Q: I have an engineered hardwood floor and the relative humidity in my house is between 45 to 55%. The hardwood is within 2% of the subfloor moisture content. The installation was done by a reputable professional that I personally know and have seen his work over the past few years. The problem is in about 500 total square feet 30 or so boards have gradually exhibited minor chips and splinters, mainly on the edge, but a few in the center. Other than installation error could this be some type of product defect through milling or green wood not being cured properly?
Any other ideas or anything I should look for to determine if it’s a manufacturer defect or installer error?
A: I would be approaching the manufacturer with this problem. I know of no reason this would have anything to do with the installation or installer.
Related Q: We recently had new red oak hardwood floors installed. The new wood was delivered and sat on a solid surface for about 4 weeks. After the installation I looked over the flooring and found a couple of splits/splintering near the long side of the panel about 1/2 inch in. I mentioned it to the installer and he said that the floor was settling and he would take care of it in a year b/c more may pop up. I’m guessing I was given a line. My thought is to have him take care of it sooner rather than later. He also has to take care of the sloppy work his installers did with the quarter round fittings.
A: I don’t think I would put it off for a year. He should change the boards now. These splits were likely in the board before installation and they did not notice it when installing.
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