Who Will Pay for This Bubbling Prefinished Floor?

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Ooh 1216 Hf Dj17 Legal Dsc03449 Sm

The Homeowner's Issue

The customer had selected a prefinished engineered wood floor from a local flooring retailer. The retailer subcontracted an installer, who glued the flooring to concrete on grade. Within three months, the owner noticed bubbling in a few areas. The bubbling got progressively worse over the next two months, so the owner called the retailer. The retailer thought it was a manufacturing defect, so he filed a claim with the manufacturer, which contacted an inspector.

Roy: The Inspector's Observations

This prefinished floor had a film-type finish over natural white oak. I observed finish bubbling around knots, checks and other character marks.

I asked the installer for his moisture tests (required by the manufacturer), but he said he didn't test the wood or the concrete. I conducted moisture tests, and the concrete had a reading of 88% RH, while the wood flooring had 9% MC on its face and 18% MC on its back.


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I asked about the adhesive, and the installer said he used the flooring manufacturer's recommended product, a two-in-one moisture control adhesive system. My inspection revealed a 70 percent transfer to the back of the flooring, but the adhesive manufacturer requires 100 percent transfer when using the product for moisture control.

I concluded the bubbling occurred because the installer improperly applied the two-in-one system; without full coverage it could not protect the wood floor from the subfloor's elevated moisture level.

Blake: The Attorney's Analysis

The flooring installer did not follow guidelines and is clearly negligent. But who is legally responsible for the costs?

In general, the retailer would be because he was contracted by the homeowner for both the materials and the installation. The retailer would also have a claim against the installer to pull out the existing materials, pay for new materials and install them properly.

However, this depends on the agreements signed between the parties. The retailer may have a direct agreement between the owner and installer, which would require the owner to pursue the installer. Perhaps the retailer's agreement with the owner excluded warranties for installation, or the installer's agreement with the retailer was limited to labor and excluded liability for new materials.

Until we know more, the most likely result is that the retailer is responsible to the owner to replace the floor, and the installer is liable to perform the work and reimburse the retailer for the materials.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors alone.


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