Hi- I'm in a bit of a panic tonight. My contractor started with installation of my 3/4" red birch floor today. He is got about 120sf of the 800 sf job done. Most of it looks very nice, but there are several rows that have gaps between the boards the thickness of a business card all the way up to about 1/32". I don't think I should have gaps like that with a brand new floor and am looking for feedback on that. Is this within normal tolerence? The flooring is Lauzon Northern Classics red birch, 3/4" thick boards, 2 1/4" wide. It is going over OSB and 15lb felt.

I am in a panic.

Thanks for any help, guidance, reassurance!

What does the wood read? Sounds wet to me.

i Chuck - Not sure what you mean by reading the wood . I have had the wood acclimated in the house for 7 days and humidity in the house has been between 35% and 42 %

I have installed alot of the Lauzon Northern Classics and can tell you the milling is fantastic, so I would doubt it is a milling issue. I also know Lauzon takes great care in drying their products; so, unless it was improperly stored, it don't think it is a moisture issue; especially since only part of the floor is effected. My guess would be that perhaps the subfloor is uneven at that point and is preventing the flooring from going together as well as it could. Another possibility is that the contractor didn't get the pressure to his nailer adjusted properly at first. That flooring goes together quite easily UNLESS the subfloor is out of whack. Then the T&G are difficult to engage well. Best to discuss this CALMLY with your contractor. How much experience does he have? Also, that floor has a microbevel. Were you aware of that? This usually hides small gaps. It is probable that when your humidity increases, any small gaps will close up.

Hi Gary, Thanks for the reply and the info. The contractor I am using is a general contractor that does hardwood floors as a good part of his renovation business and does have good references. He had a crew of 3 here and after speaking with my wife, it sounds like the spots where we had the gaps may have gone in after he left for the afternoon and one of the crew was doing it.
I might be able to live with the gaps in this room, don't think there is much choice at this point unless he is to rip the whole thing out?
I would like to tell him that any gaps like that for the rest of the job are no good. Any expert advice on how to process is appreciated!

Jim

Ah, come summer time and the humidity rises ever so much, you won't even see the gaps. Only for them to return with others this time next year when the humidity drops, from heating your home.

Has to be installer error. I concurr about the quality--too bad it can't be sold on the internet with a warranty:( Maybe the installation got out of alignment?

What I was saying is maybe these installers actually took a hydrometer reading and noticed the low 35% interior humidity. They know if they install it tight now with such low humidity, and it being a Red Birch, come summer time they would be back replacing a buckled floor.

Unless you live in Arizona, 35% constant humidity is concidered on the low side. Come spring & summer with the windows open and it reaches 50-55% and you would see a problem.

Where did you buy the wood? Was it through a Lauzon dealer, or a dealer that was able to "Get it" for you?
There are many products that sometimes show up in auctions and other "Grey Market" sources, most shouldn't be purchased there. I realize odds are you bought it where you should have, but if you didn't it may get worse.

Do speak with your contractor about the install though.

Good Luck

Thanks for all of the quick replies on this. I spoke with the contactor this morning and we looked at the floor. It is a problem with the subfloor in this room over the garage where there is an extra support beam. He actually offered to to rip it out and reinstall it. We tied putting some putty in the larger gaps and it actually looks good now. He did have one of the apprentices do that part of the floor.
He agreed no more gaps for the rest of the floor. Today when I got home they had completed about another 500sf - i checked every board, every joint and absolutely no problems. It is starting to look great.
We did buy the floor froma good local dealer who has been in business for 30+ years, so it looks like this was just on oversight by the contractor. He was very good about the whole thing.

Thanks again for all of the quick help. I was close to the edge this morning! )

Jim