New wooden floors rotting (remedies)

Ignacius · 26-06-2021 9:07pm #1

Hi all,
We got new wooden floors put in our new build from a well known supplier 4 months ago We had to get the workman out again as the kitchen was very bouncy after. Now there is a smell off the wood in the sitting room and a hole has appeared. We have no complaints about the carpet they put in. We have tried to get back onto them to come back out and fix it but they have not responded to any e-mail and fobbed off on the phone.
Any suggestions on what steps to take?

Seanergy · 26-06-2021 9:37pm

When installing the floor the workman may have nicked a pipe or maybe the plumber did not do is job 110% I would normally view a bouncy floor as a builder's mistake. Have you rung/emailed the builder yet, is he contactable?

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 12:50am

Seanergy wrote: »

When installing the floor the workman may have nicked a pipe or maybe the plumber did not do is job 110% I would normally view a bouncy floor as a builder's mistake. Have you rung/emailed the builder yet, is he contactable?

Ok I have no idea about this. So it could be the builder’s fault also. The bouncy floor has been fixed.
It is just the hole in the wood in the sitting room that is the issue now. Definitely rotting! Nothing was dropped on it and nothing spilled.

kadman · 27-06-2021 12:56pm

A picture would explain alot. A rotting hole appearing this quick sounds strange .

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 2:41pm

kadman wrote: »

A picture would explain alot. A rotting hole appearing this quick sounds strange .

Might not be the best photos but there is a bit it is peeling off with little holes and weird coulouring on the edges. The kitchen and hall have no signs of this and have been cleaned in the exact same way.
There is a toilet next to the sitting room but don’t know if this would have any bearing on it.

Seanergy · 27-06-2021 4:31pm

Ignacius wrote: »

Might not be the best photos but there is a bit it is peeling off with little holes and weird coulouring on the edges. The kitchen and hall have no signs of this and have been cleaned in the exact same way.
There is a toilet next to the sitting room but don’t know if this would have any bearing on it.

1st image looks like a nick from a mitre saw blade, maybe the installer did a quickie with some sawdust/glue/? to hid it and its only showing up now.

2nd image has a clean line so I would say a chip was made in your product by installer or pre installer.

Is the wood around the chipped corner wet?

I reckon you have a leak under your floor from builder/plumber or installer.

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 5:04pm

Seanergy wrote: »

1st image looks like a nick from a mitre saw blade, maybe the installer did a quickie with some sawdust/glue/? to hid it and its only showing up now.

2nd image has a clean line so I would say a chip was made in your product by installer or pre installer.

Is the wood around the chipped corner wet?

I reckon you have a leak under your floor from builder/plumber or installer.

Thanks very much. It does feel a little damp around those areas. There at least 4 or 5 chipped areas like that around that side of the room.

Is there a way to know if it is the builder I should go to or back to the company that installed the floor? The person installing the floor should have noticed if it wasn’t right and let us know. It would still be their fault for putting the floor down on it surely.
Not sure which way to go. Only in the house 4 months.

maestroamado · 27-06-2021 5:18pm

Is there much money involved here.
The pictures are not very clear but this certainly does not look like 4 month old wood.
It looks like stuff that has been around for some time from the pics.
Can you confirm if its actual wood or laminate wood?
What is underneath the wood, (ie concrete or timber)
You also mentioned carpet which i do not understand....

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 6:21pm

maestroamado wrote: »

Is there much money involved here.
The pictures are not very clear but this certainly does not look like 4 month old wood.
It looks like stuff that has been around for some time from the pics.
Can you confirm if its actual wood or laminate wood?
What is underneath the wood, (ie concrete or timber)
You also mentioned carpet which i do not understand....

These are brand new floors with insulation over concrete apparently. It is actual wood.
The carpet was put in by the same supplier. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.
There are two more photos of the same room. The floor cost 3 grand for the kitchen, hall and sitting room.

kadman · 27-06-2021 7:12pm

2nd picture in post 5 looks like a hardwood laminate to me?

New build conrete needs a few months to properly dry out before laying any wooden floors.

And then the timber flooring needs to aclimatise to the new room environment for a few days
before laying.

banie01 · 27-06-2021 7:15pm

kadman wrote: »

2nd picture in post 5 looks like a hardwood laminate to me?

That's what I thought it was too?
Looks like laminate that has taken a knock on the corner and lost the top veneer.

maestroamado · 27-06-2021 7:23pm

Ignacius wrote: »

These are brand new floors with insulation over concrete apparently. It is actual wood.
The carpet was put in by the same supplier. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.
There are two more photos of the same room. The floor cost 3 grand for the kitchen, hall and sitting room.

Did this include painting the floor...

kadman · 27-06-2021 7:36pm

banie01 wrote: »

That's what I thought it was too?
Looks like laminate that has taken a knock on the corner and lost the top veneer.

Everything about those pictures say Laminate flooring to me too.

kadman · 27-06-2021 7:40pm

I would like to ask the op do you know the difference between actual laminate flooring and solid wood flooring

Its a question to find out that you can tell the difference, please realise its not meant to offend.:)

Panjandrums · 27-06-2021 7:46pm

Does the house have underfloor heating? If so and a screed was used, I wonder was the screed dried out fully prior to flooring going down

Seanergy · 27-06-2021 8:02pm

Ignacius wrote: »

Thanks very much. It does feel a little damp around those areas. There at least 4 or 5 chipped areas like that around that side of the room.

