Stunned At The Poor Installation

Here are some pictures and videos from the floor installation. It's supposed to be a glue down installation on our concrete slab. I'll be contacting the manufacturer to see if they will warranty this installation. I repeatedly told CW Floors that I wasn't looking for perfection, just that it meet the MINIMUM manufacturers requirements. This clearly does NOT meet those requirements. There are large and numerous areas where the floor sounds hollow and not glued down. There are even several areas where the wood actually flexes like in the video below. I haven't told Paula yet as I don't want to spoil her Christmas cheer. More later. I'll add pictures showing the hollow spots.



Floors In

Wow! The new floor is in and it looks great. Below are some pictures. I haven't checked for flat yet as we got in late from a Christmas party and awards banquet with Paula's realtor friends at the car museum in San Marcos. Layton finished up yesterday in the study. You can see the blue tape.

Wood Partially Installed

Layton and crew got most of the floor installed yesterday. These are pictures from this morning. They just have the study and then the baseboard. From what I could see, they have done a good job installing the wood. I haven't looked yet to see if the floor is flat (not level, just flat). I like the look of the wood. Looks like teak.

Floors Today!

Gilbert emailed that Layton and crew would be installing the floors today and tomorrow. It's been a challenge living in just a bedroom as all the stuff from the rooms getting new floors is crowded in the other rooms. There is a little leveling left as shown in the pictures below. I'm sure Layton will knock down some of the high spots before starting. Our neighbors were over yesterday and said Layton had working on their tile and they were happy with the job.

We Went With CW Floors Here In New Braunfels

We decided to go with CW Floors here in New Braunfels. Their website is cwfloors.com. Our salesman is Gilbert Martinez. Very nice guy and patient with all of our questions.

Here are some pictures of the wood we picked. It looks like a cross between mahogany and cherry. The planks are 5.5" in width. It's an engineered laminate. Cost for the full retail install is about $8000 for about 700 square feet.

The manufacturer is Scandian. Headquartered in Curitiba Parana, Scandian Industries currently owns and operates 3 different manufacturing facilities in 3 different Brazilian states, a sales and distribution operation in Houston - Texas. The product list includes pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring, pre-finished and unfinished solid hardwood flooring, plywood for the furniture industry, veneer core platform, and wood veneer (core stock).

For almost 30 years Scandian Industries has specialized in the manufacturing and commercialization of wood and wood products in Brazil. Scandian continues to invest in quality products and people by embracing new technologies, new machinery, and increased automation. The decisive management structure coupled with a dedication to meeting and exceeding client's expectations has established Scandian as a leader in the forest product industry.

Here's a picture from the manufacturer of how it's supposed to look. If it looks anywhere close to this, we'll be thrilled. From the manufacturer, "Timborana is a beautiful teak like species with a color that ranges from a yellow brown to a dark reddish brown. Its rich appearance and luster is mostly unaffected by light, and its depth in color and fine graining make it perfect for use anywhere a warm and distinguished look is desired."

Back At Work Leveling

Layton and his partner were back at work yesterday leveling the floor. He said he'd be back this morning for more leveling. Clay said it would have to dry for a few days to get the moisture level down to ensure a good bond. At his suggestion, we're keeping the heater on to help with the drying. I told them yesterday that I'd rather have it right than fast. Here are some more pictures of the progress. I don't know why Scooter the cat always has to be in the picture.

Met With Clay About New Bill

I met with Clay Sultemeier, the general manager of the New Braunfels branch along with Gilbert and Layton about the bill for leveling the floor. After a long discussion, we came to an agreement that the floor would be leveled to the manufacturers specs for the "new" price and that anything above that would be at their expense. Clay came out to the house to personally inspect the floor and talk to Layton about leveling the floor. I also think he wanted to make sure the job was doable for that price. The guys are back on the job so I'll post here tommorrow to let y'all know how it looks. Again, we're not looking for perfect, just that the job meets the minimum manufactures specs and that we both do what we said we'll do at the price we agreed to.

New Estimate For Leveling The Floor

I just received "new" bills for leveling the floor. A little surprising since Gilbert already looked at the floor and gave us a bill for $641.92 for the leveling. These two new bills bring the total to $1,961.84 just for the additional floor leveling above what was quoted on the original bill. The reason we went with CW Floors at the full retail price and not the discount companies out of San Antonio was so that we didn't have to hassle with things like this. I can understand not knowing what the condition of the floor is under the carpet but AFTER looking at the bare floor I expect the original bill to be reasonably accurate and not triple after the job has already started. There were no unknowns or surprises after the floor was bare and every flaw could be seen. Here are the new additional bills for the floor leveling.

Time For More Leveling

Well, it's Monday morning and time for more leveling. Layton said he was going to San Antonio this morning to get more self-leveling compound. He said they would get most of the floor prepped today and maybe some final touches tomorrow. I told him level is more important than fast. From the pictures below, there is a fair amount of leveling left to do. Oh, and Scooter just had to be in the picture.

More Leveling Needed

I just met with Gilbert, Layton and Pat (company service manager for CW Floors) to discuss the floor and how level it needs to be. Looks like we've got more work to do before it's time to glue wood. Here's some extra leveling work they did today. Layton is coming by tomorrow to use some self leveling compound. That's what I used on the tile floors in our master bath to make sure the floor was really level for the travertine. I got it level to 1/16" over 8 feet. I hope they get close.

Gilbert Is Coming To Check The Install

I just spoke to Gilbert on the phone this morning. Very responsive and understanding! He's coming out to look at the install and was concerned about the level, too. He said the installer (Layton) had some concerns about the floor being level and had contacted him. I told Gilbert that we're not looking for perfect but just want to meet the minimum manufactures specs so we don't have problems later.

I don't think I would have gotten the discount folks in San Antonio (Lumber Liquidators) to come look at the floor before the install so for that reason, I'm glad we went with local folks even if it is more expensive. Sometimes, you get what you pay for. I doubt I could have even gotten them on the phone! I'll let you know how it goes.

After looking at the floor, here's the quote he gave us to level the floor. He has given me an estimate over the phone of about $600 so this is right in line with that.

Prep Work

Here is the status of the prep work so far. I measured the levelness of the floor and hope they're going to do some more work. The manufacturer says it should be level within 3/16 over 10 feet. I took these measurements at random spots and didn't really have to look hard. Gilbert said it might take a week to finish the floors and they said they were going to start gluing floor today.

Before Laying The Wood

Here are a few of the pictures after the demo and before laying the wood. The install guys said it went a lot easier than they expected. Paula was there when they were peeling up the parquet and they said it just popped right up. Gilbert said it might take a week to finish and this is after one day!

Before Pictures

Here are a few pictures before they start with our new floors. It was a ton of work moving all the furniture out of the living room, dining room and study. I'm not looking forward to moving it all back. You can see the wood stacked in the corner of the study. They brought it by a week ahead of time to make sure it has enough time to acclimate before installation.