Flooring installers leave staple holes and scratches in new hardwood
14 posts in the last 90 days, all from r/Flooring.
“I am about to start the install of my engineered hardwood floors, and there are several spots along the exterior walls that have (what I believe to be) toe nails in the way. They were put in at and angle and up to 3/4 out from the drywall in places. How do I deal with these. Can…”
“We had fairly expensive glue-down engineered hardwood plank flooring installed a couple of years ago. When it was installed, all of the seams were nice and tight. Recently, we’ve noticed gaps developing between some of the planks in certain areas. These gaps definitely weren’t…”
“We are currently doing some kitchen remodeling, and I'm planning to use engineered hardwood for the flooring. We didn't discuss the installation method when we signed the contract, but today, once construction started, we talked about the floors, and they said they're going to…”
Homeowners report finding staple holes in planks, visible scratches, and chips after hardwood flooring installation. Contractors also underestimated material needs, leading to on-site cutting and gaps. Customers seek guidance on how to address these installation flaws.
SOURCES (14)
“We are currently doing some kitchen remodeling, and I'm planning to use engineered hardwood for the flooring. We didn't discuss the installation method when we signed the contract, but today, once construction started, we talked about the floors, and they said they're going to use…”
“Thanks for the comments on the concrete subfloor pad removal. My next question is about the other levels that are on wood subfloor. The staples are embedded in the subfloor. Like when I push the floor scraper over them they don’t even catch. I pulled a few by digging needle nose pliers in but that seems stupid to do for the hundreds, if not thousands of staples. Do I have to pull all the damn staples? Even if it means digging in to the subfloor. submitted by /u/Key_Garbage8053 [link]”
“I had to have my floors replaced after a leak. I went with this Shaw product https://shawbuilderflooringsf.com/pdp/hardwoods/all-in-ii-5/weathered/hw582-00543 After it was installed I noticed three floor boards in my kitchen that had apparent scratches in them. Two aren't terrible and you kind of have to know where to look to see it, and the light has to hit it just right. But one I feel is pretty noticable. Attached are pictures. The first, zoomed out one, is what it looks like after the in”
“I am about to start the install of my engineered hardwood floors, and there are several spots along the exterior walls that have (what I believe to be) toe nails in the way. They were put in at and angle and up to 3/4 out from the drywall in places. How do I deal with these. Can i cut them, or are they structural since they are coming from the exterior wall into the subfloor? Edit: I cut them, wall is still standing submitted by /u/pumpkinn12 [link] [comments]”
“I’m working in my parents old house and found this under the carpet, it looks like there’s some staples here and there around the edges. It looks like each plank is around 2 inches wide and it covers the whole house. Is it worth getting it redone? submitted by /u/Mission_Mention4216 [link] [comments]”
“We had fairly expensive glue-down engineered hardwood plank flooring installed a couple of years ago. When it was installed, all of the seams were nice and tight. Recently, we’ve noticed gaps developing between some of the planks in certain areas. These gaps definitely weren’t there before and seem to have appeared somewhat suddenly. Any idea what could cause this a couple of years after installation? Could it be humidity/moisture changes, an installation issue, or something else? Also, is there”
“First three are before, the rest are after. I think the scratch is every bit as visible as it was before but looks quite a bit less like damage. I imagine this works a treat on darker wood. If anyone has any further suggestions, I'm all ears. I'm not trying to "fix" so much as make it catch the light less. submitted by /u/MyChemicalThrowaway7 [link] [comments]”
“Engineered oak floor in a ~4-year-old flat, preparing to sell. There are superficial scratches/scuff marks that are much more visible close up than standing. Is this normal wear, and can it be improved with buffing/oiling/local treatment without sanding the whole floor? submitted by /u/RevolutionaryTiger46 [link] [comments]”
“Thanks for reading. I have just had an installer rip and replace laminate with engineered hardwood. Installation completed yesterday, we just went to check things today. List of issues, we have photos of around 100 or so: majority is small dents (small meaning less than 1cm long, going a couple mm deep) and scratches some longer scratches that go deep enough to change the color (it's walnut, the scratches look white) some deeper dents from maybe tools being dropped glue smears left on the fl”
“Got about 850sqft of EHW installed this week, as well as hardwood stairs. During the walkthrough, what little things should I be looking to cover with the contractor re: installation quality/warrantiability before approving the final work? submitted by /u/QuarterRobot [link] [comments]”
“(Ignore the fact that the red drawing looks like a private part lol) Does anyone know what kind of wood this is (oak, maple, etc.)? We got some pretty gnarly scratches (outlined in red) in the floor today and I'm trying to figure out the best way to repair them without having to sand everything down. Any ideas would be so appreciated! Thank you! 🙏🏻 submitted by /u/Ill_Phrase_575 [link] [comments]”
“Is this a normal process for engineered hardwood? I didn’t expect to see staple holes especially since they used glue. submitted by /u/Browserbeep [link] [comments]”
“Freshly installed pre-finished engineered hardwood scratched by installers. I found scratches on a few planks and chips on a few others. I also found staple holes in on different planks. The floors were glued in so I’m not sure if that’s normal to staple random planks as well. They also underestimated sqft and ran out of floors and were cutting planks indoors… How would you handle this? submitted by /u/Browserbeep [link] [comments]”