[llckll]

Hey All,

I installed new hardwood 3/4" acacia solid wood flooring at the end of August 2011.

As you can see in the pictures, I don't know what to say :furious: I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I called Lumber Liquidators and they said it was an installer issue. The installer is saying it's a wood defect. The installer offered to fix it by either filling the gaps with wood filler or using clamps and squeezing the gaps together. He's a general contractor who has done our bathroom and came out nice and other jobs around the house. He's done wood floor before but said he never experienced this before. Paper underlayment was used. Wood flooring was not kept in the house for 5-7 days though to adjust.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1127...ms/5818501592232885169?authkey=COORtLDNr7v4Xw

Do you think I should have him try repairing by squeezing gaps together?

At this point, in a couple years, I was just thinking of hiring a professional hardwood flooring expert and redoing up to the subfloor as well.

 

[gregzoll]

Incorrect installation. Who is this installer that laid the floor? Was it a handyman, or someone that LL recommended to do the job?

 

[llckll]

It was a handyman.

 

[woodman58]

If this is not caused by moisture, then this is one of the worst lobs I have seen. Not being a moisture problem it looks like he did not use a flooring nailer. This is a nailer special nailer for floors. They are expensive. If he thinks he can pull this floor together then it is definitely installed wrong. If he used the proper nailer the floor would not move. Even a professional will not be able to fix this, in my opinion. Without moisture problems it is definitely install problem.

This all said, in the pics I saw some pipes. What are they? and, do they leak?

 

[gregzoll]

It was a handyman.

That would be your problem, why it looks like crap.

 

[llckll]

If this is not caused by moisture, then this is one of the worst lobs I have seen. Not being a moisture problem it looks like he did not use a flooring nailer. This is a nailer special nailer for floors. They are expensive. If he thinks he can pull this floor together then it is definitely installed wrong. If he used the proper nailer the floor would not move. Even a professional will not be able to fix this, in my opinion. Without moisture problems it is definitely install problem.

This all said, in the pics I saw some pipes. What are they? and, do they leak?

Those are not pipes. Those are legs of my baby swing and play pen.

I guess I'll have to redo the floors in a few years from a proper hardwood flooring expert. Would they be able to re-use the wood?

 

[llckll]

Also, some of the wood pieces shrunk that's why you see the gaps. I'm not sure if the wood necessarily moved cause I have uninstalled pieces and they are a little wider by 1/8".

 

[rusty baker]

You did 2 things wrong. First, you bought the wood from LL. , then you had a handyman install it. All you can do is tear it out, buy some decent wood and hire somone who knows what he is doing to install it.

 

[Seattle2k]

I bought wood from LL, as did my neighbor. Our floors look great.

 

[joecaption]

What was the subfloong used under it. (under the paper)
If it was partical board or only a 1/2" subfloor I can see why it looks like that.
Also if you have a crawl space and there's no vaper barrier on the ground.
One of the last jobs I had we laid a ton of LL flooring and at least 4 differant styles and several differant woods and never had any issues.
On the other hand we had to reject dozens of boxed of Bruce brand flooring because it was so bad that we got from the local flooring company.

 

[DannyT]

what rusty baker said X2. LL is well known for denying defective materials. I would never recommend buying anything there. they advertise like they are selling at liquidation prices. they wanted over 2.00 a sq ft difference for the flooring i wanted and i'm sure glad they did.

 

[msaeger]

How was this installed? nailed down? No advice here just curious.

 

[zakany]

I feel really sorry for you. Rusty is right, though.

Here's what I see:

Cracked and chipped boards that should never have been installed.
Didn't let the wood acclimate to the house humidity and temperature (the harder the wood, the more time that may take...and acacia is silly-hard). Put it this way - I'm installing hickory and I let it sit for two weeks with the boxes open.
Possibly other issues, such as those mentioned above.

I think you have both an iffy installation and crappy wood.

 

[1950home]

That is an installation issue. My house is LL and I install a tons of it every year. They do have some stuff that I refuse to install, but the quality of there flooring is the same when you compare it by price point.

Your best bet is to pay for someone that is NWFA certified to do an inspection. After the inspection they can properly lead you in what steps to take and can be a mentor between the installers insurance company. If you go to small clams court you have a better case if you get a report from a NWFA certified person.

I know a few inspectors in a few different states. Let me know where you live and I might know one that is near by and I can pass along there info.

 

[Awoodfloorguy]

What type of a subfloor do you have? Is it over concrete, plywood, OBS, or particle board? Also, was the flooring nailed, glued, or floated? Was the flooring allowed to acclimate? Did the installer check the moisture level in the subfloor and the flooring prior to installing it? I don't think a little putty is gonna fix this one.