The Lauzon rep came, took lots of measurements and pictures. Of course it was the most hot and humid day we've had in a month, and I'm worried he'll blame those conditions for the flooring problem - which is silly since when the floors were put down the conditions were ideal and they still looked warped immediately. The previous floor was down for three years through all kinds of weather, including many days in which our A/C was broken and inside temperatures hit 95 with very high humidity. Nothing ever hurt those floors till the water ran under them.

I believe the installer is going to step up and make things right, though he knows that it wasn't his workers' fault. I should be grateful for that, it validates my choice in working with them.

There is SO much discussion about floor warranties, but I can't remember ever reading about a manufacturer making good on a claim. Anyone have any positive stories to report?

Overwood? Lauzon engineered? Hard to believe. I also don't see how the bowing could create a major problem because the Lauzon products are so short to begin with. Bowing is common with engineered products - also called banana boards. Something is wrong.

All indications you describe point the installers knew what they were doing except installing the hardwood the second time around. Did they notice the problems? Considering how well made the Lauzon engineered product is, your descrption would raise red flags immediately if I was handling the job.

Too dark to see the problems during the installation? Any rep from Lauzon should know immediately if there is a product problem with your description. Furthermore anybody with experience installing the product should also see it immediately.

Hollow sounds will be prevailant until the adhesive actually sets. If you noticed many the following day there would be cause for concern.

"Can I count on the Lauzon rep to sort this out and fix (replace) my floors?"

Lauzon does make a superior product from my experience, and I'm certain they will make good on this. Unfortunately we have a local rep/distributor that has an attitude problem and one reason I don't handle the product.

Good Luck:)

I used to be the District Mgr for Bruce Hardwood. I know of no mfctr that would guarantee no 'overwood' in any product. While Lauzon may be a well made product your making an assumption that the fact that you can feel the edges it a mfctring problem vs a site problem. There is a tolerance to every manufactured product. Seems like the standard was about the thickness of a credit card. There are a few elements to make a floor lay down great. The site conditions have to be excellent. If they aren't the installer has liability to ascertain that they are. Second the installer has a duty to cull out any boards obviously out of tolerance and set aside. 3rd the manufacturing has to be correct and you also have to assume to moisture content of the new wood and the subfloor. This is what always made my job so hard. Its clear you see a problem, its not always so clear who's liability it is. Installers always blame the mill and vice versa. Let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for the replies! The installer began ripping out the floor yesterday morning, he was prepared to eat the costs if Lauzon didn't step up....which they did! It is a HUGE relief to me that the contractor isn't taking the hit for something that was not a site condition issue. I'm not quite ready to celebrate...the last two months have been a homeowners nightmare and I now feel that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but I'm hopeful that I'll be back in my home by the end of next week.

As with the A/C issue that started this nightmare, I've come to appreciate how critical it is to deal with reputable and insured companies on big household projects. I think many things worked in my favor here, but most important were the integrity and quality standards of the installer and the fact they do a lot of Lauzon business.

I started to suspect that floor warranties weren't very important and read a blog on the "truth about flooring warranties" that I found interesting, but it seems that I can't provide a link.

Very nice that the manufacturer stepped in to help out the contractor; that is not always the outcome, however...unfortunately for some.

You got lucky!!

Being Lauzon and how perfect their flooring is as it is inspected well as it leaves for packaging, Lauzon is eating something in goodwill, that was not an issue with their wood.

The installers need to pay more attention to the substrate prep!!! When they removed the first floor, I wonder what kind of damage and debris got laid over.

I hear what you're saying, and appreciate the replies. I'm no kind of expert, but I'm quite sure this was the wood and not the substrate. They removed the first floor, then cleaned and re-floated the slab and tested it - it was perfect. Coming out of the box, many boards were significantly bowed and some were set aside. If the installer was at fault at all, it was in that they laid so much of the floor before I saw it and halted the job. If one didn't know that the floor was supposed to be flat and seamless, they might have accepted this job. It is only because I'd had the same floor that I knew it wasn't right, I think many customers would have accepted it.

Something must have gone wrong for that wood between the time it left Lauzon and arrived in my home, perhaps it was stored incorrectly during the summer? The extra wood from the first job that has been in my attic for three years is also crowned, I'll make sure to store extra boards from this job in a closet or something.

The new floor is almost done, it is the wider Sapele boards with the small bevel. I changed the style to protect myself from seeing any errors this time...I just don't want to know, and have to get back in my house. I may really miss the square edge, but the wood is gorgeous and the longer boards are good for my large rooms.

I'm so grateful for these forums, I've been on several during the last couple months and really appreciate how many experienced and thoughtful people take the time to post and help others.

Store the left over wood underneath a bed.