Hello,
I hope I'm writing this in the correct spot, as I am new to this forum.
We recently had all new maple hardwood installed throughout our home. After installation, we noticed there was a lot of “stepping". Some parts, the steps are just within a few inches apart from each other. I've read that the end of a board should be at least 6-8" from the previous end joint. Most of our installation is less than 6" apart from end joints.
The salesperson we dealt with has come back by to address our concerns. When we mentioned the stepping, he claims it is only cosmetic and there isn't anything wrong with it. Is this true? We have stepping in many visible spaces in our home (bungalow, 1000 sq ft) -- I have attached pictures of the major ones that are free of furniture or rugs.
We have not paid our final payment, because we have had some issues that we want dealt with (damage to doors, walls, nail holes left unfilled, etc.) -- but now, just as we are ready to pay the balance, I noticed in our hallway there are several gaps in between boards -- some boards have a gap on both sides - and I can see the subfloor. There are a few boards that are very noticeable in the daylight. I think we didn't notice initially because it is more visible in the dark -- when we have our hallway lighting turned on. I took some pictures to show how many of the boards have these gaps. It's disappointing, because it doesn't look nice, plus dirt (and cat litter) is getting stuck in between the boards. You can also see in one photo, how a few boards near a door entrance were filled with wood glue - so I wonder if they noticed those and filled them immediately, and maybe not notice the others?
One thing to note, is that I don’t notice this anywhere else in the house - 3 bedrooms, living room, front hallway, kitchen. There may be a board or two, but nothing like it is in the hallway. I wonder if that is even normal, or we should bring that up as well? It just seems like most boards in the hallway have gaps. So I don’t think humidity has anything to do with it? At least I don’t think? We have a humidifier - and keep it between 40-50% — which is within the hardwood supplier website (Superior Flooring) recommends. We also have maintained this the entire time - through install, and moving forward after it was installed. It was installed around Feb. 6, 2014 and installed in 2 days by a team of two people.
I know that hardwood flooring expands, and shrinks, but wasn't sure if this is something to do with the installation job? Improper nailing.. or? We weren't happy with our installers, and feel they worked as quickly as possible to leave. We used a hardwood flooring company that has a lot of positive reviews, and they claims all of their installers are their employees, so not subbed out.
I just don't know what to do. The company wants their money, but I want some kind of leverage if this is an issue that needs addressed. Should they rip up all the flooring in the hallway and do it again? Pay to have a hardwood inspector come in? But what will that get us? I know the company we purchased this from may want to fill it with wood filler, but I know that is a temporary fix. This is our first home, and we went from 1959 hardwood, to new. It is a big investment, and we want to feel confident that we won't have to pay to get it fixed in the future. We are also a young couple, so I don’t want them to feel they can take advantage of us, and sort of bully our concerns.
Again, I have attached pictures. It is hard to get good pictures of the gaps on both sides, but the ones that were easier to take a picture of you’ll be able to see the subfloor below.
Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you so much.
Jessica
edited by jkoehler on 4/13/2014
edited by jkoehler on 4/13/2014
I hope I'm writing this in the correct spot, as I am new to this forum.
We recently had all new maple hardwood installed throughout our home. After installation, we noticed there was a lot of “stepping". Some parts, the steps are just within a few inches apart from each other. I've read that the end of a board should be at least 6-8" from the previous end joint. Most of our installation is less than 6" apart from end joints.
The salesperson we dealt with has come back by to address our concerns. When we mentioned the stepping, he claims it is only cosmetic and there isn't anything wrong with it. Is this true? We have stepping in many visible spaces in our home (bungalow, 1000 sq ft) -- I have attached pictures of the major ones that are free of furniture or rugs.
We have not paid our final payment, because we have had some issues that we want dealt with (damage to doors, walls, nail holes left unfilled, etc.) -- but now, just as we are ready to pay the balance, I noticed in our hallway there are several gaps in between boards -- some boards have a gap on both sides - and I can see the subfloor. There are a few boards that are very noticeable in the daylight. I think we didn't notice initially because it is more visible in the dark -- when we have our hallway lighting turned on. I took some pictures to show how many of the boards have these gaps. It's disappointing, because it doesn't look nice, plus dirt (and cat litter) is getting stuck in between the boards. You can also see in one photo, how a few boards near a door entrance were filled with wood glue - so I wonder if they noticed those and filled them immediately, and maybe not notice the others?
One thing to note, is that I don’t notice this anywhere else in the house - 3 bedrooms, living room, front hallway, kitchen. There may be a board or two, but nothing like it is in the hallway. I wonder if that is even normal, or we should bring that up as well? It just seems like most boards in the hallway have gaps. So I don’t think humidity has anything to do with it? At least I don’t think? We have a humidifier - and keep it between 40-50% — which is within the hardwood supplier website (Superior Flooring) recommends. We also have maintained this the entire time - through install, and moving forward after it was installed. It was installed around Feb. 6, 2014 and installed in 2 days by a team of two people.
I know that hardwood flooring expands, and shrinks, but wasn't sure if this is something to do with the installation job? Improper nailing.. or? We weren't happy with our installers, and feel they worked as quickly as possible to leave. We used a hardwood flooring company that has a lot of positive reviews, and they claims all of their installers are their employees, so not subbed out.
I just don't know what to do. The company wants their money, but I want some kind of leverage if this is an issue that needs addressed. Should they rip up all the flooring in the hallway and do it again? Pay to have a hardwood inspector come in? But what will that get us? I know the company we purchased this from may want to fill it with wood filler, but I know that is a temporary fix. This is our first home, and we went from 1959 hardwood, to new. It is a big investment, and we want to feel confident that we won't have to pay to get it fixed in the future. We are also a young couple, so I don’t want them to feel they can take advantage of us, and sort of bully our concerns.
Again, I have attached pictures. It is hard to get good pictures of the gaps on both sides, but the ones that were easier to take a picture of you’ll be able to see the subfloor below.
Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you so much.
Jessica
edited by jkoehler on 4/13/2014
edited by jkoehler on 4/13/2014