engineered wood floor look horrible...

4 years ago

My engineered floors looks terrible! We catch our socks on the bevels, the knots are breaking out, middle of the boards are cracking and it looks as if it’s 10 years old. I’m so disappointed and no one wants to claim responsibility!!!
We installed Palladio French Oak.
These floors were installed only FOUR MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!
I personally don’t believe it’s an install issue. We do have a whole home humidifier too so that’s no the issue.
What do you think??
This is going on ALL OVER the floor, not just a few spots too.

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

4 years ago

OK...so the details are easy to find for this floor.

Total Thickness: 5/8" (decent thickness)

Wear Layer thickness: 4mm (decent thickness)

Appearance: Wire Brushed and smoked

Finish: UV cured polyurethane with carbide infusion for scratch resistance

Right. So now we know what you are living with. The humidity is still an issue until we know what the humidity is sitting at.

The instructions to the homeowner clearly states: https://pantimhardwoodflooring.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/instruction.3-ply_Generic-604.22-50y.pdf

"...care should be taken to control humidity levels within the 35–60% and 60°–75° Fahrenheit temperature range."

We see the issues you are complaining of when a floor becomes too dry. If your home is sitting in the LOWER range (35%-39%) then POP IT UP to 45%. We need to get this wood into it's Happy-Happy Range.

It is also possible the installation time was quite HUMID (4 months ago = July). Summer is the WET time of the year (re: indoor humidity levels). It is entirely possible your floor was installed when the humidity was in the UPPER RANGE (like 60%). Now that it is winter time which is the dry time of the year, your home might still be inside the 'range' but that means the humidity could be as low as 35%. That's a loss of 25% humidity. Wood doesn't like that big of a SWING. Wood can handle a swing of (roughly) 10%. That means if the floor was installed at 60% humidity (as an example) then the LOWEST you would want it to get is 50% humidity.

The other issue which is probably 'helping' this floor become the way it is = wire brush finish. Wire brush ADDS texture. That is to say it GOUGES OUT wood (the soft wood between the grain) to give it that 'worn' or 'rustic' look. This texture (stress...they stressed out the wood in the factory) then allows for a more fragile floor.

This fragility is not to say the floor would deteriorate the way it is. It should not. So long as the INTERIOR living conditions are maintained in the Happy-Happy range for the entirety of the floors life in the house (25-100 years).

Please let us know your indoor humidity/temperature readings RIGHT NOW. And please let us know how this floor was installed. How long was it allowed to acclimate before it was installed? Do you remember the type of weather that was happening around the time the floor was installed?

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Comments (8)

PRO
NeDak
Original Author
4 years ago
Humidity right now is 44%.
We keep the house set at 47% when we have our ac/heat pump running. It didn’t warm up here in South Dakota until the end of June this year.
It was stapled and sat for 2 days before install.
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PRO
NeDak
Original Author
4 years ago
Temp inside is always between 68-71
It was installed June 10th so about 4.5 months ago.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
In my experience, pre-finished floors--both engineered and solid wood--are more sensitive to indoor relative humidity levels than their site-sanded-and-finished counterparts. You will be well served to keep the relative humidity within the manufacturer's recommended range. In SD this might require humidification in winter and supplemental dehumidification in the other seasons.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Did anyone take moisture readings (of the floor and the subfloor material) before it was installed? If so, what were they and what are they now?

Who have you contacted to get this resolved?
PRO
NeDak
Original Author
4 years ago
Yes Reading were taken. They were in the recommended range per the manufacturer. We are currently in the process of hiring a independent warranty specialist. The flooring store we purchased it from has been no help. They pretty much want me to live with it.
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G & S Floor Service
4 years ago
Shears that thin will always curl up and become a problem. Use a exacto knife to cut it away. You can apply clear super glue along the edges of the shears to keep it from lifting. This is common with live sawn and reclaim wood.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
www.nwfa.org

Certified Wood Flooring Inspector

engineered wood floor look horrible...

SJ McCarthy

Comments (8)

NeDak
Original Author

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engineered wood floor look horrible...

SJ McCarthy

Comments (8)

NeDakOriginal Author

Related Discussions

NeDakOriginal Author

Charles Ross Homes

SJ McCarthy

NeDakOriginal Author

G & S Floor Service

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COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

NeDak
Original Author

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Original Author

NeDak
Original Author