reno nightmare

[veronicac]

hi all, nice to be in a place where people are actually helping each other.
My very pressing question is, what to do if particle board laid got wet over and over leaving it buckled and raised along joins? Floating floor boards have been laid resulting in them literally floating. Do we rip up floor boards and replace partilcle board? Can a levelling agent be used?

Copied from the G'day forum.

[ringtail]

Did the flooring contractor lay the boards over the particle board with the raised edges ? If so - he should be shot. Pretty common for it to get wet during construction and raise on the joins. The proceedure is to let it dry and then put a planer over the joins, then let it dry some more, repeat the planing if required then lay the floor boards. Is it yellow tongue ?

[Godzilla73]

:whs: Sheet flooring can withstand 3 months of exposure to the elements, and raised joins are a side effect but are easily fixed, by a quick buzz with an electric planer or a run over with a drum sander and coarse paper. Floating floor guy needs a good going over as well... If it was a reputable mob, get 'em back. If a subbie, give him a call and tell him the prob see how you go...

[cabuckley]

I know this thread is a few months old but I hope someone can help me. Our yellow tongue has been exposed to bucket loads of rain for the last 6 months to the point where our chippy had to drill drain holes in it to stop it pooling for days on end.
We are now getting close to lock up and will be putting hardwood flooring down right through the house but are concerned the chipboard has absorbed too much water and will cause problems in the future. Our builder said it will be fine, give a quick sand to flattened out the joins and we'll be good to go 4 weeks after lock up :no:
Is this right? Should we just go along with what he's saying or can/should we get the chipboard tested for moisture content. How much would this cost and are there any independent companies that do this sort of thing (we live in the northern suburbs of Melbourne). Thanks in advance to all in this forum - your advice is much appreciated.

[sundancewfs]

Without a visual (and possibly a check with a moisture meter) its impossible to say with 100% accuracy.

Having said that.... Its not uncommon to have to drill holes to drain to water, and some of the raising of the joints can be quite substantial. Our upstairs floor was affected like yours and we had to drill holes and drain it everyday. I am about to start on the upstairs part of our build (it has been locked up for 2 years now) and one of the first jobs I will be doing is leveling the joints and cleaning up the fuzz on the floor. I have decided to do this as the first thing, as I don't want to spread sanding dust throughout the house after I have plastered all the walls.
For the most part the chipboard flooring seems to dry out pretty quickly. If it has been undercover for a couple of months or so, it should be dry enough.
Hope this helps a bit....

[Bloss]

Nah - your builder is right although 6mths exposure is well beyond the specs see http://www.chhwoodproducts.com.au/us...PGV4_10Jan.pdf (http://www.chhwoodproducts.com.au/userfiles/6/file/structaflor/CHH086_Flooring_Brochure_34PGV4_10Jan.pdf) 3 mths is guaranteed max. But almost likely fine - as your builder says need to level off with sander, joins especially.

[cabuckley]

Bloss and Sundancewfs - thanks for the advice; I'm reassured that we can just go ahead and lay the hardwood flooring over the yellow tongue as long as we give it around 4 weeks to dry out?? Stress levels about the cost and long term look are high as it is a large open plan area of 11.7m x 6.2m and we want to get it right and not have problems in a year or two because the yellow tongue had too much moisture in it. Now's the time to ask the questions and make any changes, so your opinion is much appreciated.

[sundancewfs]

4 weeks should be fine, it will be determined by the builder. Remember they will be wanting to do the right thing by the job also as its a pain to have to come back and fix stuff and they won't want to be doing that. as long as the joints and any raised bits are sanded/planed down to an acceptable level to lay the flooring over, it should all be good.

[TimDavis]

No dramas sanding off the ridges on the joins and any other crap left behind by plasterers, painters and the like. I do it all the time and see raised chipboard joins all the time, no problem. BUT. You must check the moisture level of the chipboard, with a moisture meter, before the boards are layed. If the weather is cold and damp the chipboard might not dry out adequately within a month. It should be enough time but you cannot be sure without having it tested. Anybody that lays timber boards professionally should have a meter, and if they don't they shouldn't be in the business.

[cabuckley]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion; very much appreciated as it's given us an understanding of how to open the discuss with our builder and where he might be coming from. The advice about a moisture meter is very helpful as it will give both of us a quantitative measurement that is unequivocal.