Complete flooring information and inspections

Below is the main part of a report from an actual inspection.  When you get your report from me it will also list other things such as installation date, installer, address (yours), amount of traffic, type of maintenance, etc.

You will have your report and supporting photos/documents emailed to you within 2 or 3 days of the actual inspection.

STATEMENTS:

Mr. Jones (not real name) met me at the inspection and made the following statements: The floor was installed in March 2010 after being acclimated for a few days in the home. One butt seam near the garage entry started gapping and has been repaired twice in the last several months. The other gapping and the raised seams he started noticing about seven months ago (one year after the installation). They use a dust mop and Bruce "Hardwood and Laminate Floor Cleaner" for maintenance.

OBSERVATIONS/TESTS: 

 The floor is installed in a long run from the front door along the living room to the back door, with the run being 49 feet along the length of the boards (photo 7). In parts of this section are gapped butt seams measuring up to .025", with approximately eight seams affected. Through this same area is one pair of adjacent rows with an end-seam stagger of 6 1/2" (photo 9). The rest of the installation had an end-seam stagger minimum of 12".

The floor is also installed in the adjacent kitchen, dining area, back hall and pantry and is all one connected installation. In the back area near the garage entry is one butt seam with gapping over .025" (photo 19), with three smaller ones in the same area. There is no swelling or high moisture at any of the gapped seams. The gapped butt seams affect approximately 5% of the entire installation.

 Approximately 50% of the floor has curling at the long/short seams throughout that flattens with surface pressure (photos 7, 8 & 15). There are two butt seams with curling along a short part of each affected seam (photos 21 & 26). There are also several butt seams that are lifted above the adjacent boards measuring between .005" and .006", and do not flatten with surface pressure (photo 25). There is one long seam in the kitchen with a bubbled/raised area (photo 16) that does not flatten with surface pressure.

There are multiple locations without any expansion space, including along most of the long transition strips along the long section running between the front door and the far wall (photo 7) as well as at other transitions and at occasional locations along the walls and kitchen cabinet. The floor measured 4/16" variation from flat in a ten-foot radius measuring north-south through the long section.

OPINION/COMMENTS: 

The one bubbled/swollen seam is from moisture penetration of this area at some time in the past. The swollen seam described above happened after the floor was installed as they occur on different boards at the same location on either side of the affected seam. Moisture has penetrated the coreboard from above (topical) in this area at some time in the past and caused micro cracks, which caused swelling in the boards in this area. The swelling is permanent, even after the boards have dried back out to normal amounts as is currently. The swelling is consumer/site related and not manufacturing. The two butt seams with curling along a short length of each affected seam is damage from tapping during the installation and is installation related. The curled seam edges throughout, the raised butt seams as well as the gapped butt seams are from a combination of not having proper expansion space at all of the perimeter, from having a run over 40 feet without an expansion T-molding as required by the manufacturer, and by the floor exceeding a maximum of 3/16" variation from flat within a ten foot radius.

SUMMARY:

The swollen/bubbled seam is from excessive water at some time in the past (consumer related), the two seams with curling is from the installer using excessive force during the installation, and the gapping and curled seam edges is from the floor being tight at many of the edges, too long a section without an expansion T-molding and from the floor not being flat to within industry specs (installation related).