Last May I installed 1/4″ solid oak Bruce prefinished flooring with their “equalizer” adhesive on a first floor with a finished basement below in Elgin, IL.
In September, two areas of the floor buckled up 1″ in two locations. I set up a dehumidifier, and I used the Bruce “repair kit” which is a $120 epoxy tube with filler sticks for the floor color. I drilled holes, injected the epoxy and weighted the areas down. The buckles went down.
From Septemer to November, the dehumidifier continued to run and still another area buckled up, about 1/2″ this time.
My question is this: What could be the problem that this product is having on this location?
Curt
St. Charles, IL
Replies
too tite to the walls?
I'm not familiar with this particulat product, but I wonder, did you only glue it down or did you use staples also?
I lean to thinking that it was not well adhered to the subfloor for whatever reason. perhaps there was dust and grit on the subfloor material first or it was wet to interfere with the adhesion.
Then any little bit of hydrostatic pressure , swelling, etc. is able to uplift it. Shere has a good question too. Did you religiously follow ALL the manufacturers instructions?
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I've installed what sound like the same flooring ...
with the exact same adhesive.
I had one problem area I cut out and pathed w/o the repair kit ... just used the same adhesive.
My problem area was a small area where the concrete looked fine till the adhesive set ... and lifted what was a hidden spalled area. I had a few other areas on the same floor I ground and patched before the flooring was applied.
I'd guess either not enough expansion ....
Or the obvious ..... poor bond.
What's the subsurface?
I'm guessing concrete .. since it was glued ...
so maybe somthing oily was on the concrete ... or the adhesive might have lifted a bad section of concrete ....
That adhesive is very expensive .... and the coverage I got was about half of what they quoted .... so nearly twice the adhesive was needed in the end ....
But it stuck to anything and set great. A major pain in the butt to work with ... but I'd have a hard time believing the adhesive was at fault.
Hearing a dehumid worked ... I'm thinking too much moisture in the first place?
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
The glue was spread over a plywood subfloor and was swept thoroughly prior to installation.
The dehumidifier did not do the job, actually. I set the dehumidifier on the floor for about four days and it made no effect, and drew out very little water from the room.
It seems most likely to me that either (a) the glue was spread over areas where perhaps there was some dust and it did not adhere or (b) there is a failure of the adhesive product altogether. In either case, I find the process totally unreliable as we took great care to be sure the adhesive had a good bond to the floor surface. i'm not sure what efforts we could do differently to assure this would no happen again. I even used periodic fasteners to help hold the material along the installation process.
Over 1/2" expansion gaps remained around the floor perimeter even while the buckling occurred. Why did the pressure force the boards to buckle instead of the intended design of expanding into the gaps at the edges?
Why did the pressure force the boards to buckle instead of the intended design of expanding into the gaps at the edges?
Cuz the glue HELD at the edges...failed in the field.
Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
"i'm not sure what efforts we could do differently"
Shop vac then damp mop.
Subfloors gotta be ... really ... really ... clean.
I do the sweep/vac/mop thing on most any floor I put down ...
A little extra care never hurts .... cheap insurance.
My helper's real glad I have a nice industrial mop bucket .....
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Just a thought for the future. What steps did you take for acclimation?
Curt,
Good to see you here.
My guess is that the concrete was dusty/dirty or for some other reason the adhesive did not adhere properly to the substrate. I don't think the humidity had anything to do with it, as another buckled during the time the dehumidifier was running.
Jon Blakemore
Hey Jon!
Good to hear from you too. The subfloor was not concrete, but 3/4" plywood. The manufacturer indicated that the adhesive could be used for either application.
I trust all is well with you . .
Curt
Curt,
"The subfloor was not concrete, but 3/4" plywood"
Guess I didn't read that right. I still would lean towards the bond. Could the ply have been at the early stages of delamination? Then again, maybe you just got some bad adhesive, or things were just going too well...
Are you still working alot with Sebring Services?
Jon Blakemore
Jon, No I don't work with Sebring too much these days. He has developed a solid crew over there, and I've become very busy with lots of kitchens, baths, basements and now additions! God is good.
How is business going there? Write me at [email protected].
Curt