I have a problem and really, really need some expert advice. I bought a NEW house and moved in on New Year's Eve, 2003. The builder finished all the work inside my house within one month so I could settle by the end of the year, this included my hardfloor flooring. The entire month of December, prior to my move-in, the weather was snow/ice/sleet. After I moved in on 12/31/03, within six months, I started seeing cracking or what looked like "strings of celery" or raised lines in my hardwood floor. The builder was notified, and they had the company who installed the floor come out, who then replaced the involved boards that had these "raised cracks". This was an engineered wood floor by Mohawk. They never told me what caused this, and actually just threw my boards away without sending them back to Mohawk to find out the culprit. . Within another 6-8 months, my entire floor had now become involved with these imperfections -- it was "growing". I would say it involved at least 85% of my floor. This was in the living room, foyer, hallway and powder room, and underneath this flooring was a finished, heated basement. The builder denied this second claim since my house was over one year, and the company who put the floor in also refused to fix my floor. Two inspectors were hired, and one said low humidity, and another said high moisture, totally contradicting each other, but called it "checking". No wetness or moisture was ever found. I was never given any instructions from either the builder or flooring company about humidity levels in a house. I received no warnings from anyone. My floor is getting worse, and I am getting ready to file suit about this floor. Is there a chance that the weather in which the floor was installed in, as well as the time of year could have been the culprit as well as being in a cold truck on delivery?
What about acclimation? The builder rushed this job. I live in Maryland, so in the summer I run the AC and in the winter the heat. Extra boards that were stored in my AC/heated basement on an upper shelf in a closed box, also had the exact breaks in them as my existing foyer/dining room, etc., does. These boards were never used, and the installed had opened the box, taped it shut, and it was never opened again. These boards broke down in the exact way as my used flooring did. Can anyone explain this? I very rarely open the windows because of living in farm country and our humidity in Md. I thought I was doing my floor a favor by running the AC and not opening windows in 100 degree heat and 105 degree humidity. I do not have a humidifier or dehumidifier on my furnace. What is your opinion on my floor? How could I be responsible for what is happening to my floor when I was never told about high or low humidity levels affecting wood flooring if this is the case? I think there was something wrong with the wood from the start. One report said: "engineered wood flooring, constructed from layers of wood that were glued together. The surface wood layer was removed from its original log by a process called pealing. This process made the surface layer more susceptible to checking. What do you all think. There were never any wet shoes on this floor, and no windows were ever left open in the rain. Each board on my floor looks like a "stalk of celery" with raised lines. CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME -- it's me against Mohawk and the floor company. Give me some tips on what I need to ask to prove my case.

Anne, you and I have discussed this in detail. Others are certainly welcome to comment. For me, I'd sure love to see some photos. Know what they say, " A picture is worth............................."

There wasnt much need to repost the exact same thing when your first thread is only four of five lines down from this one. Your first problem is you have already made up your mind that someone other than you is to blame and your simply looking for reassurance that it is so. If both the flooring company and manufacturer are telling you that it is your problem it probably is. The flooring company denying things is one thing,,,, but the manufacturer could care less about your flooring company. And if their was a problem with installation they would have absolutely no problem telling you so,
By the same token well known and respected manufacturers will eat a floor without a second thought if it was truly a defective product. If the manufacturer is telling you it is your problem, then it is probably your problem. This is not some big conspiracy,,,, floor manufacturers do not cover for installers. Quite honestly and decent flooring store will not stand up for installers in the case of bad installation. You have no recourse against the flooring company or the manufacture since you were a customer of neither. Your problem needs to be handled with your builder. The house was built to his specifications. Right or wrong as they may have been. [/quote]

Here is your problem in your own post. The installer or the flooring manufacturer are not responsible for your house, sorry thats just the way it is.




I bet your builder had an option for humidity controls.

Anne, do not listen to Jersey Floor guy, he sounds like an installer or Supply chain and wants NO responsibilty pointed in his direction! I too had a MOHAWK 3/4" hardwood installed and it split and cracked all over the place. An now it is cupping in some spots. Mohawk sent out an inspector who filed a report that had more holes than swiss cheese, she didn't even get the square foot measurements correct in her report. She claims that it's caused by high moisture, but she only found 1 location that had an elevated moisture level, and guess what, there were no cracks in that location. I then hired my own inspector who never found any moisture level greater than 5%. I sent them his findings and they denied the claim because he was not a hardwood surface inspector. They gave me a list of qualified inspectors in my area and one said he only does it part time and wouldn't travel the distance, and the other was also far away and said I would be wasting my money hiring him because no matter his findings, they would have the final say, and history shows they would deny again. Mohawk then refused to send another inspector, even after I told them I have 1 full box of prodcut remaing and those boards are starting to crack as well. I talked to several installers and building contractor's who al say it sounds like they pre-finsihed the hardwood before it was fully cured. Here I am 9 months later and no one wants to own up to the floor failure. I have no idea how Jersey floor guy can make a statement that the installer or manufacturer is not to blame but you are! How can a homeowner be responsible for a product failure? We the homeowners are not the experts, they are! My advice is to bash Mohawk every chance you get and tell all your friends and everyone you know to STAY AWAY from Mohawk but they do not stand behind there product. The days of the big companies standing behind what they sell are long gone, and good old fashion customer service has gone down hill! I wish you luck in your battle, but don't hold your breath.

file a suit against the installer and the manufacturer/supplier....once they see you have a lawyer, i'm willing to bet they will both settle with you before going to court. no one wants bad press.

don't give up!!!!! and don't think you have to "eat it".

Believe it or not, there are a lot of things that the consumer can do to cause what I see happening. Inspectors don't make things up so the manufacturer, has no blame. An inspector is hired as the eyes and ears. They take observations, readings and pictures. That information is given to the person or company that hired them. What the mill does with that information, is up to the mill. The mill won't make a stand against something that doesn't hold water in litigation.

Wood science is at play here. Study up(I paid good money for my education) and you will see want is happening and exactly who to point the finger at.