Ok, let me start by saying that I am fully aware that we should not have used this guy, done more research, etc. That out of the way, here is our situation...
Our realtors recommended a contractor to us that installed floors in their home. He came over to our house in February, we showed him the product we wanted to use (a bamboo floor from LL) and he said that he could get it done. They started the project in March. After ripping up the old laminate flooring, it was apartment that we had a "hot slab" meaning that there is general moisture that will always been in our slab, a common occurrence for older homes in Houston. We now know, after speaking with numerous flooring companies over the past month, that when it was clear we had a "hot slab", a moisture test should have been done. A moisture test was never done. The contractor's crew used a Mapai adhesive that is used for moisture situations, however since a test was never done, the moisture level that this specific product can handle (per its own product guide and warranty guide) was irrelevant. If a test would have been done, we could have used this in a warranty claim. Long story short, the floor failed after a week of being down. Since it was glued (his recommendation to glue it rather than do the floating floor method) and had to all be ripped up, we are out $5k in flooring that we bought. Another flaw in the process was that he brought the floor into the house to acclimate it to the environment in our house, but he never cut the plastic open, so when it was down during the first week, that's when it expanded and acclimated.
After it was all ripped up (we have been on concrete since middle of April) he was blaming our foundation. So, we had 4 different foundation companies come out. None of them said we had foundation issues that needed attention and certainly nothing that would have caused the floors to fail after a week. We also had multiple flooring companies come out and all of them had the same comments. 1. Bamboo should have never been glued in a "hot slab" situation. 2. A moisture test should have 100% been done. 3. You have to use an adhesive that is made to handle the moisture level in your slab
So, we made it clear to the contractor we are expecting a refund. A refund for the $5K in floors he ruined, the labor he charged us to lay the floor, and the cost of the float and adhesive used, all coming out to about $9300. His initial reaction is the blaming of our foundation. He also is claiming that he doesn't have that kind of money. He wants to do right and is suggesting that he can do our floors again for free (NOT happening) or give us free labor on other projects around the house (right now is not an option because we have to pay for two rounds of flooring as it stands right now, much less material to do a kitchen or bath remodel too).
So, any suggestions on what next? Small claims court has been tossed around but I don't have any experience with that or know if that would even get us anywhere. Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Our realtors recommended a contractor to us that installed floors in their home. He came over to our house in February, we showed him the product we wanted to use (a bamboo floor from LL) and he said that he could get it done. They started the project in March. After ripping up the old laminate flooring, it was apartment that we had a "hot slab" meaning that there is general moisture that will always been in our slab, a common occurrence for older homes in Houston. We now know, after speaking with numerous flooring companies over the past month, that when it was clear we had a "hot slab", a moisture test should have been done. A moisture test was never done. The contractor's crew used a Mapai adhesive that is used for moisture situations, however since a test was never done, the moisture level that this specific product can handle (per its own product guide and warranty guide) was irrelevant. If a test would have been done, we could have used this in a warranty claim. Long story short, the floor failed after a week of being down. Since it was glued (his recommendation to glue it rather than do the floating floor method) and had to all be ripped up, we are out $5k in flooring that we bought. Another flaw in the process was that he brought the floor into the house to acclimate it to the environment in our house, but he never cut the plastic open, so when it was down during the first week, that's when it expanded and acclimated.
After it was all ripped up (we have been on concrete since middle of April) he was blaming our foundation. So, we had 4 different foundation companies come out. None of them said we had foundation issues that needed attention and certainly nothing that would have caused the floors to fail after a week. We also had multiple flooring companies come out and all of them had the same comments. 1. Bamboo should have never been glued in a "hot slab" situation. 2. A moisture test should have 100% been done. 3. You have to use an adhesive that is made to handle the moisture level in your slab
So, we made it clear to the contractor we are expecting a refund. A refund for the $5K in floors he ruined, the labor he charged us to lay the floor, and the cost of the float and adhesive used, all coming out to about $9300. His initial reaction is the blaming of our foundation. He also is claiming that he doesn't have that kind of money. He wants to do right and is suggesting that he can do our floors again for free (NOT happening) or give us free labor on other projects around the house (right now is not an option because we have to pay for two rounds of flooring as it stands right now, much less material to do a kitchen or bath remodel too).
So, any suggestions on what next? Small claims court has been tossed around but I don't have any experience with that or know if that would even get us anywhere. Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
