Replies

1. 
   Greg_Warren | Dec 21, 2001 02:20am | #1

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   Welcome to Robbins. That product has alot of overwood. It can always be refinished to level. I always suggest that the client accept a small micro bevel to hide the overwood. It will be a given on square edge Robbins or any other American Manufacturer. The movement on the ends is OK. I'm assumming it was nailed down. With all of the slop that is milled into the tongue and groove, the floor can move up and down within that groove tolerance. GW

1. 
   doug_hubbard | Dec 21, 2001 05:11am | #2

   *Thanks for the reply Greg.So it is the nature of the beast?would it have made any difference if the installation had occured over underlayment- or a layer of felt?the guys that install my floors indicated that they always install this particular product over thirty pound felt to dampen the movement- I think I just answered my own question.I have never put this stuff in any of my projects- does it require facenailing to a greater degree than solid? There are rows of boards in the middle of the field on this floor that have been stapled right thru the heart and then puttied. I see no reason to have reversed the tongue and groove- so it's a puzzle.At the perimeter some of the staples are two boards from the wall- evidently hand nailing was not in the program.So this guys brand new floor can be refinished to flat- that ain't gonna be popular.my impression now is that this was a poor choice of material for this particular customer. I doubt he will every be happy with it.thanks Greg. I appreciate your help.

1. 
   Greg_Warren | Dec 21, 2001 06:10am | #3

   *They actually used a staple as a face nail? Not a Senco type finish nail? No one would approve a staple as a face fastener. Have them pull out the stapled boards and replace with a finish nail in the grain of the board. Remove the rows out in the center if stapled through the face and use finish nails in the grain to hide the nail hole. Take a nail finder and see if the nail register is applied as per the Robbins instruction sheet. A nail should be no further than 3" from the ends of each board end, and 8" on center down the line. This could cause them to replace the floor if the register is wrong. 15 lb. felt is also possibly a requirement as per the instruction sheet and could be a cause for replacement if the floor is noisy; popping, cracking noises. The instruction sheet for a nail down installation is probably on the Robbins internet site. GW

2. 
   doug_hubbard | Dec 21, 2001 06:10am | #4

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   question about a problem with some engineered hardwood flooring- you know the 3/32 of solid wood over several layers of ply- prefinished.

   I have a customer who is having a home built and is spittin' distance from closing and he had a couple of hundred square feet of this floor installed- it's Robbins- and there are numerous places where the floor does not lie in plane, most notably at butt joints. Some of these joints vary as much as 1/16". Additionally, there are numerous places where the flooring has been facenailed too far away from the wall to cover.

   The butt joints in many places move up and down under pressure- my thumb.

   Manufacturer rep says in six months to a year the flooring will have acclimated and lie flat.
   (I thought this stuff sold on the strenght of it's dimensional stability- among other attributes)

   So it was installed directly over plywood subfloor- no underlayment- no felt.

   I think the installation was sloppy and shouldn't be accepted. They say give it time.

   whadyou think?