T&G Engineered Oak flooring unwrapped, bowing 8mm - 22mm

[Fallingditch]

Just bought 30 sq m of T&G engineered Oak flooring.

 

The second sentence on the Installation Guidelines sheet inside the box states "Your Emerald 14mm T&G Engineered Flooring does not require a period of acclimatisation however warranty conditions dictate that the engineered wood flooring is to remain in the sealed packaging prior to the date of installation".

 

So we unwrapped four boxes Friday night, and by Sunday morning, many of the planks had bowed - one of the images below shows a 1850 x 190 plank bowed by 8mm at one end and 22mm at the other end.  (Its sitting on a SLC floor which was poured a week ago.  RH in the room is 75 %;  house is in Cornwall and RH  is seldom below 75% ...)

 

The Installation Guidelines sheet also states "at the time of installation and thereafter, conditions should be within the range expected when the building is in use.  The RH of the air should be between 45 deg and 65 deg" ..."These figures also apply once the floor is installed" ... "The installer/owner assume all responsibility for the final inspection of both the site suitability and product quality prior to installation in order that the requirements of these instructions are fully complied with.  Claims of any nature will not be accpeted if a fault is visibly noticeable prior to installation".

 

I do not have a good feeling about this situation.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[Alan Ambrose]

Suggest notify the supplier as a back stop and ask for their advice. If they say return and we will replace, fine. It could be that they have been improperly stored.

 

Probably not a problem in practice. Assume you can (temporarily) remove the bow with light pressure? How are you going to fix? Glue?

[Fallingditch]

12 minutes ago, Alan Ambrose said:

How are you going to fix? Glue?

Yes, glue direct to SLC

[MikeSharp01]

As I am finding the 'rules' for laying wooden floors are myriad. For the one we are contemplating the drying time for the slc is 1mm/day , the boards must be stored elsewhere or not delivered until after the drying is finished, and installing above 65% RH is not recommended. UFH adds a whole other set of 'rules'. Anyway what has happened is that the oak layer has tightened up (how thick is it?), unlikely in 95% RH, or the plywood base has expanded, more likely but would perhaps lead to twisting as the cross grain layers expand differentially which you don't have. 

 

Either way checking back with the suppliers seems like good advice to me.👍

[nod]

I think the supplier will tell you what you have already realized 

Dont remove the packaging till your ready to use it The rest will be fine if you do this 

[Fallingditch]

20 minutes ago, MikeSharp01 said:

(how thick is it?)

3 mm

[Kelvin]

Our oak flooring is fitted upstairs on the Egger boards. However we were told by the supplier to wait until the RH in the house had stabilised before taking delivery of it.  When it was delivered they wanted it delivered into the rooms it was being installed in and left wrapped. Our planks are 19mm thick. I can’t recall how thick the oak is though, 5mm maybe more. 
 

We had a dining table made locally from ash.  The planks at each end have expanded by 4mm. The cabinet maker told us this would happen and to wait 6 months and he’ll re-finish it. It demonstrates how much wood can move. 

Edited June 30 by Kelvin