Problem with face-checking in engineered hardwood
many_hats
15 years ago
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jerry_t
15 years agomany_hats
15 years agoRelated Discussions
engineered hardwood floor over old hardwood floor
Comments (14)You need to do a little more archeological digging still. You need to know the whole construction of the floor before you can decide how best to install something new. I'd take up that plywood piece in the kitchen and see what's under it. It's higher than the surrounding floor, so needs to go. You should also be able to see from there what subfloor is under the original kitchen hardwood. It's too bad the space under your entryway is finished, but I'd still do some exploring from below to see what's under there, and to figure out the fix to stop it from squeaking. Is it drywall below or a drop ceiling? I know it probably seems like a pain to tear out drywall, but if you cut out a clean patch, like 2' x the width of the joists, it'll be relatively simple to repair. Just make sure to cut it down the center of the joists so that there's room to screw the patch piece to it later. Cut the hole under the area that squeaks the most, if you can. Have someone walk on and watch the floor from below to see what's moving. It might be as simple as pounding in a couple shims from below, or face-nailing a loose board from above. You want to find out what's underneath the hardwood. It might be laid directly on the floor joists, or there might be 10" wide boards that the hardwood is nailed to. Another thought is to take out a board in the hallway, since that's not original and you want to replace it. See what the subfloor is there. I am a bit puzzled at why, when you've stripped the kitchen down to the original hardwood, it's still higher than the hallway floor. Is your current surface perhaps not the original kitchen hardwood? Peeling back the plywood area will help determine that. BTW, I haven't heard of that stop squeaking product you linked to, so can't offer any personal opinion. And don't pour self-leveling compound over top of hardwood. It needs to go over plywood....See MoreHardwood problem: winter shrinkage or install problem?
Comments (8)What kind of wood is it? Solid or engineered? You could have them cut out those pieces and redo? The baseboard would have to come off as well but it is really not a big deal to fix if it really bothers you. The last board in the room has to have the protruding groove cut off so the last board is slipped in place and then face nailed. You could have them redo if you have extra board but like the above response explains...wood does shrink and swell so you may want to see how it looks in the summer before deciding to fix. I don't even see any face nails in your photo so maybe that accounts for the wobble which is not normal. Maybe they forgot to nail it in from above altogether? I have a few boards that I didn't have the guys face nail in so I could rip out the tile next to it and those don't move at all even without nails....See MoreEngineered hardwood floors restoration
Comments (5)Oh dear. You've done too much to a floor that either needed refinishing or removal. I fear you cannot refinish because of what you have added to the floor. I would go out and get a bottle of rubbing alcohol from your local drug store. Should be about $2 for 1 quart. You want to work with 70% - 90% alcohol content. Then take a clean, cotton cloth (can be a rag made from a Tshirt or something of that nature) and apply a small amount to the cloth (PLEASE keep the area WELL VENTILATED). Rub an area with the cloth. The alcohol is safe for the floor. If you cannot remove the products you put down, you will have to call in a professional hardwood refinisher/restorer. These guys can come in and do an assessment. Please have out all the product you have used on the floor. It is possible they can strip (called a screening) the product from the floor and get you back down to the original finish (marred though it is). Because of all the product you have applied (that includes the product several years ago), you probably will never be able to refresh the finish. The products you have used are contaminants. They will prevent any finish (polyurethane) from bonding with your hardwood. Even a full sand and refinish could have problems - even if you have the wood to do it. I would get the wood back to the original - ugly - finish and start planning for replacement. I don't think you can successfully refresh these floors because of the product you used in the past. This is why wood professionals do not allow these "refreshing" polishes on wood floors. It ruins them faster and it prevents adhesion of new finishes later on down the road. They make for very expensive problems down the road. I'm sorry you are going through this. Please try the rubbing alcohol. It is cheap, easy to find and won't damage the original finish. Just remember to have the area well ventilated as it can cause headaches and nausea if you are around it too long. Do not use around an open flame. It is highly flammable in liquid and aerosol state....See MoreInstalling Hardwood and Engineering Hardwood
Comments (11)SJ McCarthy, our contract is stated we are responsible for the materials and we pay for the labor. Unfortunately we never met nor discuss with the owner but only discussed in details ( in the proposal) with the project manager who is the solely the carpenter.) We just found out there were a lot of the DETAILS from the proposal were not explained (per the PM,but who knows) in detail to the owner or almost like "bait and switch" - for example like item #2- he spent more time because the owner did not get him another helper to help him- I told him this should not be the customer's expenses-Anyway we are willing to pay for it. The owner was offering to renew and establish a new contract from the original contact ( we felt that he cherry picking the items from the proposal, we marked them up then again he decided not to included) for the unfinished works . Once he agreed in our 2nd meeting (another example: he agreed tiling our study room to be included from the original contact in our 1st meeting then when he write the REVISED CONTRACT- he wants to charge us ), but again we are facing the same old stories-he tried to change the wording. We were burned so many times and now we diligently review line by line knowing the owner's personality. He kept saying he lived by the contract-then I told him then he should honor the low estimated to install our engineering hardwood floor including removing the carpet-in the end he says he would honor but he did not including the cost in the new REVISED contract which we add into it - we are so tired with his games. So now we put a contingency - once we agree with the new contract, no more additional expenses from the previous work was done- and we do agree that we need to be notified first and need both signatures for additional expenses from the new contract. and no more point finger of "not included" since we have discussed in detailed and are in the contract. The new addition has a hardwood floor installed - with Dri-core. Once hardwood floor was installed- they are some areas squeak- we were told by PM -put a marked up then he would fasten without explaining to us-these would be additional ridiculous charges (PM told the owner, too-we told PM that they should explain it to us- ) Regarding the installing the engineering hardwood floor is for our existing rooms(concrete slabs that has plywood already)- we are told just to put a vapour barrier. Is it possible to let me know what brands for the glues have to be moisture resistant ($2/sf) or moisture PROOF ($3/sf).? The manufacture instruction suggests to use Franklin Tongue and Groove adhesive (cross linking polyaliphactic emulsion glue) www.titebond.com -any suggestions? This Applachian engineering hardwood floor - FLOATING only needs GLUE between the wood (tongue and groove per the manufacture manual ) then would be FLOAT - this is not to be GLUE DOWN on our concrete floor (could be glue down if necessary but not in our case). Here is the website- on PAGE 9 http://www.appalachianflooring.com/uploads/general/documents/engineered-installation-guide.pdf We trust the PM and we pay for it- we just want to move on and complete the project-It has been almost 10 months. We have to do what we have to do to protect ourselves now- The owner refuses to install our towel bar in our new shower without charging us, and we told him we will take care them by ourselves. I will update this post and hoping for a better solution. Thank you...See Moreglennsfc
15 years agojerry_t
15 years agoglennsfc
15 years ago
PROWF Smith, Inc.
15 years agomany_hats
15 years agojerry_t
15 years agomany_hats
15 years agomany_hats
15 years agojerry_t
15 years ago
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