Hi, we have 2800 sq feet of these floors, and we had a guy come in and install them at first. We asked what we needed to do with our concrete subfloor, and he said nothing, just have them clean. We were building our house, and the slab had been poured for 8 months. We did not do anything to the concrete, I don't think he tested anything. He installed about 1/2 of the flooring, and I made him stop. First, he cut all the wood in the room he was working in. I asked him several times to cut outside, and he said he was happier inside. He left some spaces between the planks, and I didn't like that at all. All of the floors are set on a 45 deg angle, going 2 ways from the front door. (our house is U shaped, with a courtyard in the middle) When I saw what he was doing, I had him stop. I watched what they were doing, he was cutting, and his brother was spreading the glue, 2 or 3 strips at a time. I was concerned because of the sawdust everywhere, but he wasn't worried. I finished the rest of the bedrooms and kitchen, and we found that the floor wasn't level (when the granite came in for the kitchen cabinets, and one side of the stove was a half inch lower than the other side). I did my best, and cut outside, and I really have no problems with the flooring that I installed. His portion has so many areas that are buckled at least 2 planks, sometimes 3, for as much as 15 feet or so. I am just sick over this, and he even came back one time when I had the entire floor covered with cardboard, and noticed this huge speed bump underneath. He attempted a fix by cutting out a section of the floor, and regluing that area and putting very heavy weight on top of the 'patched' areas. They seem to be holding, but other areas are buckling around them. I have noticed that many of the boards are starting to get very dark, almost black, edges in the cracks between the boards. I am assuming that may be moisture. Thomasville did not have much to say when I called them, and said I had to have the installer back again. I would prefer not to do that. We saw the quick fix method you showed, but our wood could be jumped on, and doesn't go perfectly flat, so I don't think that would do. The only thing I can think of would be to remove a couple of the boards, cut the edge of the tongue section to make it just a little bit smaller to be able to smash it back into the spots. The directions called for a 1/4 inch gap at the ends, and there are areas that the wood is very tight to the edges of the doors, and I am not totally sure how it is all the way around the edges. Being that the buckling is occurring only in the rooms that he did, I am assuming it is because the sawdust did not allow the wood product to grab well, and with just a bit of moisture, it is coming up. Is there any help for us? Sorry about the book.... We would appreciate any help. Thank you so much.

Go to the NWFA website for consumers, www.woodfloors.org and find an independent certified wood floor inspector.

In your particular situation with all that many sq.ft. involved.... I agree with having an inspection done to determine what happened and how to correct it.

thanks guys, there is one inspector in my area, and I called and left a message..... I have one more problem that I forgot about...when we have the windows open, it seems that several of our pocket doors get really hard to open....could the floor be expanding, causing the plastic guides to tighten at the base of the door?? I am baffled...the only one that does not do this, is the one where we have slate in the laundry room and it connects to the wood in the kitchen. thanks again for all of your advise.....Robin

Point that out to the inspector Robin. Do make sure the inspector is NWFA or NOFMA Certified...... their reports are very detailed and they know what to look for, Since you are the commissioning party they can offer recommendations for a remedy.

Robin,

I'm in the process of a DIY gluedown myself. I cut all my pieces inside as well. It's tough to constantly run inside and outside on an install.

But I cut and lay out my floor to make sure everything fits. I then vacume all the sawdust up and make sure my floor is clean before I start spreading glue.

You can't spread glue properly with sawdust all over the floor.

Should have thrown the guy out. It may be okay for DIY jobs because it's their house, their allergies, etc.



Could also be the installer jammed the floor in there. Thickness greater than the guides.

I'll cut outside when feasible but sometimes, there isn't an option. I was doing my Dad's house. It had been pouring rain for weeks with no let up. He had no patio cover and had converted his garage into living space. There was no place to cut but in the house. I didn't want to but had no choice. And then there are the upstairs jobs. I am not running up and down stairs to make my cuts. I'll ask the folks if they can give me one room to turn into a cutting room so I can at least isolate the cutting dust. Folks, dust is a part of remodeling. It's going to happen. I try and keep it to a minimum and clean up well. That's all that can be done, IMHO.