Is there a way to know if it is the builder I should go to or back to the company that installed the floor? The person installing the floor should have noticed if it wasn’t right and let us know. It would still be their fault for putting the floor down on it surely.
Not sure which way to go. Only in the house 4 months.

Are all the chips in the exac same position in each piece?

theteal · 27-06-2021 8:13pm

I could be wrong, I'm just a DIYer, I have laid a mix of engineered wood and laminate flooring in my house. That corner chip looks like laminate to me.

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 8:28pm

It’s wooden laminate flooring apparently.
I’ll be getting them back out. Bunch of cowboys ted!

kadman · 27-06-2021 8:28pm

I would not have paid for chipped flooring in either solid timber or laminate
in my house.They should have been called back to repair.

But it seems a lot of months may have gone by for this.

Ignacius · 27-06-2021 9:16pm

kadman wrote: »

I would not have paid for chipped flooring in either solid timber or laminate
in my house.They should have been called back to repair.

But it seems a lot of months may have gone by for this.

The chips have only started to show up now.
It is still under warranty.

maestroamado · 27-06-2021 9:17pm

kadman wrote: »

I would not have paid for chipped flooring in either solid timber or laminate
in my house.They should have been called back to repair.

But it seems a lot of months may have gone by for this.

/

I do not think this can be repaired so get as much money back as possible.
Because concrete retains moisture and wood draws moisture is the problem as the wood is drawing the retained moisture from the concrete.
I think you said carpet on top adds as the moisture cannot escape.
Take your time and check receipts as to what you were sold.

ongarite · 27-06-2021 9:20pm

What brand of laminate is it?
The cheap stuff chips or breaks off like yours has already.

Outkast_IRE · 27-06-2021 9:20pm

Can I ask how you are cleaning it ? If it's laminate and it's being mopped regularly and the mop head isn't wring out very well it's akin to pouring water on the floor , the wood near the groove expands and shrinks and may damage the finish.

We have a special mop for the laminate wood floors it's much dryer when wrung out than a normal mop.

kadman · 27-06-2021 10:21pm

Laminate floors are meant to be wiped with a damp cloth, and not a wringing wet mop.

As has been pointed out cheaper laminates do not fair well at edges with lots of water.
They swell and deteriorate very quickly.

But flaking and chipping at the edges should not happen after a couple of months if you
followed the manufacturers instructions on cleaning. So your guarantee should cover things for
you hopefully

Leg End Reject · 28-06-2021 1:02am

Ignacius wrote: »

These are brand new floors with insulation over concrete apparently. It is actual wood.
The carpet was put in by the same supplier. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.
There are two more photos of the same room. The floor cost 3 grand for the kitchen, hall and sitting room.

That's laminate, not solid wood.

ETA: Just realised this has been pointed out before. Solid wood will scratch, but won't chip like that. It can also be sanded and resealed.

theteal · 28-06-2021 9:04am

Ignacius wrote: »

It’s wooden laminate flooring apparently.
I’ll be getting them back out. Bunch of cowboys ted!

Afaik, you're not supposed to have laminate in kitchens or bathrooms as it doesn't play nice with moisture (as we can see!). Pull it up and get some LVT or something appropriate.

blackbox · 28-06-2021 9:17am

theteal wrote: »

Afaik, you're not supposed to have laminate in kitchens or bathrooms as it doesn't play nice with moisture (as we can see!). Pull it up and get some LVT or something appropriate.

You can get laminate specifically suitable for kitchens and bathrooms (not "wet" room).

kadman · 28-06-2021 4:06pm

Non of the pictures you showed so far, show any signs of rot.

listermint · 28-06-2021 4:11pm

Laminate floor , what spec it is is another story maybe ac3 might be just a poor floor.

But. I'd suggest the floors are not fully dried out how long was the floor poured ? Was there a self leveling done on it prior to moving in ? This could take weeks to dry and putting a skinny lam floor on top would keep that moisture locked in between the concrete and the laminate floor. Resulting in the floor being ruined.

Johnthemanager · 28-06-2021 5:52pm

listermint wrote: »

Laminate floor , what spec it is is another story maybe ac3 might be just a poor floor.

But. I'd suggest the floors are not fully dried out how long was the floor poured ? Was there a self leveling done on it prior to moving in ? This could take weeks to dry and putting a skinny lam floor on top would keep that moisture locked in between the concrete and the laminate floor. Resulting in the floor being ruined.

When we're painting factory floors etc, we specify the concrete has to dry at least 4 weeks per inch of concrete

Ignacius · 15-07-2021 8:11pm

So thanks to everybody for their replies.

I had the lad out who laid the floor who said we had a leak. The builders came around and admitted liability.

they had nicked a pipe. The thick underlay had been soaking up the water all this time and it only started to come through after.

Bit if a nightmare as we can’t use the sitting room for a few days and will need a new floor put down in there too.

Thw builders are paying for all this. I am happy about this but feel like it’s a big inconvenience too. They are nice. Should I kick you more if a fuss? Care for opinions.

Furze99 · 15-07-2021 8:24pm

Let them at it. Everyone makes mistakes, that's life. Just make sure it's all done to your satisfaction.

Ignacius · 15-07-2021 10:35pm

Thanks mate! I think you’re right.

maestroamado · 16-07-2021 6:37am

Its good you getting sorted. Just to say you will not be able to lay a wood floor for some time, the old floor will need to be removed and it will take time for the floor to dry out.

If there is any moisture left in the concrete it will destroy the new wood floor. The builder will know this....

New wooden floors rotting (remedies)

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