We moved into our new construction home on September 5, 2007. Our builder did not offer solid hardwood in the 5 inch width board that we wanted so we had to go with the only choice which was engineered wood. We chose Mannington Blue Ridge Hickory Cherry Spice. We are getting a lot of chipping at the seams which is obviously very easy to spot because the floor is dark, a piece chips off, and you see the light unfinished wood underneath. We don't wear shoes in the house ever and I've been so careful not to drop anything on the floor since it is our new "dream home." What could be causing these issues? I see more chipping almost daily.

Could be from the installers beating block, when he should have used a tapping block.

Mannington, makes a very good floor!!!

Hmmmm. how long did floor aclimate before being installed? Perhaps it is moving a bit too much after being installed. If it was installed before it was done accclimating it may be moving a little in place causing pressure along the edges leading to chipping.

Did the builder allow the installer to have absolute power over the climate in the building? Engineered or not ACCLIMATION is critical. We tell our builder customers if they want our warranty they need to do it our way. If they don't give us a home "ready" for hardwood then they get to put their own warranty on the install. Were the doors even installed before the wood was deliverred?

At this time of year new houses are going from Summer to winter for their very first time .... I'm just sayin ...

Will

Is it chipping or splintering?

Thank you both for your replies. I asked a rep from the installation company if they acclimated the wood before installing it. He said it would be near impossible to do that for every new home they're doing the install on. I told him that on our last home they brought the wood at least 48 hours in advance. He said that it wouldn't make much of a difference because the wood in their warehouse was in a climate-controlled area as well and there wouldn't be much temperature difference between our house and their warehouse.

We already had some wood replaced about 3-4 weeks ago (we were already living in the house by this time) that was damaged from one of the tradesmen rolling the refridgerator into place. I was here when they replaced that & the guys came in, pulled up an area of the floor and put the new wood down. Definitely no acclimation. There are already 2 chips in the floor in that small replacement area.

It does seem as if there were install problems as well, though, because the more major chips start out as small lines or what I guess I would call cracks in the floor (visible when you get down on the floor and look for them) and then I'm assuming that as you walk on the floor, it just eventually gives and the chip occurs. It seems like something could be pushing it's way upward from the floor. The nail??

I'm seeing more and more of the chipping all the time. It doesn't seem like it's going to stop. As the weather changes, is is going to get even worse?

What is chipping vs. splintering? I would say from the sounds of those words that it may be called splintering then because it starts as small cracks (some as long as 1 inch) and then progresses to chipping the wood away from the top of the floor. I just measured one of them and it is 1 inch long and around 1/16 in width.

Irregular subfloor condition can cause the effects mentioned above as well.

I'm sorry but the builder is making excuses. He has hired men that have caved in to his poor jobsite management in the finish phease. He probably wouldn't think of signing a contract with his subs because it would make him liable for not doing it "his" way. The floor installer (unfortunately) will indeed wear the blame ... as he should for not insisting to his client the builder for a waranty-able job.

I agree on the posibility of bad subfloor as well. If you're moving in to new home in Sept. then your subfloor was in the weather back in March perhaps during the rainy season. Swollen joints, etc. and no subfloor prep (Builder would probably not pay his superheroes to sand the subfloor) equal instability/movement equals friction equals chipping.

I think if the builder totally tosses his sub under the bus that would answer my thought on whether I'd refer him to a friend or not. But the law would still find the installer at fault ... so would the floor rep. for simple fact he didn't HAVE to take the job if it wasn't going to be done right.

" I never lost money on a job I dindn't take!" I think Floorguy said that on a thread a couple years ago and I've found it very useful....

Sorry for your troubles. Perhaps once the floor stops moving you can have it resanded/stained/finished. Very intrusive fix but perhaps the best one...

Will

Engineered wood flooring shrinks and swells very little making acclimation requirement an argumentative issue.
Edge damage seen in my inspections result from:
- Items dragged across the floor.
- Raised edges due to sub-floor irregularities. Edges are exposed.
- Tapping block damage.
- Damage from strapping improperly. too much pressure applied to eliminate gapping.
- Excessive Sub-floor moisture causing ends, and edges, to peak or lift. Again, leaving and edge exposed to local use that can damage the edges.

If the issues are few and small, I think repairs can be made. If the issues are larger, plank replacement may be required to resolve the problems.

A few damaged planks do not equate to a flooring failure.

www.QuestInspect.com...........

Are you saying you're supposed to sand the subfloor before laying the hardwood? I know that wasn't done. Floorguy...what is the difference between chipping and splintering? Thanks for your responses. At least I'm getting a little bit of understanding about what is going on...we'll see what the builder does about it.

Only if it is obviously needed and usually in the needed places. If the seams/joints in the subfloor are severely raised then its a good idea to do so. Many subfloors that get a bunch of rain on them and then not cleared up as soon as possible can show quite a bit of dimensional swelling preventing a solid install. Not saying this is the case, just wondering out loud about how much rain your subfloor could've gotten if it was exposed for a while during a rainy Spring season.

We walked around in the house on the subfloor countless times before the hardwood went in & I'm no expert, but I think it looked pretty good. I didn't notice it not being level in places, things like that. I look around each day and find more evidence of the splits/cracks that will eventually turn into complete chipping away at the surface. I've seen the progression of it now. Some of them I can see where the nail has been placed right underneath it. Is there such a thing as using the "wrong" nails?

We replaced a job once where thr previous installer had used the wrong amount of pressure on his Bostich stapler. it caused the engineered wood to delaminate on the edge. Bostich factory rep said air pressure should be 70lbs. this guy admitted he never paid attention to it before but found it to be at 120lbs.

Flooring rep agreed with that being the issue.

Best place to know for sure would be the instructions on the box. Some of these floors these days are even calling for 3/16" crown staples ... I don't think I have that kinda gun



perhaps Ray's got a point....

Floorguy seems to be very familiar with the brand mentioned. He would most likely have info on how that floor "should" be installed and if it has any specific requirements for install that the builder's guy missed.

I must admit my specialty is mostly in finishing. My partner is the install chief in the company. But, I know what water and wood and acclimation can effect and have seen a few unexplainables in the past....

Is there a chance the builder would know of any other floors his guy has installed that have started having issues??

How much of the floor was affected when you replaced the floor that was delaminating? And did it all happen all at once or was it over several weeks/months? I'm seeing more of it each week since we've moved in. (Sept. 4th).

Good question! As a matter of fact it was a place or two noticed at first then more and more ... similar to your situation. But in this case they were more like dimples at first then chips at those points.

The whole floor was ripped out. Problems were throughout the site and the product was the last of it's kind so no way to match replacable boards.

I must say though that it was a definite el cheapo builder grade 3 strip wannabe hardwood product from Taiwan. No wonder it was no longer available.