New build....moisture problems "under" the house that required a DRAIN that the BUILDER has refused to pay for. Hmmmmm

Builder says there are no "neutral third parties" out there for inspection-only purposes.....another HMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

Builder says this is "normal cupping" and part of the charm of hardwood. Wow. Another HUMPH! DOUBLE HUMPH!

So....NEW BUILD WITH MOISTURE ISSUES which builder chooses NOT to deal with! A good lawyer would rip him/her a new one just with that one issue alone!

The resulting "failure to mitigate the moisture" has lead to hardwood floor cupping - and refuses to acknowledge the ENTIRE INDUSTRY of NWFA Certified Flooring Inspectors = lawyer again would have a field day.

And just to call strike 3 on this guy...there is no such thing as "normal" or "acceptable" cupping.

And to toss the guy from the game, you have seen other floors from his crew and feel they just don't look "right" = sounds like the start of a class action!

I would say - no need to trust this guy = he's clueless or at least he's hoping to keep YOU clueless. Which he has for 2 years. So long as you have DOCUMENTATION as to the complaint after 6 months....his warranty stays in place because the COMPLAINT (which you documented in writing) came BEFORE the 1 year warranty. Excellent!

Follow this link to find your "independent 3rd party": www.nwfa.org

Search under "Certified Professionals - Find a Professional". There is your INDEPENDENT Neutral 3rd Party. That's what they are there for. And please dig up your documentation that you started the complaint BEFORE the 1 year warranty expired (emails with a date stamp are AWESOME!!!).

Seek legal advice because there are BIGGER issues at stake here - the moisture mitigation that you had to pay for is numero uno!

Thanks all! I am definitely clueless and had no idea there were specialists out there for this purpose. I logically knew it had to exist but could not find what I was looking for - so thank you for giving me a title to search!

Yesterday, We asked the builder specifically if the floors were acclimated correctly. We actually had a change in plans with the flooring during the build (not our choice/decision), so we were wondering if the last minute change in flooring didn't give them the proper time to get the wood in the house to acclimate. He did say they gave the flooring company the amount of time they required (which answered the question), but then added that having wood floors acclimated is basically hogwash. He said he had never heard or seen a case where the floors were messed up due to improper acclimation. Definitely raised some red flags with me, but I thought maybe it truly is one of those things that people just hear and believe and the industry knows it's not necessary.

I will check into the dehumidifier. Is this something that is within the realm of what the builder "should" do to rectify the problem, or is this an owner maintenance issue? I don't want to put anyone out or make them do something outside of their responsibility... I just want my floors and house to be right!

Thank you both so much for taking your time to respond! I cannot tell you how grateful I am. I was literally almost convinced that the floors were fine and I was crazy!

"He said he had never heard or seen a case where the floors were messed up due to improper acclimation."

Wow, that's just shocking! Proper acclimation time is probably the most important thing, (other than a solid subfloor) when hardwood flooring is to be installed. Acclimation is not "Hogwash" to any degree!

I would definitely look into the dehumidifier to save the life of the flooring for the long run.

Good Luck!

I would NOT recommend a dehumidifier under the house until after readings are done of the RH of the air in and under the house and the moisture reading of the top and bottom of the wood, and maybe not even after those things are known. If there's an open crawl space, dehumidification may be ineffective. If the top and bottom of the wood are within 2% to 3% there's probably no need to do anything unusual under the house. It would be nice to know the moisture level in the subfloor and of the floor overall also. Was any vapor/moisture retarder installed? Is there no insulation under the house?

It's possible this has nothing to do with moisture under the house. It could have resulted from high subfloor moisture at time of install or from incomplete acclimation. How much time passed between the floor install and the floor finishing? What's the range of humidity fluctuation where you live? Is there effective air circulation under the house? Have you verified that no drainage or irrigation source is adding moisture below the house? I could engage in conjecture about the cause and a cure but without some more data it would be time consuming and probably pointless.

Your contractor is correct about other floor companies not being impartial. That's why there are professional inspectors. The NWFA is a good source of professional inspectors that are impartial and versed in wood floor issues.

All that said I might be inclined to leave the floor alone IF the moisture level is within a healthy range but if one of my customers had this happen and didn't like it, I'd be obligated to fix it. Technically it's unacceptable but you're the final judge of whether it should be fixed.

The sad thing is with this problem and your ceiling problem, I'm guessing there will be other problems too. Sounds like your builder cut corners wherever he could. I just hope your bathrooms were tiled correctly.

"Sounds like your builder cut corners wherever he could"

And talks out of his ass........

Thanks again everyone!

I found a NWFA inspector in our area so hoping to hear back from him soon!

I will definitely investigate further (specifically moisture levels) before taking any action. Thanks for the heads up! And we will be looking into all of the reccomendations. Thanks everyone!

Sadly, I am worried you are correct about the integrity of the builder. We picked them because of their great reputation, but we were on the front end of the son taking over the business, and I have heard some not as great reviews starting about when ours was built. Sigh. I keep trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but the more he talks the more concerned I get! yesterday he mentioned that he would not sand our floors if it all possible because it could "tighten the grain" and cause the wood to accept stain unevenly from that point. I know nothing of wood work, but i know of plenty of people refinishing their floors without a problem?! Kind of scratched my head at that one. He also said that even if they sanded them out and fixed them they are most likely going to just cup again because that is what woods floors do. Again scratching my head. Thank you all again for taking your time to help us through this. Just having a better understanding of how all of this works has helped tremendously! At least we starting to find our next steps and plan of action!

"yesterday he mentioned that he would not sand our floors if it all possible because it could "tighten the grain" and cause the wood to accept stain unevenly from that point."

"He also said that even if they sanded them out and fixed them they are most likely going to just cup again because that is what woods floors do."

AND I REPEAT, "And talks out of his ass........"

I'm not sure what ceiling issue is being referred to.

Admittedly I read you initial post a little quickly and didn't absorb that there's a peak in the floor. I don't want to be alarmist but that doesn't sound good. It makes me wonder if the floor has also expanded significantly in addition to cupping. If it is, and it's due to high moisture, you could have a situation that would cause the floor to fail.

Also where the floor is sanded on the edges and not the middle, sounds unacceptable. The statement that floors can't be refinished is pure nonsense in your case. Perhaps the builder misspoke. What's the difference in the final product between the initial finishing and a refinishing? Nothing. There may be a difference in the first few steps but after that it's just sanding and finishing.

You definitely need an inspector ASAP.

Oh dear....the 'son' took over a great building company and is now about to drive the company in the ground with lack of knowledge. If HALF of what say is true (I'm not being a Debbie Doubter....just a figure of speech) then this guy is both CLUELESS and HOPELESS.

I would get an inspection (you may need more than just a "flooring" inspector in there....there might be more problems than what a surface person can see) and then seek legal counsel. It sounds like this guy is REALLY trying to squirm out of his responsibilities as builder. If he wriggles this hard and is "blowing smoke" as much as he is, I doubt that he will suddenly step up to the plate to make it right. He sounds like someone who will let the company die then run away.