Last November we had 3/4 " Pre-finished 4"wide hickory floors installed. After installation I noticed nail holes along perimeter were not filled in so I called company to come back and finish. The guy they sent went through and found about 12 damaged boards (splinters, scratches,) that needed to come out. So with no wood left, took two months to get more wood and repairs done. Now some of the boards he replaced are really not secure-I can stand on them and they give up and down and also creak. I expressed my irritation to company in that damage either came from careless installation or boards were not good to begin with-either way their responsibility.

My questions are: do I call these people back again and risk more problems? Do I call a different hardwood installer and get his opinion? I feel like the floor is compromised now and will never be the quality I paid a fortune for. How often does this happen and what do you recommend my next steps be. I have been very patient with this company but am afraid to let them in my house again! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Marie

Its normal to have to go back and do some board replacement on prefinished floors the process is simple and and if done correctly are unnoticeable and secure. Did he nail or glue the replacement? also Dont think they have ruined or compromised your floor in any way. You should have at least a year on labor so call them tell them your concerns and let them fix the problem. If you think that they are inept then hire a new crew to do the repairs and be prepared for that to be on your expense. If anything chalk it up to not doing your homework before you hired them.

Thanks for your advice. He nailed the boards. Should he have glued? Or glued and nailed? These floors came from a company in East TN and I do know that the installation was done according to the manufacturers specification which was nailing.

I did so much research on the wood but should have asked to see jobs done by the actual installer! Hindsight is wonderful!

Marie

they need to be glued imho. The nails would have worked if the floor never moved seasonally. Its summer and humidity is up making the floor swell a little that's why the board has some deflection to it now. I'd call them back and ask them to fix the repair correctly.

I called and spoke to flooring company. I explained the new issue and he said they would send the same guy that did the first repair and he would use an epoxy to secure the boards in question. He said it was not appropriate to nail and that using epoxy is best solution. I don't want to make assumptions so is using this epoxy the same as using glue? Thanks so much for your help!

I would not use an epoxy, the floor needs to be able to move and a hard-set epoxy will keep those from moving. I use Pl-Premium polyurethane which remains flexible to an extent.

To be honest, I wouldn't be so sure the scratching and splintering is his fault unless you documented those from the get-go. I would have just filled the holes to begin with.

If the replaced boards are moving, it means that they didn't get glue around all sides. Watch the right sample here: youtube.com/watch?v=V_p6INRyb8Y

Oh my, why even put that video up on YouTube?

Hmmm, ya think that is stuck to the concrete or just the T&G? I woulda troweled the slab and back buttered the wood, kinda like a tile install. I hope they weighted it down with something.

Ok... Thanks to everyone for their insight. I actually watched all segments of the video and I really don't remember the guy keeping weight on the boards he replaced so I think that could very well be the problems. But I still have the problem and back to original question. So obviously they need to be glued down again and not with epoxy. So do we start over, remove and try again or can they be repaired without removing?

The company is sending they guy who did original repair and another troubleshooter to take a look at my issue. I think I spoke to the owner (her last name was same as store name) and told her I wanted a discussion before they did anything else. She did say something about going into crawl space and seeing if it was possible to fix boards from there. Not sure what I think about that. Thoughts from any of you?

By going into the crawlspace they would probably be attempting to tighten the boards by way of using screws. It's a good idea. What occurs is someone finds the affected areas from above, stands on them allowing weight to snug the board up to the subfloor. Then the one from below drives in some screws so it's secured. Finding where to insert the screw from below is the hardest part.

Here's an older video (link below) I put together about the epoxy idea. It gets the point across but ain't the prettiest. My first ever video. We've discussed it before and some guys doubt the procedure including myself because of the epoxy properties. But it is performed by the "go to" guy at the National Wood Flooring Association and he has a lot of respect worldwide. I cornered him at one seminar and expressed my doubt about the epoxy creating an expansion problem. His reply was along the lines of ..."if the flooring doesn't remain in a safe humidity range, it's not my problem." In other words, it's in a perfect world. Most of his work is in the high end area where people use strict climate control. I agree with Stephen on the adhesive type.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjyjHuvdXDs