Handscraped hardwood being installed with gaps!

13 years ago

Our GC has a subcontractor who is installing our handscraped 3/4" thickness hardwood floors (4,3/4" wide planks) and we are noticing gaps. This is concerning as we paid for a professional installation and I think that the installer should be able to adjust the planks so that there is no gapping. I saw several issues during the installation process like, none of the boxes were opened for acclimation - they were opened one at a time while the floor is installed and they made some minor attempt to match boards for good fit but only as long as the boards were within the same box (we ordered almost 70 boxes, 1500 sf of boards!).

How big of a problem is gapping in NEW INSTALLATION. How difficult would it be for them to take up the floor and redo it without damaging the boards? We pointed out several unacceptable gaps and they blamed the quality of the boards but at the same time, none of the other boxes were opened so they didn't make a good enough effort, IMO.

The gaps are not huge but they are noticeable and in a new installation, I expect no gapping. Yes, I understand these are handscraped floors with imperfections but they are straight and should fit together flush. The gaps are big enough for grains of rice to fall in and get stuck in -- and we paid a lot of money for the floors and their installation.

They are not yet done with the install but it is so infuriating because it seems like they have ignored our complaint and decided to continue with the installation as if we are idiots. Maybe we are but I don't think so.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

floorguy
13 years ago
Lets look at it this way. Your running the heater now that it is winter time. Wood shrinks and swells with a loss or gain of moisture. The wood has most likely been acclimated to the drier environment. When spring summer arrives and humidity levels increase, the wood will swell/expand. The gaps may disappear.

If you acclimate during winter heating season and then install tight, chances are come spring/summer, the floor swells, compression cupping or worse buckling the wood floor.

It could be a badly kiln dried flooring, before milling.

Boards milled at different moisture contents to the same dimensions, will be different widths when all the wood comes to moisture content equilibrium after acclimation.

This would not be a Bellawood, by chance??
travelsfo
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi floorguy,

The only possible upside I can think of is that it is winter (the coldest time of the year around here) and there is no heat in the home, and they did lay down a moisture barrier. So, from here, it can only get warmer (when the remodel is done and we move back in).

It's not Bellawood (don't they only produce Engineered wood?) The company is called USC and I'm concerned about the quality. I called the distributor and sent a few photos but he replied that the gaps he saw in the photos are to be expected due to the "handscraped" aspect of the boards. I call BS on that because the boards fit flush everywhere else in but for about 10 spots where it appears the installer just did not make the effort to find boards that fit correctly.
Related Discussions
no expansion gap in hardwood floors
Q
Comments (15)
If it moved anything approaching 3/4 of an inch it would tear the nails out. There is still some skill to installing strip flooring. Let it acclimate for multiple days out of its bundles and spread out where it will be installed. Tighter in high humidity (it is going to shrink), looser in low humidity (it is going to expand). Strip floors that are to tight for the moisture content at install can buckle up and pull fasteners part way out. The humps then decrease when the humidity falls. Most of the hump will disappear. Trying to face nail (or even screw) the area will not usually work. The forces generated are larger than the fasteners and/or wood can take. Splitting is not uncommon. You have to remember that if you have 5 inch wide strips 10 feet wide you have 24 strips of wood. If each one move 1/32 inch from damp to dry, the total movement you have distributed is 3/4 inch. It only sows as the joints between the strips opening and closing by 1/32 inch though (and yes it is probbaly off by 1/32 since 24 strips only have 23 joints).
...See More
Handscraped Hardwood Floor - prefinished vs unfinished?
Q
Comments (3)
I just went through the same decision. My KD recommended having the hardwood finished after the install. While the prefinished has many more coats of finish on it, it can't be refinished if need be. My installer said we can have the floor repolished every 4 or 5 years to maintain it, and if some boards become damaged, it's possible to replace just what's needed - that can't be done with prefinished. Friends who did the prefinshed noticed that in winter the boards contracted and they could see the unfinished sides of the wood. Water can get between the boards, but if it's finished in place that doesn't happen. We did the family room and the kitchen. It's only been a week or so - I hope this helps you. It's all about what's best for your situation.
...See More
Installing Hardwood over hardwood, and building up the other areas
Q
Comments (4)
Yes, it is being installed perpendicular. I know it's not the ideal... but in the interest of time and budget, it's what we've landed on. We are likely going to do an engineered floor on top, to eliminate a little bit of the extra height. I would (just for my own knowledge on what to expect) love to hear the cons of this method, even if we're likely to do it anyway :) And it is a wood subfloor - so just add plywood ontop of that until it becomes flush is what I'm hearing. Thank you!
...See More
Hardwood Floor - No Expansion Gap
Q
Comments (6)
Millworkman is correct. The "expansion" has already occurred. Even though the install was "all wrong" to begin with (no humidity control; no expansion gap at walls; etc) the current conditions are as bad as they can get for expansion. The WINTER GAPPING is going to be horrendous. I mean you could see spaces between the boards open up as much as 1-2mm (about the thickness of a quarter). Hickory is KNOWN to be a bit unstable. It really likes to expand and contract. The oak will be less noticeable...but it is still going to move. When it comes to poly/urethane finishes, they are very good a "spanning a gap" when wet/fresh. They will stretch - a bit. They may NOT stretch as much as your floor will move. When the floor contracts (and the gaps between planks gets bigger) the finish has to STREEEEEEEEEEEETCH across that gap. And if it streeeeeeeeetchs TOOOOO FAAAAAR it will turn WHITE and then it will BREAK! Yep. Just like an elastic band that is pulled too far, the finish turns WHITE. And then if it is stretched just a snick further it breaks - just like breaking an elastic band. You may be prepared for the gapping, but you might not be too enthusiastic to find your entire floor has ripped/torn finish at each and every edge. That is very upsetting. Right now you have a chance to rectify this before it goes any further. Please STOP the finisher. Please have HVAC installed and get it up and running for 10 days (yep....needs to be at least 10 days....and the wood needed to acclimate DURING those 10 days). Once the HVAC has been up and running for 10 days, you will then instruct the installer/builder to redo the floors. Do NOT allow this "all wrong" install to continue. You won't like how it ends. Whomsoever made the decision to start the flooring install needs to stand up and take responsibility for this MASSIVE oopsa. Call them out and make sure you let them know that this goes against "Best Practices" and that they are on the hook doing it properly - again.
...See More
brickeyee
13 years ago
Wood expands and contracts throughout the year as we change from heating season (dry air, wood shrinks) to cooling season (higher humidity, wood expands).

Lay the wood to tight now and it may swell enough to buckle later.

The wider the strips the more each one moves.

Chapter 3 of the Wood Engineering Handbook covers wood movement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Handbook, Chapter 3
travelsfo
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the reference, brickeyee.

We stopped by today to check on work progress (they aren't working today on a National Holiday) and discovered that they'd filled in all the cracks with some kind of wood filler. Not sure how this will affect expansion and contraction of the wood now.
brickeyee
13 years ago
"Not sure how this will affect expansion and contraction of the wood now."

Any significant expansion can cause buckling of the filler is solid.

Strip wood floors move.

Even cross grain (plywood style) wood moves (less than solid wood, but in every direction instead of just two).

Handscraped hardwood being installed with gaps!

Comments (5)

floorguy

travelsfo
Original Author

Related Discussions

brickeyee

travelsfo
Original Author

brickeyee

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Handscraped hardwood being installed with gaps!

Comments (5)

floorguy

travelsfoOriginal Author

Related Discussions

brickeyee

travelsfoOriginal Author

brickeyee

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

travelsfo
Original Author

travelsfo
Original Author