parquetry flooring faults

Hi,
Does anyone have any comment on how long it takes for faults/damage due to change in humidity in flooring to show?... clearly it does depend on the weather, but due to the circumstances outlined in the next paragraph I am looking for something more.

We purchased a property and laid a floor in 2010. Sold it in 2012. The new owner has complaints (which under Finnish law, we now have to respond to) that the floor was incorrectly laid.....We have a different opinion as we owned the flat for two years and saw no sign of buckling, cracking or any other problem, which could be explained by it being laid incorrectly.

Thank you in advance.

 

Welcome to the forums! While we can't comment on Finnish law, there are possibilities we may address. What changes did the new occupants make to the structure? Did they drastically change the humidity or temperature? This is probably the #1 reason for buckling floors, aside for not leaving an expansion gap around the perimeter. Only you can answer the last question. Also, was the floor stapled/cleated down, or was it a floating floor? Was there an underlayment such as roofer's felt placed under the flooring prior to it being laid?

I know it may be an impossibility, but if you could post pictures of the buckling floor, or if you have progress pictures of when and how it was laid, it may help us give more definitive answers. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

I have parquet in my dining rm, kitchen and hallway. It was installed with parquet adhesive over plywood. The 1st floor was put down about 18 yrs ago and the last about 15 yrs ago. I only had a few tiles buckle and that was shortly after installation. As a cheap/quick fix, I stapled those tiles down and puttied up the staple holes. Today all 3 floors still look good.

As Larry mentioned, humidity changes can affect the floor, so if they quit using the HVAC and are in the habit of leaving windows open - that can affect the flooring. IMO if the floor was issue free for 2 yrs, they wouldn't have a case ..... but we know nothing about your local laws/regs. I'd be documenting the best I could how the floor was installed and preformed for the 2 yrs prior to the sale. It would also be wise to consult a real estate attorney.

 

Parquet was a big thing back in the 70's.
Sure there just do not want a new floor for free?

 

Thank you for responses.
I will give some additional details (for those that are interested. ) next week.

I am a little rushed now.....What I will say is that I was not looking for the legal advice, but hoping for some insperation on phrasing....It would be better to do it on a Finnish site, but my written Finnish is not that good. I do however feel I need to support the boss.

Kind Regards,

 

We're here, so when you get ready, we'll give as much information as we can.

 

Thank you friends. as I wrote in my last post, I am not expecting legal advice, but perhaps some “insperation”. So please do not go to to much trouble....But I provide the following as I expect some may be interested:

The floor was installed in Autumn, 2010. The property was sold in November, 2012.

The owner first contacted us in August, 2013. (Our response included the details below, with the difference in language, may be slightly different. That is not however an issue.)

A relevant link is: Kuluttajariitalautakunta - Sale of used dwellings

One sentence reads: “The buyer should not delay in complaining about a defect to the seller.”

So one issue I expect to address is the time of first contact: Is August (late summer) the time that such problems would appear?

Details of our response to the buyer included:

*Photos*
I understand the photos were taken after the floor had expanded, not as they were when they were installed. (Photos that were supplied were taken in August 2013. I do not expect these would help our case.)

*Moisture*
(or humidity and care)
The owner writes that recent summers, were unusually humid. Is it possible that due to this and the excessive washing and not drying floors adequately has caused floors to expand more than the manufaturer's guide lines?

*Finnish Law*
I understand Finnish Law requires we disclose all the facts, which may impact the value of the property. It was...is our opinion that the floor was installed correctly.

*Expert Opinion*
The *opinion* is that the floor was not installed correctly. It is *not* that at the time of sale, we had reason to believe it was not installed correctly.

*Installation*
I understand the flóors were correctly installed. We were pleased with the floors and how they responded to use and care for the period (more than two years) between installation and sale of the property. It was only after May 2012 that the flat was actually vacant. The buyer had the opportunity to obtain an expert opinion on the floor's installation at that time. Perhaps this would have been appropriate and the espert would have been able to say then that it was not installed correctly.

Thank you for your interest.
Kind Regards,

 

Some people do not know how to care for wooden floors and can abuse them unintentionally. Certainly humidity can have an adverse affect, especially if the wood was installed in a controlled temperature/humidity situation, say with air conditioning. Subsequently allowing windows to be opened and the ambient humidity and temperature changes take control, the wood floors would exhibit signs of warpage that would not normally be seen.

"Opinions" are like belly buttons, everybody's got one. Unless someone could offer substantial proof that the floor was installed incorrectly, the opinion is not valid.

Having had use of the floors for 2 years without incident, and the problem only showing up after a new purchaser took possession, sounds to me like "something" changed, and until it is brought to light, there may never be an answer.

Your link's first paragraph seemed to sum up the matter, however.