with too high an R value for radiant heat. The only way to remedy this is to replace all the pads. I am going to have a new house with nothing original in it.

that's good to hear they are replacing the floor. I wouldn't trust that installer either, the work around the outlet alone is enough to make me shy away from his "craftsmanship" let alone the epoxy mess too.

hopefully this install goes smoothly and you wont be put out too long.

share completed pics please!

Stand your ground on keeping the original installer out of the "re-do" picture. Good luck, I hope it goes smoothly.

Did they install temperature sensors underneath the floor?

Once this installation is done, will someone from floor manufacturer sign off the work so that you will get warranty for sure?

Speaking about employee background check....A few years ago I was working out of state staying at an apartment. I learned from the onsite maintenance person that the previous employee she replaced was a criminal who had several rape cases on his record. Before they found out and fired him, he had a master key so that he could enter any unit for maintenance work.

Whoah, hold it's over radiant heat? THAT could be the reason for your problems right there. Radiant heat is only approved to go over certain width wood floors, and in certain conditions. You cannot use a traditional high temperature water system with wood floors. The water has to be below 85ð, and the design of the whole system has to be changed to compensate for the lower water temperature. If your HVAC designer designed the system incorrectly, you could end up having the same problem (minus the poor craftsmanship) with any replacement wood. You need to find your documentation on your radiant heating and have a meeting with the GC about this.

I am interested in this thread as I may want to do radiant heat for my bedroom floors.