We built our house 4.5 years ago and had engineered hardwood floors installed. Within 2 weeks, we noticed that a few of the planks had edges that were peeling up. These planks were in areas that no foot or vacuum or anything more than a broom or mop could touch (ie right next to a baseboard, right next to the bottom step of the stairs, the plank directly next to the threshold, etc). When we talked to the builder about this, they sent a rep from the manufacturer. This person spent quite a bit of time taking photographs and examining the floor. His final decision was that thebpeeling was due to normal wear and tear. These were not in high traffic areas at all. Now, 4.5 years later, there are tons of planks that have this problem, some in high traffic areas, some in areas that have no traffic (like inside a tiny pantry). The builder and the manufacturer will not do anything about it. So, how do we fix it ourselves without completely replacing the flooring or having to have it refinished?

Thank you for any suggestions!

You are saying that the finish is peeling? You could apply more finish if the floor is prepared. Are the planks pre-finished?

Unfortunately, iys not just the stain that's peeling off, it's a thin layer of wood that's coming up on the edges of a lot of planks now. At first it was just a few, not a huge deal although you cpuld easily see it because thebtrain is a medium dark shade and the raw wood is very light in color. But now, 4.5 years later, there are a lot of planks that have this same issue.

My original plan was just to restrain the few areas, but now that it's so wide spread across the entire floor, I was just curious if there was another "fix".

Most pre-finished planks have a bevel or "micro-bevel" that helps protect the edges and ends of the planks. Is your peeling problem isolated to this area only? This could be a manufacturing problem. I think that the solution would be to hand sand this area with sharp 100 grit E grade floor sanding paper, folded so you only use the fold area, running in the groove to smooth any peeling. Sanding will allow stain to penetrate adding the color that matches the face of the planks. Use either steel wool or substitute steel wool to firmly polish off extra stain or color on the plank face. Then apply a coat or two of finish.

YES! That's exactly the problem! Unfortunately the manufacturer is still blaming natural wear & tear. Thanks for the suggestion! Thats probably what well have to do and its going to take dats and weeks to get it all done. Ugh.

Your rh could be too low causing delamination of the lamella (top layer). But it ain't supposed to if it's quality made to U.S. standards. Keeping your rh up above 30 to 40 percent depending on you area will help.

BTW, delam is a manufacturing issue. Not sure who your inspector was but he is wrong.