Flooring Fiasco.. not sure what to do now

Flooring Fiasco.. not sure what to do now

Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes

I closed on my first rental property last month and I have one issue that everyone said would be an easy repair but I am having an issue finding a contractor/company to fix this hardwood floor issue. I am locating in a county north of Richmond, Virginia. The house has hardwood flooring through the whole home, besides the kitchen and bathroom. The living room hardwood floor has buckled a substantial amount in one area. We were told by the inspector that it was a moisture issue but we put in insulation and moisture barrier and a dehumidifier after closing and still the hump remains. We have repaired and replaced subfloors in other areas of the house (kitchen and bathroom) but I am afraid to try this myself seeing as it's hardwood. I don't want to cost myself more money by making the situation worse at this point. 

I received many recommendations from friends and colleagues and every company I have reached out to say they only repair floors that they installed. I've reached out to over 8 companies at this point. I'd rather not just reach out to a handyman company for the risk of them ruining the flooring. 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a flooring company that can fix this buckling in Richmond, VA or the surrounding area. I am trying to attach photos to show how large the buckling is but I am having issues attaching the photos.

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Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y

@Amy H. I've had the same problem with a couple of wood laminate floors that were not installed with expansion room around the perimeter.  My guess is the perimeter to the right/left of your first pic has no room for expansion.  Once you select a repair person, have them remove the quarter round or baseboard to check.  An easy fix if that is in fact the issue.  I wish you the best. 

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  • Contractor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 11 votes
    7y

    I have a company I think can help. The company is Colonial Floors of Virginia. The do cleaning, sanding and refinishing and repair. I’ve used them before for some customers and my property manager. The owner is Evan Silverstein. I’ll message you his info. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Jason Etheredge Thank you! Yes, please send me their info.
  • Contractor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 11 votes
    7y

    Sent it over when I tried to connect. Let me know if you got it. 

  • Moseley, VA · Member since 2016 · 115 posts · 60 votes
    7y
    @Amy H. Amy, this is too small of a job for them to fix, that is why they are saying they only repair their floors. I hope you find someone, a good handyman could fix this but check references or if you can find a flooring person that works part time on the weekend for themselves. Good luck
  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Jonathan Smith I was afraid of that too. I have side people for most types of jobs but don’t know anyone who does flooring on the side unfortunately. I’ll keep looking and asking around! Thanks!!
  • Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Amy H. I've had the same problem with a couple of wood laminate floors that were not installed with expansion room around the perimeter.  My guess is the perimeter to the right/left of your first pic has no room for expansion.  Once you select a repair person, have them remove the quarter round or baseboard to check.  An easy fix if that is in fact the issue.  I wish you the best. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Terrell Garren thanks! There’s baseboard heating around a majority of the room, so I feel like it won’t be an easy task. I definitely agree that’s probably the issue though, wish it was easier to find a person who could work on it!
  • Shawn McenteerBusiness Member
    Realtor · Boonton Township, NJ · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    @Amy H. You can look under the baseboard and see if the wood is hitting the walls. Don’t worry about the end joints so much, if you are having an expansion problem the cause of it is likely along tongue side of wood. Can you get the buckled wood to go down at all, putting pressure on it? And is there any water piping or something that produces condensation running below that section of wood flooring?
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  • Rental Property Investor · Salem, OR · Member since 2017 · 696 posts · 660 votes
    7y

    @Amy H. Yep, good advice in here.  Look for a company that refinishes hardwood.  They will almost certainly do repairs as well...and then have them refinish while they are there  :)

  • Investor · Jasper GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Amy

    @Amy H.  I would buy a moisture meter and check the moisture of the wood.  They are pretty inexpensive and a good tool for any landlord. If there is significant moisture then a repair isn't going to solve the problem.  Hopefully you've taken care of the moisture and just need a repair.

