Had a wooden floor installed a couple of months ago but it squeaks a lot

Pandilex

I'm just wondering if this is normal.

I went to a local shop and arranged for a wooden floor to be installed in my house. They sized it up, gave me a quote, and I agreed and a contractor came and installed it. It appears he put an underlay down and then the wooden pieces on top.

It shifts and squeaks and creaks quite a bit. He said that this would go away after it settles but if anything it has got worse. One part of it sags a little as you stand on it.

I am wondering if it's normal though, or if I should go and talk to the people that installed it. Any advice?

naf123

was the floor creaking before you installed the wooden floor?

david1951

Did they leave the boards in the room(s) for 24-48 hours before laying them?

Pandilex

Before it had a carpet, underneath the carpet was a concrete floor. It wasn't particularly even, which I explained and they said don't worry it'll be fine. I guess the underlay probably straightens out any problems.

They did not leave the boards in the room they brought them and installed them on the day.

Part of the floor had to be held down by the skirting board as it wasn't flush. That part actually doesn't creak lol.

david1951

Wood takes on and loses various amounts of moisture, depending on the humidity of the room, things that it is laid over (e.g., central heating pipes), etc. The upshot is that the wood you lay should be acclimatised to the room, hence the recommendation to leave for a day or two in the room. Having said that Im no expert so there might be some special types of wood that would be ok.

If they didnt do this, or even consider it then Im not surprised you have movement. Sounds like the boards have expanded due to taking on and retaining moisture. Unfortunately its not a case of drying them out - once wood bows they will stay bent.

Did you have a contract with these guys? Are they an established firm? First thing to do is try get them to fix it, but I dont hold out much hope if they dont know the basics...

Good luck!

missile

If it squeaks now, it will only get worse.

Furts

Pandilex wrote: »

Before it had a carpet, underneath the carpet was a concrete floor. It wasn't particularly even, which I explained and they said don't worry it'll be fine. I guess the underlay probably straightens out any problems.

They did not leave the boards in the room they brought them and installed them on the day.

Part of the floor had to be held down by the skirting board as it wasn't flush. That part actually doesn't creak lol.

It is every day procedure to level up floors with levelling compound - think latex here. You do not mention this happening and you appear not to have requested this. This I suspect is causing your problems. Which means the floor will have to be removed and work started again.

However there is a chance your floor was never suitable for your wooden floor. Latex can level up but if the floor is bad there are limits to what can be done. For example my floors were badly out in the doorways - by 20mm and no way can a coating of latex sort this out. I repaired the floors but this meant removing all doors and cutting them to suit the floor repairs. Fortunately the edges of the rooms were OK, so the skirting did not have to be removed.

It sounds like you have bodged work, but you also have to ask if you requested a difficult, or almost impossible, job. If it is the latter then a resolution may not be easy - the floor shop may fight you all the way.

Pandilex

Hmm I am not sure they did that, I guess I will talk to them but they will probably try to fob me off. It is a big company here in Bristol they have a couple of stores. I suspect as you say though that since it isn't a simple fix they won't do anything about it.

I am not sure why it would be my responsibility to request the method of installation, I am not a flooring expert, I assumed that they would know what they were doing.

missile

Pandilex wrote: »

Hmm I am not sure they did that, I guess I will talk to them but they will probably try to fob me off. It is a big company here in Bristol they have a couple of stores. I suspect as you say though that since it isn't a simple fix they won't do anything about it.

I am not sure why it would be my responsibility to request the method of installation, I am not a flooring expert, I assumed that they would know what they were doing.

I would agree it is fitters responsibility. Big does not = reliable. Name and shame, complain and threaten court action. :beer:

Furts

Pandilex wrote: »

Hmm I am not sure they did that, I guess I will talk to them but they will probably try to fob me off. It is a big company here in Bristol they have a couple of stores. I suspect as you say though that since it isn't a simple fix they won't do anything about it.

I am not sure why it would be my responsibility to request the method of installation, I am not a flooring expert, I assumed that they would know what they were doing.

I agree here but one has to manage, one has to be savvy, or otherwise all too frequently things go wrong - and often for the most simple of reasons.

A lesson in life is to never assume the people you are dealing with are competent. But also stand back and ponder - you knew your floor was "iffy" for level and finish. Also if latex, or levelling, is to be done this is a separate operation to floor laying and will incur more expense. Sure the floor layers will do it, but they have to buy the bags, mix it up, float it into place and wait for it to harden before doing anything else. Plus there is the drying time before floor laying - with my 20mm this was days.

Consequently you need to weigh up what you paid, what you were expecting for this, and what you would have been prepared to pay had the floor received a professional finish and level up before the floor was laid.

Pandilex

I did say that my floor is concrete and probably uneven will that be a problem, to which they said no.

But as a professional company I would expect them to inform me of any issues prior to installation. It's fine to get what I paid for if I knew exactly what it was, that I was paying for. Shame they didn't say what you've said to me, but I guess sales come first.

I guess I will go and have a chat with them. Thanks for the info.