Large gaps in wood floors

5 years ago

We just toured one of our builder's homes that they are close to finishing and were shocked by how bad the wood floors looked. There were sizeable gaps everywhere. Is this a bad install or is this to be expected during the winter months? We don't want to start off on the wrong foot with our builder, but we want to make sure when our wood floors are installed, they look nice. Should we go with a different product than white oak? We currently have 3/4" hickory hardwood floors and there are a few small gaps here and there during the winter months but nothing like we saw in the newly built home.

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Comments (7)

millworkman
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Looks like either a poor install or the wood has shrunk considerably which very well could be possible as there appears to be no finish on the floor. Or a combination of both.
WestCoast Hopeful
5 years ago
This is not good. If they are sharing this home with you as an example of what you would get I would run. Fast.
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G & S Floor Service
5 years ago
I agree, it's a combination of both. The small gaps is from low humidity. The large gaps is poor craftsmanship.
Kate
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks everyone!

Millworkman - You are correct - the floors have not been finished yet. Would finishing them fix the large gaps?

Could it also be the quality of the wood? A lot of builders in our area are going with engineered wood floors. Our builder is one of the few that still uses real wood floors. Should we consider engineered wood floors over real hardwood? I love the idea of real hardwood floors, but I want them to look nice.
Trish Walter
5 years ago
that's why it's important for your wood to adjust to the climate before install....
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
The finish will not 'jump' or span those gaps. These are SOLID WIDE plank wood floors. The house does NOT have the humidity control and heat control going. The installers did NOT acclimate properly. They did not install them properly. And I can guarantee there will be BIG issues with these floors in the summer time. Especially if they putty those gaps.

In the summer (the expansion time) the floors will get all puffy. They will push closed those gaps. And if there is putty in the gaps that putty will squish up and out...all over the floor. And let's just say that's going to get ugly.

An engineered hardwood isn't safe in the hand's of this builder either. They have the same issue...just less likely to be so visibly.

Imagine pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into your home and ending up with floors like this. Now how happy to do you feel.

See if you can negotiate a 'real' hardwood flooring pro to do the floors. If they say no, then find someone else.
cpartist
5 years ago
Look also at how the floors are by the baseboards. If this is the quality of the floors, I'd look closely at everything else. Especially the areas you can't see normally.