A Contractor Who Did the Right Thing

Craig DeWitt Headshot

Often I inspect floors installed, sanded and finished by people for whom it's just a job. But once in awhile, I get called by someone who really takes pride in his work. Last week I got a call from such a sand and finish contractor, about movement in a floor. His crew was on the third cut with the sander, and kept noticing movement in side and end joints. He called a halt to the job until they could figure out what was happening.

The house was a new construction and truly outstanding. It had about 3,000 square feet of 5-inch S&B red oak. Beautiful house, beautiful floor. But a significant number of side and end joints moved when you stepped on them-not something this homeowner would tolerate. The sand and finish contractor knew this and stopped the job so we could deal with it now, rather than after the house was occupied.

Some careful measurement revealed that the tongue and groove configuration was off. The tongue was not properly holding the groove edge down.

Now, the delay in addressing the situation did cause the owners a little heartache, but that was nothing like what would have occurred if finishing proceeded and the homeowners moved in. They likely would have had to move out while the floor was fixed. So I applaud this floor contractor for taking pride in his work and stopping the job when something wasn't right.

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