AS A RESPONSE TO THREE TOWERS COMMENT; WE CONTACTED JOHN ABOUT A MONTH AFTER INSTALLATION; HE NEVER MENTIONED HAVING THE FLOORS SANDED;THEY NEVER OFFERED TO PAY HALF THE COST OF THE SANDING AND NEVER MENTIONED PAYING FOR AN INSPECTION. I RECENTLY HIRED AN INDEPENDENT HARDWOOD FLOOR INSPECTOR WHO DETERMINED THAT ALL OF THE PROBLEMS WITH THE FLOOR ARE THE FAULT OF THREE TOWERS FLOWERING AND IMPROPER INSTALLATION!!! I am horrified at the behaviour of this company. We purchased approx. 4000 sq ft of solid maple hardwood flooring which we had them install only to have a tremendous number of boards split lengthwise. The cupping or curling of the boards has not diminished after over a year. When we contacted the company we were assured that they would replace the split boards and felt the extreme cupping could have been because their installer installed the boards too tight. We have been continually told that they will come over and deal with it but after 15 months of phone calls and emails nothing has been done and now they won't even return my calls. I am disgusted by the lack of professionalism that this company has displayed and I would recommend you stay as far away from them as possible!! They don't stand behind their product and apparently don't care about their customers once the cheque clears the bank!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $20,000.00
- Company Response
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the floor when it was installed, and customer actually contacted us about a year following her installation to complain of cupping.
Anyone in the flooring industry will experience complaints of cupping and gapping, and this is because wood expands with moisture and contracts with dryness, and maple especially when we start to go wider is going to be a bit more problematic.
We inspected the home twice, and on the first inspection the first thing we did was check the humidity in the home and discovered the moisture content was over 60%. We then advised customer to put a dehumidifier in the home to remove some of the excess moisture, and we returned about 6 months later to re-assess the floor. With the de-humidifier in the home the cupping decreased about 75%, but was still evident especially in the main hallway and in parts of the second floor. At this point, we explained to her that the only way to eliminate the cupping was to have the floor re-sanded completely, and we offered to pay for half the sanding. Sandra did not want to have the floor sanded at all, and this is where she came up with the excuse that the floor was cupping because it was installed too tight. I explained to her, that the floor was not installed tight as we removed one of the baseboards and there was ample space for contraction in between the floor and the wall. She wanted us to replace the boards that were cupped, and in our opinion that would only lead to more problems down the road as by replacing so many boards it would harm the integrity of the flooring. Aside from the offer to sand her floor, we also gave her the the number to a few floor inspectors, and explained to her that if she got an independent inspectors report saying that the reason for the cupping was due to tight installation, than we would replace the boards as she wished. An inspection report costs about $250-$300, but I told her that my opinion was that any time you see cupping to the extent that she had, is exclusively because of moisture. I sent her some articles from the hardwood flooring association that helped illustrate this, as it is a very common problem with maple, especially in new home construction, and especially when the floor is installed in the summer months.
What I am going to do is attach some literature with regards to the importance of maintaining humidity in the home. Our warranty, and most manufacturers warranty state that humidity in the home should be kept at between 40 and 50%. Usually when we see gapping or shrinking, it is because moisture in the winter goes below 20% and when we see cupping it is when it is very humid. It is very important to maintain moisture in the house. In Sandra's case, our offer to sand her floor still stands, and it is not because we are trying to cheat her, it is because it really is the only way to remove the cupping. If we remove the boards and replace them with new ones you will only have more issues. The best way to fix that is to sand and refinish the floor, and we will pay half the cost. The cause is only because they had too much moisture in the house for the first year the floor was installed. Here are the links to the articles on humidity and hardwood flooring: http://hardwoodfloorsmag.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=1236&zoneid=2
http://www.woodfloordoctor.com/_how_tos/articles/science_behind_moisture_wood/science_behind_moisture_wood.shtml