wooden floor buckling - joiner getting difficult

hamblettamaud

i have a new wooden floor that a joiner laid in my old house. this was approx six months ago, & i noticed when it was being installed that the wood boards were not "seasoned" - they lay in the house overnight & were then laid the next day.

there was a problem approx two weeks after the joiner laid the floor - it started to buckle. the joiner came & repaired it, but now it's worse than ever. it is about 1 inch higher than floor level and feels like it would crack if stood on.

the joiner seems to be getting a bit irritated about being asked to come & fix it again. however, i paid a lot of money for this to be done and it seems to me that it wasn't done properly to begin with. he told me that it's probably damp & that he can't be responsible for that. i don't think the house is damp. (there's no condensation or other evidence & TBH just doesn't feel damp.) however, the heating has been off for a few weeks, although i admit i tend not to keep heating on all the time. & in spring & summer it will definitely be off all the time.

to make matters worse, he's married to a friend of mine so i would feel awkward about getting stroppy & insistent with him.

how should i proceed?

thanks, guys

hamblettamaud

bump.

has anyone any suggestions??

latecomer

As its a someone you know its always going to be difficult. Have you tried turning up the heating and making sure the area is well ventilated to see if it improves?

yan1

If it wasn't climatised prior to installation, the only way to remedy this is to relay. Fitted oak flooring last year and left it 3 weeks in the house of installation- it's an absolute must.
Did he leave a decent expansion joint around perimeter? If he did and it has buckled, that shows the amount of movement that has occurred- wow!!

missile

I would ask the manufacturer for an independant inspection.

robv_3

Its hard to say the cause without seeing it but most of the time its caused by not enough gap around the edges. As it shrinks and grows with changes of temperature and water content it pushes on the walls either end and buckles.

If the boards were left to acclimatize longer it may have been even bucked.

hamblettamaud

thanks, everyone.

but can someone tell me what the joiner's responsibilities are? i paid him in full upon completion, as i consider a good customer ought to do. as far as i believe, the job is not complete until it's done properly. & with the floor rising so much it appears not to be done properly.

am i right in expecting the joiner to come back to finish it off, even at his own expense?

again, the difficulty is that he is married to a friend & it would be awful to have to threaten him with court action, so i really need to know what his responsibilities are.

thanks for any replies, you guys.

hamble

nickj_2

you paid him to do a proper job
if he's not done it properly - he should come back and fix it at his own expense
if he's a friend maybe you could give him some extra , but you are not obliged to

hamblettamaud

nickj wrote: »

you paid him to do a proper job
if he's not done it properly - he should come back and fix it at his own expense
if he's a friend maybe you could give him some extra , but you are not obliged to

he's not strictly a friend - i know his wife - & he was paid very well for the work in the first place.

anyone know what i can do legally (if needs be)? does the small claims court deal with this sort of thing?

poppet

First things first - get an independent specialist in to give you their opinion.

Before you can decide how best to handle the situation, you need to be exactly certain that the problems have been caused by poor fitting and not a leak somewhere in your property.

• Did the fitter carry out moisture readings on the sub floor before he began? Did you see the readings? Can he tell you what they were?
• Did he allow the timber sufficent time to aclimatise? The length of time required depends on the prodcut, reclaimed boards for example, can take months and months.
• Did the fitter leave expansion gaps all arond the room? if so how many
• mm?
• Can you see dark tanin bleeding between the boards? Indicating moisture is present.
• Has the floor warped and cupped - looking a bit like a mountain range in areas?
• Have you pysically checked for a leak? Check your radiator pipes, check behind the washing machine and dishwasher and anywhere else that carries water, underfloor heating for example.

WaveyDave_2

I had solid oak fitted in my kitchen. The fitter insisted it had to be acclimatized for 2 weeks prior, with the heating on as normal. I had to wait for 4 months for him to fit though, as part of the kitchen floor is concrete slab, which was relaid. I would come round every few weeks with his meter and check the water level in the floor. He wouldn't touch the job until the meter was at his desired level.

What subfloor do you have? Is there possibly any dampness in the air/walls etc?

Sounds like the floor has expanded and twisted, maybe from moisture or heat.