I have installed a PEX Quicktrack radiant system in my house with prefinished maple flooring floating on top. The prefin is made of plywood substrate with about 3/8″ solid wood as the top laminate. I am VERY dissapointed with it bulging up. You step on it and it bounces down. In one area of the room about 10 feet wide, the first four planks bulge up and joints have shrunk apart leaving gaps. I am taking the baseboard up and going to reinstall it with a slight slight gap so it doesn’t pinch the flooring. Thus, hopefully, letting the floor expand and contract on it’s own. Problem is that I doubt it will work. HOW DO YOU CONTROL THE BULGING FACTOR and gaps in a floating floor? Another tactic is to turn the temperature down on the radiant. Now it runs at 114 degrees and most of the floor sits flat with few cracks elsewhere. I’m afraid that, especially in an area of only 10 feet in width, that this might be caused by some of the boards having a natural warp to them. Any ideas???
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
A standardized approach, quick-to-install hardware, and a simplified design make building custom casework cost-effective.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
was the quik trak securely fastened to the subfloor?
any issues with floor bounce, indicating perhaps a subfloor too thin for your joist on centers?
just a couple of ideas.
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Thanks but it's nothing to do with subfloor. The prefinished laminated maple flooring planks have bowed upwards. The 'float' in the worse way. I'm thinking of pinning them down to the quicktrack with a couple of well-placed nails. Also, I turned down the water to 90 or 95 degrees.
What is the total thickness of the flooring? 3/8" of solid wood sounds like an awful thick top layer. I wonder if the problem is simply that the plywood base is drying out and shrinking more than the top layer and causing the bowing...kind of like a bi-metal thermostat strip. Maybe it will reach a peaceful equilibrium if you let the whole thing dry a little longer.
Yeah...if gaps have developed, it would seem that's from drying and contracting...suggests too much initial moisture content to begin with.How long was the floor acclimated, gary? How much space was allowed at walls--floating floors require at least 1/4" typically.
gary.... the floating floor has to have expansion room on ALL sides... your comment about the baseboard "pinching " the floor is a no-no
the baseboard / shoe mold has to allow the floor to move UNDER it ...
fix that before you try anything else
The baseboard is the first thing I'm fixing. I'm pulling it off now (but someone put a few screws to hold it in place and I'm destroying it getting it out. Custom made baseboard means I have to find and dig out screws. Please everyone, only nail your trim in place wherever it goes.) The wood flooring has all been in place about 2 years therefore it is evenly dry. There is a 1/2" gap under the baseboard on both sides of this 10 foot area. I think the baseboard was pressed down too much and did pinch it, but that is not all the problem. The prefinished floating floor was just, perhaps, made from poor quality plywood substrate that unevenly warped on it's own. I think there probably is a BIG difference between good and cheap quality prefinished flooring. At any rate, I am NOT a fan of floating floors any more. It would be next to impossible to remove a few strips and put in new ones because of the locking tongue and groove system. I think I need to 1) finish removing baseboard; 2) pry the joints closed on the flooring boards; 3) carefully nail the flooring down in 2 spots or so; 4)reinstall the baseboard with a 1/32" gap below it; and 5) never use floating floors on anything again.
Any comments?