Moisture Under Laminate?

Hi All,

I recently purchased a home and realized the laminate floors are in bad shape. The inspector (who originally missed the damage ) came back out, tested the floor, and it showed moisture.

The damage is in several places throughout the house. I have attached some pictures for you to view.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Dan

 

It would be helpful if you would give a bit more information on the details of this floor.
Like is is a slab or is there a basement or crawlspace, what room(s) are these, etc.

 

I am curious, too, as to why he didn't see this blatant damage on initial inspection. Did you locate and hire the inspector or was he suggested by the Real Estate agent? If the latter, then his inspection was to facilitate a sale, not protect you. Sad that it happens, but it does.

More info will certainly help us to help you. As far as the damage goes, it all has to come up and the water problem rectified. Hopefully you won't reinstall laminate which is nothing but MDF with a picture of wood on it and a coat of aluminum oxide. Less than the best quality product.

 

Hey guys, I appreciate the response.

To answer your questions GregH - they are slabs. There is no basement or crawlspace. The damage is in several different locations. The worst is in the dining room, but there is also damage in the living room, and the entry way. The odd thing is there is no protruding in the hallway to the master bedroom or to both bedrooms (yet). I will attach some pictures of the house so that y'all can see the general layout. In all the areas where there was damage, he hid it by putting furniture over the protruding planks (Picture 4 - China cabinet ; Picture 8 - Couch).

Chandler - it's really beyond me that he didn't notice either. This was actually an inspecting service I hired myself based off of stellar Yelp reviews. The "Kid" who inspected the property was probably younger than me though.

The seller actually did a lot of his own work and had no idea what he was doing. For example, the back splash is coming off and was cut horribly. Also, some of the mini blinds wont open/close. Pretty much anything that doesn't function correctly, I'm assuming he installed.

My goal here is to get the seller to pay for this. Funny thing is - on the initial sellers disclosure under "Known defects and malfunctions" section, he left "Floor" blank (Didn't mark "Y" or "N"). I identified this, told the listing agent, and they sent me an amended disclosure two days later with the "Floor" box marked "N". Do y'all think I have a case here? It's pretty obvious he was aware...

I will be sure to choose something other than laminate for the replacement, thanks for that advice. What would you recommend?

Thanks,
Dan

 

Moisture won't affect an engineered wood floor as much as laminate, if you want the wood look. How old is the house? Anything built in the last 30 years should have a moisture barrier under slab. Older houses are iffy.

 

Totally agree with Sam. Good quality engineered flooring. Such a nice interior to have bad flooring. I know you are bummed out. Was the disclosure changed before closing or after?

 

Sam floor - The house was built in '07. The thing is, the seller laid the floor himself, hardly a professional lol. I'll go with engineered wood when the floor is re-installed because I do like the "Wood" look.

Chandler - Thanks for verifying what Sam said! And I know, it's quite disappointing. The disclosure was changed before closing; the initial was on 3/26 then amended on 3/28. I moved in 5/2.

Originally, the seller wanted to offer me $300 and "Call it even". I told him I needed to get a quote to replace the planks. Now this has turned into a much deeper issue.

I spoke with the listing agent and he made it seem like they weren't going to do anything but replace a few damaged planks. I may have to get a real estate attorney but hopefully not... I just hope I have a case if it does come to this.

Best,
Dan

 

You'll need to determine where the water came from. Is it in the middle of the house or closer to the perimeter? Is the slab well above the ground or does it run up on it? Is the plumbing under the slab or in the attic? Built in 07 your house should have plastic under the slab but it could have gotten torn when the concrete was poured.


almost forgot welcome to the forums Dan!

 

Have a free consult with a real estate attorney. Bring the contract and sellers disclosure with you. Also bring your contract from the inspection service. Find out what your real options are, if you want to take this to the next level.

 

The only recourse against a home inspector is the cost of the inspection. The disclosure was made prior to closing, so there is probably not too much that can be done.

 

While it certainly looks like moisture damage, it also can be an install over an uneven subfloor that was not properly prepped. Failures at joints can be caused by movement that over stresses the click lock mechanism of the Laminate.