wood floor buckling question

[colleyvillesooner]

Had new engineered wood Floors installed about a month ago. It replaced existing wood that was damaged from a leak below the slab in match, had to replace wood in the whole house (not due to widespread damage, just had to match according to policy)

Has many hollow spots and is starting to buckle in three different spots around the house. the guy came out and said it must be moisture problem probably a water leak and left.

I checked the water meter over night and the needle moved less than two gallons and I forgot to put the arm up on the ice maker.

Anybody dealt with anything like this. This was a repair done through farmers for a leak below the slab in march and they were very helpful through the whole process. That leak was losing 40-50 gallons in 8-10 hour timeframe.

Installer coming back out today to pull up a board or two in the worst areas to see what is going on.

If it was water, that would be damage and would be covered through the home insurance but don't want this guy to take the cheapest way out. Plus a water leak generating moisture wouldn't really cause the issue in there different spots around the house would it? With no other damage or signs of water leak present.

[sanantoniosooner]

Was the floor glued down or snap together?

Check the water meter again but be sure to close every valve to a fixture that could operate on it's own. (Toilet cycles, ice maker, sprinkler system, etc.)

If I decided there was a leak then I'd turn off the hot water and see if I could figure hot/cold side.

It's possible the area hadn't dried sufficiently before covering it again.

[Turd_Ferguson]

Like SAS said, need to know what type of floor you have. Also, is it put down on a concrete slab, sub floor, conventional floor?

Where is the floor buckling...length wise or width wise?

[colleyvillesooner]

Was the floor glued down or snap together?

Check the water meter again but be sure to close every valve to a fixture that could operate on it's own. (Toilet cycles, ice maker, sprinkler system, etc.)

If I decided there was a leak then I'd turn off the hot water and see if I could figure hot/cold side.

It's possible the area hadn't dried sufficiently before covering it again.

Glue down floor

i will try that tonight.

will do.

Maybe. the biggest buckling is in the room where the leak was under it, but it is buckling in areas that are on the other side of the house and in other rooms. there was never any real water damage to wood floor due too under the slab leak. it was mainly damage on the underside of a wet bar area that got it pair for by the insurance. i don't doubt there was moisture, but there was no buckling at all company.

[olevetonahill]

Hollow spots? Sounds like crappy material and labor
Make em redo the dayum thing.

[colleyvillesooner]

Like SAS said, need to know what type of floor you have. Also, is it put down on a concrete slab, sub floor, conventional floor?

Where is the floor buckling...length wise or width wise?

Glue down onto slab. Had wood there before for almost 4 years with no issues. a random small holloe spot but nothing major.

It seems to buckle width wise i guess.

[colleyvillesooner]

Hollow spots? Sounds like crappy material and labor
Make em redo the dayum thing.

Yeah, that's what I am thinking. They tried to tell me that hollow spots are more common with larger planks due to surface area, but if the glue is applied evenly and the floor is checked for levelness at application using float material, it should lay even.

[rock on sooner]

Water will find its own level, no matter what. If it is buckling
on the other side of the house and away from the original, I'm
guessing water migrated from the original to where it is buckling.
Hard to picture a glued down floor buckling, though....

[pphilfran]

Did the contractor bring the flooring into the house the day before the install to let it adjust to inside temps and humidity?

[KantoSooner]

Why do wood floor guys around here install the wood floors so close to (right on) the slab? I worked in Alaska on a building one summer and my boss had us install a wood floor on decking that was raised off the slab (we were putting a second story on top of what had been a concrete roof of a little office building) by 2X4s. Seemed to work great to prevent moisture or cold being conducted.

[colleyvillesooner]

Moisture reading on the under side of the wood show some moist spots. So now I get to go through the plumber checking for leaks again. So frustrating.

[olevetonahill]

Moisture reading on the under side of the wood show some moist spots. So now I get to go through the plumber checking for leaks again. So frustrating.

No one checked that the original problem had been fixed before laying the New flooring? ****ing idiots.

[colleyvillesooner]

They are saying they did. Owner told me they always test the areas before laying the new wood. Problem was fixed and inspected by city for over a two weeks before they started laying new wood. And it's in another area it wasn't before. Not even close. Setting up a leak detection now for ASAP.

There is noticeable water damage underneath (even some mold) so shouldn't have a hard time proving secondary damage required for the insurance to pay for it but. It's another deductible I'm out.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Why do wood floor guys around here install the wood floors so close to (right on) the slab?

No clue. At a minimum, they should place a layer of ply and foam. No way in hell I'd let 'em glue it directly to the slab.

[KantoSooner]

Right? Plus it sounds so much cooler if you've got some airspace underneath it. Especially if you've got leather heels on your shoes. (My German genes go all atwitter at the sound of a good, strong stride. Makes me want to get my bros and go invade France.)

[colleyvillesooner]

No water leak per the leak detector plumber. So owner said the installer didn't take proper pre installation moisture readings. Have to redo two whole rooms. First world problems I know but with little kids, having to move all the furniture, cover every appliance and keep everyone cooped upon the back of the house for a week is a major PITA.

[OULenexaman]

Hey. Just mow it with da fixed mower. That should at least dry it out. And I'm smashed when I typed this. Carry on.

[SoonerorLater]

I learned this one the hard way. Had a leak, dried out the room for about 2 weeks then put down the flooring (engineeered wood with a vapor barrier per specs) the one thing I didn't do was take a moisture reading. Big mistake. Within I would say 1-2 months there was slight but visible buckling at some of the seams. I ended up pulling the floor up. I left it down to concrete for 3 months to completely dry. Replaced it again, no more problems. Concrete can really hold a lot of moisture.

[colleyvillesooner]

This is what I am worried about. They want to pull it up, scrape off all the old glue and retest for moisture, maybe seal the slab and use a glue with moisture barrier. Not sure how long to wait. This is the company my insurance had us use, so I think they are going the extra mile due to that, but I want it done right, bottom line.

[KantoSooner]

What are your ceiling heights and could you afford to lift it an inch to get some air circulation going?

[colleyvillesooner]

What are your ceiling heights and could you afford to lift it an inch to get some air circulation going?

i have three different ceiling heights in the affected rooms. Not really in my budget at all to add to this expense.

[sheepdogs]

Having it installed on plywood or a similar synthetic material which insulates the wood from the slab temperature wise would raise the floor temp by about seven degrees (helps in the winter). And normally you want the slab to be one foot above the exterior ground level for if the slab level is equal to the perimeter ground level then you will have moisture issues.

[colleyvillesooner]

Our slab is about 1Foot above grade in most areas around the house. We had engineered wood floors for 4 years before this without one issue until the hot water pipe leak under the slab 2 months ago.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

This is what I am worried about. They want to pull it up, scrape off all the old glue and retest for moisture, maybe seal the slab and use a glue with moisture barrier. Not sure how long to wait. This is the company my insurance had us use, so I think they are going the extra mile due to that, but I want it done right, bottom line.

Then have them at a MINIMUM lay a foam pad/moisture barrier, top that with ply, then nail the wood floor to the ply.

[colleyvillesooner]

Not sure I know how to get them to do that, since the insurance claim only paid to replace to previous state/value.

Also, won't that make my floors taller than the floors the connect to (tile in the kitchen and carpet in the bathrooms)

[Tulsa_Fireman]

That's why God made thresholds.

[colleyvillesooner]

True. Guy is supposed to come to throw to discuss the options.