Hardwood floor pieces warped

Jenn · #1 01/21/10, 08:38 AM

Getting flooring put in- in our dry, heating season though it is raining buckets this week- and the installers are worried (me less so- I can barely see it) at the varying widths- every few rows in the first room there are fingernail thick gaps at ends of some pieces, worse a few pieces seem to be lower or higher at the end. Prefinished Bruce 3.25 x 3/4"

Box store reps coming out this am (day 2) to check on all this, and we may need more wood because there will probably be more wasted pieces as they screen before nailing, but what do you folks think?

If the salesmen tell me to not worry but the installers disagree which way do y'all think I should go? Thanks!

All levels above ground and this room is 2nd floor, I have been dodgy at keeping house perfect humidity in past but as I said we were heating and somewhat dry since delivery of wood 8 days before start of install, now raining here and had a few windows open day before rain since it was so warm and sunny then. Box store claims they kept it inside whole time and it was not rainy on delivery day.

Wolf mom · #2 01/21/10, 09:59 AM

I put down Bruce flooring years ago in another house and each board was beautifully FLAT. Never got wavy or raised in the 10(?) years I owned the home.
If the salesman doesn't want to exchange it....I'd keep at him until he does.

Jenn · #3 01/21/10, 10:01 AM

Never mind- the box store and installers aborted the project and now it's up to the flooring company .

Travis in Louisiana · #4 01/21/10, 10:17 AM

I put about the same flooring in my Montana house and the one here in La. Two different humidity areas! I was toe-nailing the boards down and picking through them for the straighter ones. The longer boards seemed to be the ones that would have a curve in them, I could use some, some I would not. I always bought slightly more flooring than what was needed to cover for the bad boards. After it was all said and done, the floor looked nice, even if it did have a few slight cracks between the boards. The sales man will not want to replace too many boards, and the installers want perfect boards to make their job easier and look better. Some were slightly raised above the surrounding boards, but not much at all. Remember, this is not a perfect world and any flooring will not be perfect. Maybe the installers and the salesman can work out a deal between them. My two cents!

nc_mtn · #5 01/21/10, 02:21 PM

First a few ???'s Did you let the wood acclimate to the house (how long did you allow it to sit in the house before installing it?)? I know you said it was raining, is your house's hvac on or is the house just dried in and on some "temp" heat? Wood is a "living" product and will move and adjust with different humidities. Put a hydrometer in the house and do what it takes to keep it constant (humidifier in winter/dehumidifier in summer)(which it sounds like you are).

Also - did you put a proper barrier under the wood? Did you place nails/staples every 10-12"?

Wider boards tend to move (or at least appear to) more then the skinnier ones. If you only are having problems in one area, I would make sure you are not getting moisture in from somewhere.

FYI this is what I do for a living.... I also do more site finished floors then prefinished. I think it gives a better/more even look. If the sub-floor has any variations in level, it shows in prefinished - this is the reasons for the beveling.

After re-reading your post - what do you mean by ends of the boards? Wood expands/contracts "against" the grain and not with it. If you have having gaps in the ends of boards it I would be inclined to wonder if it was tight when first installed or worry about the boards not nailed correctly...

haypoint · #6 01/21/10, 08:21 PM

A couple years ago, I did a Bruce floor. There were a few pieces with some wood missing on the underside. But it didn't show. Every piece fit tight with the next, on all four sides. Nice stuff.

columbia,sc · #7 01/21/10, 09:43 PM

nc_mtn
After re-reading your post - what do you mean by ends of the boards? Wood expands/contracts "against" the grain and not with it. If you have having gaps in the ends of boards it I would be inclined to wonder if it was tight when first installed or worry about the boards not nailed correctly...

All due respect intended,
As long as I have been doing woodwork I know, wood will shrink end to end, side to side and top to bottom, also it expands the same.
I built (WOLO/ treated lumber) a deck for myself a few years ago and the joints would hold water when I finished. Some times now you can drop a quarter through the cracks. Wood swells and contracts in all 6 directions depending on the humidity around it.
I took up a floor for a lady like above described that the installer did not leave any clearance from wall to wall, it was all buckled and a mess. He/installer/rookie, should have cut it 1/4 short on each wall to prevent this. I re-installed it in a rental house of hers because she didn't want it back in hers. It has been there now for 3 years and looking great. Some of the leftovers are in my dining room and front entrance as well, looking great also. P.S. I had permission to use the left overs.
Columbia,SC

Jenn · #8 01/22/10, 06:39 AM

The wood was in my home for 9 days, stacked loosely for air flow but boxes unopened as per their advice. It isn't a new house- 10 years old not new build. After windows open day of delivery to cool down house for the poor delivery guys we used heat some days as we had some of prior days to keep house above 65F. Very dry I could tell by my skin and lips so I put a few pots water on stove but that is a long way from where the upstairs wood is stacked. Then rain came in the evening they were installing and it is less dry. However the warped wood is in all stacks and even in center of boxes so they think it occurred before delivery. Of course the box store denies any mishandling (say it was inside store since arrival there a half week before I got it) and it was plastic covered on the pallets.

Board ends I mean horizontal short cut of long boards- might be not shoved in tight, but in the cases I found they were tight but the one board is shorter at the end than the neighbor. One short board sits lower over the whole 1' length than its neighbors.