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Shawn M. The buckled wood definitely can’t go down at all, even when I put my full body weight on it. I need to check under the baseboards to see the spacing. I’ll check under the house this week to see if there’s any piping under it. I don’t think there is but I’ll check once the foot of snow melts here :)
  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Richard Sherman I didn’t realize it was so hard to find companies that refinish flooring though in my area! Have you ever had floors refinished? If so, what did you pay per sq ft.
  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Bob B. I hadn’t thought about a moisture meter. I definitely will grab one this week. Thanks!!
  • Rental Property Investor · Salem, OR · Member since 2017 · 696 posts · 660 votes
    7y

    @Amy H. yep, 10+ times in different properties.  As long as it is solid hardwood...or engineered with an actual hardwood wear layer that can be refinished, the sand off the old varnish and some of the wood and then put new coats on.  They will look brand new and are a very effective way of handling flooring...ALWAYS use the hardwood when it is there unless really damaged and even then try to save it, very durable and people LOVE it.  

    I googled "Richmond Virginia refinish hardwood floors" and there is  Fred Floyd Floor service with decent reviews and "SandFree of Richmond" with AWESOME reviews and pics!

  • Moseley, VA · Member since 2016 · 115 posts · 60 votes
    7y
    @Amy H. Amy, try On the Spot floors in Powhatan, va. I used them to clean carpets before and they also sell and install flooring of all types. It’s worth a call, also a family owned company.
  • Investor · Jasper GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Amy H.  Harbor Freight has one for $13.99 and Amazon has one for $21.99 with 4.5 stars and 694 reviews.

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y

    @Richard Sherman thanks for the suggestions! The hardwood is in great condition minus that one spot being so buckled. 

    Ironically I texted my realtor last night (he's a builder in the area so he has good connections) and he suggested Fred Floyd Floors too! SandFree never came up in my research, so I definitely will contact them as well. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y

    @Jonathan Smith That wasn't a company I already reached out to, so I will call them tomorrow. Thanks!!

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y

    @Bob B. Gotta love Amazon! I will order that today then. Thanks!

  • Shawn McenteerBusiness Member
    Realtor · Boonton Township, NJ · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    If you request to have entire room sanded you should have no problem getting someone out to do the work. Many companies try to stay away from small repairs, especially if floor is stained because they can be very difficult to blend.  If you repair damaged spots, sand floors to bare wood and re-stain floor should look like new.

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  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y
    @Shawn M. It’s a large open concept space, so I definitely would need the whole thing sanded and stained again to match. I just can’t seem to find anyone who will work on the flooring without completely removing all the hardwood and installing new.
  • Shawn McenteerBusiness Member
    Realtor · Boonton Township, NJ · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    how old is the floor? I wonder if the concern is how many times the floor was sanded.  If a floor is very old and it has been sanded 4-6 times the wood starts to run thin, but for the most part a floor installer can only guess how many times it was sanded. There really is no way of knowing how many times the floor was sanded unless the property has been in the family for 50 years.  Even if floor was thinning out I still do not understand why someone would decline the work, if they start sanding and see that wood is thin the only option will be to remove it. 

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  • Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y

    @Amy H.

    Are you sure that's hardwood flooring? It looks an awful lot like oak-pattern laminate flooring, and the humping damage is a common problem with incorrrectly-installed floating laminate flooring. Oak isn't usually installed in such wide boards, and . Some of the other things you said in your original post don't quite make easy sense from a hands-on perspective, and it's kind of sad that no one has asked you about them until now. The only person who's pointed out that this probably wood laminate is @Terrell Garren (who in my experience knows what he's talking about in his posts).

    You say you put in insulation and a moisture barrier -- how did you do that without pulling up this flooring? You say you've replaced subfloors in other areas of the house like the kitchen and the bathroom -- what was wrong with them and what did you replace the existing subfloor with, or rather, what was the existing subfloor?

    EIGHT flooring companies and not one told you anything useful

    Could you post a pic of the flooring with the camera pulled back a bit so we can get to the bottom of this?

  • Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    tiles

  • Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
    7y

    @Shawn Mcenteer The house was built in the 60s but I have no idea how old the floors are. Ironically only one family owned the house before me but I never thought to ask about the flooring. 

    That's how I was feeling. They wouldn't even let me send pictures or explain the issue. Everyone's first question was "did we install the floor?" and once I said no, they'd say they can't help. It's the oddest thing!

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