I had a BR111 bavarian cherry micro-beveled engineered floor installed in my house about 5 weeks ago, and it is georgeous ! However, I'm worried about gaps (mostly between the end boards). I know that a few of the gaps have been there since installation (because they were filled with something like wood putty), but others may have opened up after. I would guess about 30 % of the floor has some gapping at the end boards. Most of the gaps are small - a playing card will fit in the gap, but others are much larger - about the size of a dime (1/16"). I am pretty sure the larger gaps are not 'normal' and have discussed it with the contracter. He suggested I wait a few weeks because he thinks most of the gaps will close up. He has offered to replace the boards that still have noticable gaps.

It has been almost two weeks and I haven't noticed any improvement. My question is whether or not ANY gapping is acceptable on a newly installed floor and if so, how much? If repair is necessary, how should it be done? I understand they remove and replace the problem boards, but I don't understand how they can do this with pieces that are in the middle of the floor.

I'm trying not to get too upset about this yet, but I invested about $9,000 and I don't see how it can be repaired without tearing it all out and starting over. I get the feeling the contractor is willing to work with me, but I want to make sure he does it right and doesn't just make some temporary fix. He has been pretty good so far, but there have some other problems - the biggest was that the installer left so much glue on the floor that they had to come back after two weeks with a buffer to clean it up. They did a pretty good job, but I'm still seeing places that were missed and its pretty hard to get up now.

Sorry for such a long post, but wanted to get opinions from others that have some experience in this area. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

P.S. I'm also thinking I should contact the manufacturer and ask them about this 'problem'. Is that a good idea? This floor is really beautiful and there's nothing than I'd like better than for this problem to just 'go away'.

The flooring may not have been acclimated to your home long enough prior to installation and now, due to lower relative humidity, is shrinking and gapping in places. This may improve when the weather changes because the humidity increases in spring and summer in some areas. It depends on where you live. Before ripping everything out, I would like the floor go through a season, say til next Oct. to see if there is any change. If not, you can still have the floor replaced if needed. I know it is difficult to be patient about these things but ripping it out a starting over will be a MAJOR job. The use of putty in a few gaps is acceptable and standard installation practice. No floors are milled 100% perfectly and floors aren't furniture.

How does the floor look, from a standing position, walking around?

Thanks for your replies guys.

I live in Florida, so there's no doubt we'll get alot more humidity later this spring and throughout the summer. The installer did not acclimate the wood at all - picked it up from the warehouse first thing in the morning and started installing. Too bad I didn't know then you were suppose to acclimate.

The floor looks good for the most part - there are maybe 10 - 15 places in 800 square feet where you can actually notice the gaps from standing height. Those are the larger gaps where you can actually see down through the gap where the boards fit together.

Will these gaps cause any problems down the road, other than not looking so good?

Thanks !

Gaps? Gluedown? Sounds like they didn't try to keep the floor tight during the installation. This can happen with almost any type of gluedown. From my experience if you don't keep an eye on what has been installed before the adhesive grabs, boards have a tendency to move apart from one another. Another reason could be the installers were working on top of newly installed areas that didn't have a chance to grab. If not corrected before the adhesive sets you're stuck with gapping. I kinda doubt it's a BR111 problem but worth investigating.

Let us know what you discover.



This is always a gluedown problem, which also leads me to believe they may not have had much experience in this area?

This does not sound like an environmental prob to me. Probably just sloppy installation.
What kind of adhesive did they use? Those acrylic urethanes are notorious for letting stuff move around until they have cured. Some more than others.

Linda said most of the gaps appeared AFTER the installation. It's possible she did not notice them until later and they were always there caused by poor installation but that isn't what she said. According to her statement, most of the gaps appeared after installation. Therefore, that would point to environmental problems. She says installer DID NOT acclimate flooring whatsoever.

Thanks again for all of your feedback.

To answer one question...
I'm not sure what kind of adhesive was used, but I was assured by the contracter that it was one of the best.

Also, the gaps MAY have been there at installation - I'm just not sure. I really didn't notice them until I got down on the floor to paint the baseboards and trim. It was then that I noticed a couple of places and only after that did I go over the entire floor. That was after about two weeks.

I'm considering taking the advice of one of the posters and waiting through the summer to see what happens. If I still notice the gaps in the most hot and humid part of the summer, those are probably the boards that need to be replaced.

Does this sound reasonable to everyone??

Just discovered this thread. I am having the exact same problem: engineered wood glude down over concrete slab and, clearly to my untrained eye, the installer goofed and left gaps between some strips. It appears like a minor problem though one of concern because I don't know what will happen if/when moisture penetrates through the gaps. I have those mostly on the sides between strips and they number about 5 in a 400 sq ft room. I am no expert but I think the installer was not keeping the strips tight during the installation. When I showed my unhappiness he started paying attention and the rest of the strips (most of the room) are reasonably tight.

He has suggested to use some filler to close the gaps (about 3mm in some areas).

Is this case of redoing the affected area or too minor to worry about?

Thanks for any response.

end gapping seen is usually installation problem. The adhesive has a memory. Should the installer set the plank into the adhesive and tap the ends to close the gaps; often they open back up due to adhesive memory.
In Florida? Not likely to be TOO DRY... and shrinking.

Thanks for the reply. Actually, this is in Los Angeles.

Can also depend on the manufacturer. I've dealt with my share of products in the past that would not fit tight(side joints) regardless of what was done. Fortunately most was new construction before the homeowner saw it---and plenty of filler was used.

Moisture?

No hardwood floor is completely sealed from the elements unless it's site finished and the Rh is CONSTANT

Even if temp and rH is kept exact, an oil based site finished will still crack along the joints, ends and sides.

Just like floor patch over an expansion joint in concrete.

Water based has some flexibility, but still has its limits, if the temp and rH are not constant. White joints, are more likely then a crack in the finish. Unless it is extreme, and then you see panelization.

Wow! Pretty bold statement. An oli based finish WILL crack?? How about MAY crack. None of mine ever have. Tell us again how much sand and finish you have done? How many sand and finish jobs with oil, have you seen outside of your part of Texas?? Or how about in your part of Texas? Geez. You are a smart guy, and you have come a long way from when you first started out. but you are cutting too wide a swath, and need to back it down a tad. with all due respect....

Hows this for a bold statment,


oil based site finished will still crack along the joints, ends and sides.