Palm Beach Gardens... Lovely area.

You have an engineered wood floor with buckling that has nothing to do with the Relative Humidity, even though the summers reach 90% and more. The interiors of homes may be able to get down to 60%, if lucky.

Manufacturers do not void warranties due to relative humidity and the area you live in. IF they did require homes be maintained at 30% to 50%, they would exclude 90% of North America.

We anxiously await your inspection.
I am interested to learn if the floor is tight against a fixed object or if the concrete has a crack...

Go to the Owens plank website and see for yourself
http://www.owensflooring.com/installation/index.html




Because of the thick wear layer, engineered floors with this type of construction, act more like a solid then a thin rotary peeled engineered. That's why a glued down floor, buckled and not just end peaked everywhere.

I cannot find where you copied that, but I did find:
Inspect all materials carefully before installation. Warranties do not cover materials with visible defects once they are installed. It is the responsibility of the installer/owner to determine if the jobsite sub floor and jobsite conditions are environmentally and structurally acceptable for wood flooring installation.
Owens Flooring Company declines any responsibility for wood floor failure resulting from or connected with sub floor, subsurface, jobsite damage or deficiencies after hardwood flooring has been installed.

You insist that wood flooring is out of warranty when RH is not maintained at 30% to 50%. Maybe some companies write that in the installation specifications;;; but please note that they do not void warranties for not maintaining the 30% to 50% Comfort Zone.
You are trying to convince those reading this forum that the folks north of the Mason/Dixon line should not turn on the heater in the winter. The cold weather brings RH into the Teens or 20's................ then turn on the heat, light up the wood stove and the Interior RH is also in the 20's to low teens.............

Changes in Relative Humidity is directly related to gapping/raised edges.......... nothing else. And they are called "Seasonal Gapping". Should the gaps not close at the end of the the following weather cycle,,, there may be a problem..

Maybe I don't understand what you are trying to convince us of.......... Maybe I should read your explanation of your insistance on the 30% to 50% rule..
Please explain. Thank you.

Because of the thick wear layer, engineered floors with this type of construction, act more like a solid then a thin rotary peeled engineered. That's why a glued down floor, buckled and not just end peaked everywhere.[/quote]

Floorguy,

Why did the wood buckle? Because it grew in size after installation.

Why did it grow in size? Because wood swells with gain of wood moisture content.

Why did it gain moisture content after installation? We don't know yet.

Where could the moisture come from? 1. The environment. 2. Water intrusion.

If it is the environment that caused the problem, who is to blame? Don't know yet, but I would certainly ask if the wood was acclimated to the environment of the home, even if the relative humidity of the area is 65%..

I thought wood is supposed to be installed with room to grow!! Yes, there should be expansion gapping at perimeter walls and verticle fixed objects to allow for changes in the indoor environment.

But this is engineered hardwood that does not require acclimation! Yes, some manufacturers do not require acclimation and some do not require expansion gapping. All specifications need to be read and confirmed.

Ray, follow the link I provided. Click on installation gluedown.

Even a caveman could find it. It's hard to admit when your wrong, isn't it.


Since we are talking Lauzon... and each manufacturer has there own requirements.

http://www.lauzonltd.com/index_en.html



Relative Humidity
In geographic areas that experience extreme climate and humidity conditions, it is natural, due to the
inherent properties of wood, for some minor expansion and contraction to occur which could result in some
visual changes. These occurrences are not covered by LAUZON warranties but should self-correct with
seasonal climate changes. To minimize this visual change, it is important to maintain relative humidity
between 35% and 65% and to control radiant heating systems in a way not to exceed the maximum
surface temperature recommended in the LAUZON NextStep Installation Guide.

Floorguy,
They say the exact same thing I've been telling you. Variations outside the RH result in gapping.

What is your point when you post the exact statement I've been saying?
First you talk about one manufacturer, then go find another...

Floors gap.. so what !! We already know that. Called Seasonal Changes.

Now, now fellas. I know you enjoy "battling" each other. Let's wait for an update from Carole.

Phrase that correctly...

Variations outside the RH result in gapping, or buckling. Take your pick.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK ....OK ..HERE IS WHAT THE INSPECTOR FOUND FROM THE NWFA . FIRST OF ALL THE WRONG TROUGH WAS USED TO APPLY THE GLUE . SECOND OF ALL THERE IS GLUE MISSING EVERYWHERE . HE FOUND OVER 23 HOLLOW AREAS THRUOUT THE HOUSE . HE PULLED UP A BOARD IN A BUCKLED AREA AND ALSO FOUND MOISTURE . A VAPOR BARRIER SHOULD HAVE BEEN APPLIED FIRST . MPV . FURTHERMORE HE ALSO FOUND THAT AREAS WERE POORLY FINISHED OFF LEAVING GAPS AT WALL ENDS AND BY CLOSETS. THE TROUGH USED WAS WRONG ...MISSING GLUE AND MOISTURE READINGS . ALL BAD NEWS ..AS MY FLOOR COMPANY IMPLIED THERE HAS BEEN NO LEAKS , ACCIDENTS, INTRUSIONS OR ALIENS IN MY HOME . ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT ..
CAROLE

Carole,

Glad you got to the bottom of the problems. I thought all along that a sloppy installation job was to fault. Engineered wood is made to withstand some tougher conditions with a concrete slab. For it to come up that quickly after a fresh install had to be poor workmanship.

For $16,000, you should have a perfect job, but it seems you got the shaft with an amatuer like install. Hope you can get it done properly and they'll pay to have it done right.

MY FLOOR COMPANY BLAMED ME AND ITS JUST AS WELL I HAD THE INSPECTOR SINCE I DIDN T KNOW HOW REALLY BAD IT WAS . NO GLUE..WRONG TROUGH ( SPELLING I GUESS) BAD GLUE AND SHOULD HAVE PUT DOWN A MPV BARRIER . OVER 25 HOLLOW AREAS ..JUST TAP AROUND GUYS . THE WORST THING THEY DID WAS NOT TO COME AND FIX THE FLOORS FOR THEMSELVES BECAUSE I NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOW HOW BAD THIS JOB WAS . YEARS COULD HAVE PASSED BEFORE THE HOLLOW AREAS STARTED TO CAVE OR WHATEVER ELSE OR MORE BUCKLING OCCURED. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHY THEY JUST DIDN T COME OUT AND FIX THE FLOORS . I DO NOW ...THEY PROBABLY USED A SUBCONTRACTOR . ANYHOW ..THIS PUPPY IS GOING TO AN ATTORNEY EARLY NEXT WEEK .

It's also pretty darned hard for an engineered product to buckle if the proper amount (correct spread rate) of adhesive is applied. Add adhesive transfer from the subfloor to the actual wood to the equation as well.

Correction: Trowel

Those spread rates will make you run short of adhesive!!

I just did one and got 30, sq.ft. per gallon.

53 gallons to do 1450 sq.ft.

1. Improper spread rate
2. Floor out of flatness. Improper prep.
3. Glue voids.
4. Excessive sub-floor moisture content.
5. Improper triming at walls.

Wow.......... All very basic installation errors...

Set at 80 the A/c does not run very much, not enough to pull the humidity that builds during the night. I was just involved in one that had the A/c set at 76º it wouldn't run at night. until the morning till about 11:00 am, the humidity inside the home would reach 75% Then it would kick on periodically but not run for very long. 68% was the lowest it was getting. The wood was acclimated and installed during the late winter, and a much drier RH, but within the 30-50% range the NWFA recommends.