Ok...against all advice from friends...I purchased 1300 square feet of 3.25" Brazilian Cherry 3/4' solid from LL...it is absolutely beautifull wood...but here is the problem.

I laid the first row and started on the second row only to discover that some of the boards are over AND undersized some are a 16th inch under/over, some are a 64th under/over. (I even had a few that were a full 1/8" under!) so now I'm measureing each and every board on both ends to make sure that they are reasonably close to 3.25" before I install. I'm culling close to 35% of the wood as not useable...however I'm almost 2 months past their 30 day return policy.

my questions are.

#1 What is acceptable in the trade for under/over sized wood that is installable?

#2 What is acceptable in the trade for under/over sized wood as a percentage of unusable wood for your total purchase.javascript:emoticon':roll:'

#3 Currently I'm installing wood that is a 64th inch under/over sized and trying not to get boards that are one over and one under together...is that ok?javascript:emoticon':shock:'

#4 Should I return to my daytime job and never attempt this again and further should I advise all my friends who want to lay flooring to do the same????

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!

Troy the Printer
(amature part-time floor installer
going completely crazy!)

1. 1/64-1/32nd
2. >5%
3. yes, you dont have many options here they are
A. eat the loss and buy good quailty wood from this site
B. sell the wood to someone, then buy from this site (craigslist?)
C. attemt to return it, throw a fit, possibly get your way (But all the horor stories from LL I dont see that working) then buy another product from this site
D. Spend the holiday break sorting the wood into piles of 3 1/4 and all the varriants - 1/8th, + 1/8th ect. then use then for full passes across your layout (IE one full row lengthwise of 3 1/4, next row 3 1/8th) Pray for the best
4. Yes return to work, you will need money for something lol. Its not that most people cant install a floor, its usually that in attempts to save money (not only on the labor) they skimp on products and procedures as well.... I think that prior to someone doing thier own install or hearing from friends ect about how it actually goes, they feel we are just trying to take all thier money back to our multi billion dollar homes.


What kind of printing do you do?
Jay the craftsman ^_^

1/64" is not enough to cause heart failure so I'm wondering how you determined the size variation and if you are measuring correctly.
1/64 is not that easy to measure unless you have experience.

1/32" is considerable... but 1/8" is way off.

You may need an inspector. I'm willing to bet the board widths are off more than 1/64" for you to notice.

Hopefully you paid with a credit card and can file a complaint with the credit card company.

Maybe return the wood?

No matter if your past your return policy period, the floor isn't installed and you have defective(bad kiln dried) wood. Send it back. If they won't take it back file a law suit.

Isn't it possible to get that variance if the floor has been stored in a damp place? Has he checked that floors moisture content? I'm willing to bet that those measurements are right at the very end of the boards. bad milling and poor storage are two different animals

Ya, a lot of people merely stack the boxes with the ends open; thus creating an "egg shaped" board in dry conditions, or an "hourglass" shaped board in higher humidity conditions.
The variables in width that the poster mentioned would be difficult to trace back to a manufacturing defect, I cannot image the equipment that could be used that allows for that much range in width at the time of milling. Alternatively, poorly kiln dried material, stored long enough to acheive equalibrium MC could, I guess, have that much variance.

Not at all. It is quite easy.

Tell me the measurements at time of milling, and I can tell you what MC the floor was milled at.
That is where shrink & swell coefficients, for the species, are used.

It would be difficult because that floor could have been between 6-10% after milling and picked that extra 1/16th up just from being in a house with no heat on...Wouldn't you agree if a wood floor gets exposed to excessive moisture levels that it could in fact gain a 1/16th or more?

It could easily grow MORE than a 1/16th given poor enough storage conditions

Why are we worrying about the original MC at time of milling? Get an inspector out, let him stick the planks now...if there is a variation throughout, blame the storage/acclimation. If the MC is consistent, then obviously the planks were either milled improperly, or milled at different MC, and it's a manufacturing issue. To the O.P., decide now what you want to do--have it inspected, or go ahead with the install as you have been....if you decide to try to install it, you bought it, no matter what the cause for the width variation.

Ya BW, a general rule we live by is a board installed is a board accepted.

This "size variation" and more, is typical for LL Bellawood

I can still tell you exactly the MC at the time the board was milled.
It is quite simple, once you know what your looking at.

bw has it handled for you, in his response.

[quote="Floorguy
Not at all. It is quite easy.

Tell me the measurements at time of milling, and I can tell you what MC the floor was milled at.
That is where shrink & swell coefficients, for the species, are used.[/quote]

It's pretty basic math. Theres a hint on this page. Just reverse the math. Course your taking the wood manufactures word for the size of milling and wether or not their milling is perfect.

http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/techtal ... ater1.html