We discovered a few quality problems with our floors 6 months ago when we closed on this house and agreed with builder to address them during our first warranty walk-through with the builder. It's time to have that walk though and we have catalogued a number of problems. These are 5 inch engineered wood floors that are ebony (dark brown) installed on a concrete slab in the heat and humidity of late summer in central NC. I know that while the house was closed up the construction manager keep the thermostat set on 80 degrees or higher. I did not see the floors being installed and they were covered up until our final walk-through when we had to review so many details that we did not notice the many cupped boards until after we moved in in October 2013. We are 2 adults, no children or pets. Ours is a 2400 sf house with an estimated 1200 sf of hardwood floors.

Here is our list of installation and quality issues:

1. Hollow boards. We have hollow areas in about 110 boards. These we have marked with masking tape. Some areas are just 6 inches in length while others are 12 inches or much longer in length. I would say that about 15-20% of the hollow areas are along a wall / next to a baseboard or a kitchen cupboard.

2. Cupping. We estimate conservatively, 50% or more of the floor boards are cupped. I notice them every time I walk across the floors. I used a small 6 in level to see how well it balances when placed horizontally on the any given cupped board and it rocks to one side or the other.

3. About 12 boards have different types of flaws that are highly visible and I am fairly comfortable that the builder will have the installer replace them.

4. There are a large number of floor boards that have edge area that are chipped or slightly cut along the length of the board. These are small areas but the floors are dark and the revealed areas are light tan (below the hardwood veneer). Some of these chipped areas are rough to the touch and we are concerned that as time goes by they will be a problem when one of us walks across the floor in socked feet and the sock catches on these rough areas and splits that section of the board. It has already happened in several places.

5. There are a number of places where the board are not cupped but the boards rise up where the 2 boards have been hammered together. When you knock along the raised section you hear a hollow sound that you don't hear on the rest of the board.

I am meeting with the warranty agent from the builder on Wednesday and would like to be armed with more information about what specific actions I expect the warranty agent and the builder, installer, and manufacturer should do to determine the full extent of the problems. I found a certified wood floor installer nearby and he suggested we ask if the installer did a calcium chloride test before they laid the floors. If so, he suggested I get a copy of it. He told me it was too soon to hire him ($700) unless we are close to consulting an attorney.

I expect to get enormous pushback from this warranty agent, as he was the construction manager overseeing this phase of our house and he is evaluated by how few claims or complaints he passes along to his VP / Company.

If you have read this far, thank you! I look forward to hearing from you, the experts.

Yours,

Kate in Raleigh, NC