I'd check into one of those digital moisture gauges for checking lumber. You may find one you can use to poke through the carpet/pad to take reading and map out the subfloor. Mapping the 'softness of the entire floor in a fine grid pattern somehow would also be a good set of facts to argue your case. Contact the manufacturer of the subfloor material to get the limits of moisture the product can sustain without damage. Get the product info from one of the other units under construction.

Creative Tile is ON IT! Good call man! Here's what you need to know: the units MUST BE "habitable". If the floors are unsafe, then the Builder is on the hook for making it "habitable".

By getting the city involved, you will get this remedied MUCH faster. The city can stop construction! Yep. With a single phone call they can stop the builders from moving forward. And if they can't move forward, they start paying HEAVY fines for failing to maintain "schedule".

Let me tell you, should permits get put on hold because of unsafe conditions the builder will sit up and take notice in half a week! This gets dealt with PRONTO!

And I have MASSIVE concerns with water intrusion. One of the few ways things "grow" in size (like 'soft spots' in walls, ceilings, floors, roofs, etc) is because of water intrusion.

Here's my concern: *IF (big if) this was a bit of rain (or even a lot of rain) while in the building phase (before the envelope was completed) the issues would have DRIED UP by now! Yes. Wood dries. And normally it dries without mold issues (when done properly).

*BUT (and this is my worry because you have already stated it is happening) if there are CONTINUED issues with water intrusion (like the water keeps getting in regardless of the envelope completion) then soft spots get BIGGER! And they become MORE NUMEROUS!

See where I'm going with this? Right. I would bet my first born son (and he's pretty darn cute, I must say!) that the water intrusion is CONTINUING. It wasn't a "one time thing" that went away when they put the roof on/windows in. These things SCREAM OUT continued water intrusion. Go ahead and google "Vancouver leaky condos". It is a FRIGHTENING thing. We are still dealing with it and the units were built in the 1980s! Yes. The '80s!!!!!

And that's why you need to get the city involved. They need to come in and inspect the existing units so that the builder is PREVENTED from continuing the same mistake over and over and over again (how many units are planned????).

Find your phone and dial the city inspector. Before the end of the day. And I am being quite serious (as is Creative Tile).

Thanks Dan! The home inspector that came out, did use a moisture meter but did not find any sign of current moisture.

Thanks Creative Tile! I have been in contact with the director of the city inspectors and received an email this afternoon that they got in touch with the builder and that the builder told them that they are handling it. So they are not going to get involved. I did not like that response and I plan on pushing the issue with the city inspectors to send someone out here to do another inspection.

Thank you SJ!!!

We do not have any current leak issues. In addition, the home inspector that was here, did do moisture tests.

My guess as to why they are growing and multiplying is that the damage was present to begin with, but just not perceptible due to the carpet and carpet padding. And that our constant walking over those areas is exacerbating that damage and making it more pronounced and apparent. But I am not an expert on this, just my take.

If it were me, I would talk to a construction lawyer to see what my options are going forward. I’m not suggesting you sue or threaten the builder at this time, only that you know all your options. Knowledge is power

It’s got a CO. It’s no longer the province of the city. Why haven’t you pulled the carpet back and taken an actual look at the subfloor? That has to happen. It might as well be you that does it.

Yes, get the other homeowner’s involved and send thme a joint registered letter, receipt required. Include pictures of the subfloor areas with issues. After you pull up the carpet.

I would talk to the 'state' to find out what is acceptable. ditto on a lawyer. Everything you mentioned 'should' be under contract for the builder to repair......period.

I'm not sure the root cause of the problem has been properly diagnosed yet. Since your builder is willing to do some investigative work, I'd hold off on pushing the code official or turning the attorneys loose. I'd also hold off on the registered letters, etc. that serve to escalate everyone's anxiety level.

The fact that your home has a c.o. doesn't necessarily let your builder off the hook. In the (coastal VA) area in which we build, builders are obligated to remedy any code violations discovered (after the fact) within three years of c.o. and to remedy foundation issues for up to five years. The folks in your building department should be able to tell you what is required in your area.

Some (dare I say "production"?) builders will push the limits of what passes code for the floor structure (among other things.) This can result in an objectionable--but still code compliant-- deflection of the subfloor and the structure supporting it. I'm curious how your subfloor is fastened to the supporting structure and whether "exercising" it in the high traffic areas is working the fasteners loose.

cpartist, we will be having a community meeting this week with the other homeowners and discussing this very thing! I think it is a smart move just to see what our rights and options are.

Greendesigns - The director of warranty services came out and pulled back the carpet to do a visual inspection of the boards in just the hallway. In the hall, we have 2 boards that are heavily damaged.

I can upload videos directly here, so I created a dropbox folder. Here they are:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0t6k7ckal...NE6wnqVma?dl=0

Robin, where we are at with the builder is that they only want to do spot repairs of where the actual soft spots are. Whereas we want them to replace the entire subfloor. Our reasoning, is that as each week goes by and we tread over areas more and more, we are noticing more and more soft spots. I don't want them to come in a repair what soft spots we have today and then come in a repair again 3 months from now and then possible another few months after that.

Also, I want to point out something else that might or might not be related: whenever we have stepped on the edge of the hall where the staircase starts we noticed that the stair edging (on the hall side of the edging) had a height difference between it and the subfloor. Once that carpet was pulled back, I got a good look at that and noticed that the stair edging was a good 1/8" or maybe even 3/16" higher than the OSB subfloor. I am wondering, if this could be a tell that maybe they didn't use subfloor that was thick enough??? Because if they used subflooring of the proper thickness the top of the subfloor should be flush in height with the top of the stair edging. Or am i just reading into something that has no bearing on anything???

Cute cat!

Hi, Tony,

The videos are the next best thing to being there. There is definitely mechanical damage to the subfloor. I suspect something heavy was dropped in just the right spot. It will be important to inspect the supporting structure under it, too.

Thanks Charles - While that is the most obvious explanation, I just don't if that is the case in our situation. Reason being, we are now counting 20 separate soft spots spread out over 3 bedrooms and the hallway. Not to mention the fact that this building contains 6 townhomes and at least 2 other are seeing the same soft spots. For it to be something heavy being dropped...that would mean the crews constructing this townhouse are the most careless and clumsiest workers that have ever existed.

Lots of builders skimp on underlayments and omit subfloors altogether if they can ,especially when carpet or laminates are involved. Single layer underlayments should be tongue and groove OR MUST be supported by blocking @ seams in the field.. If you dont have structural issues and that many soft spots verifiy its T&G.. take some time and farmiliarize yourself with 2015 IRC

You may also want to source a very skilled inspection service and pay for an independent assessment ASAP

For it to be something heavy being dropped...that would mean the crews constructing this townhouse are the most careless and clumsiest workers that have ever existed.

You are right, that can't be the reason, because those guys have been in my neighborhood for the last 9 months...

Hi, Tony,

I've seen subfloor turn black from rain without any mechanical issues. We've had one or two where rain caused the joints to swell which required them to be sanded before installing the finished flooring. The only time I've seen rotten subfloor is when a builder abandoned a home during construction and it sat without a roof for an extended time while the homeowner went through the legal process.

The mechanical damage in the one video could have been produced by a rafter or beam that got dropped during framing. The issue in the other video suggests a problem with how the subfloor is fastened. I suggest you consult the subfloor manufacturer's installation instructions to see what they recommend and compare it to what your builder did.

Thank you Charles! I will look into more closely!

T.F.W. - will do! Thank you for the advice!

I would suggest you hire an engineer to inspect. If the engineer proves it was build incorrectly, the GC pay for the cost of the engineer.

I’m amazed that OSB ever was approved for subfloors. Yours is an extreme example but I’ve seen rain soaked OSB that started to swell and become soft many times in Dallas.

It’s pouring rain right now in Dallas and every time after one of these heavy thunderstorms I have to sweep the still exposed floors from my addition under construction. These are concrete with concrete walls so the slightest irregularity traps water. In a conventionally framed house with OSB floors all that water would percolate through the glued strands of a particle board. The sheer amount of water that these boards may have to deal with can be enormous. Your situation seemed to have exceeded the max. capability of OSB.

Based on your videos I’d replace all OSB floors. I’m usually for compromise and often accept flaws but your OSB is damaged beyond acceptable levels in my opinion.

If your builder isn't being responsive ... another " tool" you and your neighbors can use to "persuade" your builder to step up and do the right thing is to put up large signs in your windows with the words facing to the street.

Something like "Don't buy here. Ask me about my rotten sub-floor." or other similar attention grabbing words. That would get your builder's attention pretty quickly! Even better if they have to drive past your units to get to the newer units.

You could also picket outside the sales office on weekends. This has worked well at other large production builders in the past.