Parquetry flooring lifted

[wagits]

Hi,
I had some parquetry BlackButt blocks installed in my 7 year old home with a concrete floor. We purchased the blocks and let them sit in the house for 1 month. The floor was prepared in this way

Old ceramic tiles were removed and the concreted sanded.
A waterproof sealant was applied.
The installer layed the blocks diagonally from the wall.
The flooring was sanded and coated with 4 coats of single pack solvent based polyurethane and 1 coat sealer
The flooring was laid in January in very hot conditions.

It is now winter and we have noticed that in large areas, family room, kitchen, hallway, dining room the boards have expanded and lifted in the corners of the rooms. Only one corner in each room. The layer left a 1 inch gap to the skirtings but it seems as if the flooring expanded and used this gap and then some causing the boards to lift. Since the boards run diagonally to the walls its the corners which have suffered. I have removed some of the blocks in the affected areas to help stop any more boards lifting. I called the installer and he asked me to call him when he gets back from his holiday in 3 months. I have chased him up and it does seem he is overseas, so I am hoping he will be able to fix. I also thought waiting the extra 3 months then the floor will have more time to climatize. Is this fixable. I dont want to have to rip up the whole floor and do this job again. Is it possible to clean the lifted blocks and relay then recoat. I am assuming a bigger gap is required for natural expansion of the boards. Is there a professional service that I can use to inspect the affected areas.
Any help appreciated.

[Dusty]

Sorry to hear that your floor is lifting.

Anyway, while the contractor you hired is overseas blowing the dough you paid to have your floor done with I suggest you get this mob here (http://www.tfasa.com.au/tfasa/page/inspect.htm) involved.

That way, by the time he gets back, you'll be armed with a heap of information regarding your flooring problem. Certainly beats sitting on your hands while you wait.

Good luck.

Also, give this bloke a call (http://www.tfasa.com.au/tfasa/page/whole.htm#afc). He knows whats going on.

[Connollys]

Hi Wagits, Sounds like you have a real moisture problem. If the slab was sealed correctly that shouldn't be happening. So the contractor has either not used the right product or not applied it correctly. One thing to check however is the height of the soil against the outside of your house compared with inside. If it is the same level or higher theres a good chance that is the source of your problem. Cheers Craig
www.connollys.com.au

[glock40sw]

G'day.
What sealer and adhesive was used?

Some pour-on sealers are not compatible with other adhesives.

Also, a pour-on slab sealer may be moisture resistant but will not be waterproof.

I always prefer installers of our block parquetry to use Bostick Ultraset adhesive and the Bostick companion slab sealer. The sealer should also be applied to the edges of the bottom plate of any walls. you would be surprised at how much moisture can come under a floor via the gaps between the wall frame and the slab. Sheet membrane for Strip flooring over battens or ply should have the sheeting brought up the walls 50 to 75mm all around.

[wagits]

Thanks for all your help. I may get on to one of those experts to assess the situation.

[wagits]

This has been a long time since I originally posted my issue, and again thanks for the advice. I ended up getting a expert from TAMRA who tested the floor. Moisture content was ok. He believes that an expansion joint should have been used because of the area. Anyway, the floorer came back and re-installed the floor which had lifted. TAMRA said that the timber is fairly stable now that it has gone through all 4 seasons. I now need a professional floor sander and polisher to finish the job. We prefer a 2 pac high gloss finish. It was finshed off in a single pac urethane finish using Bostik materials last time round. We do have a guy coming on Saturday who wants to test for reaction before attempting the job. This guy does seem like he knows what he is talking about. But if anyone knows of someone in the Adelaide area they can reccommend it would be much appreciated. We are hoping to be able to have our home back in a liveable state by Xmas, 15 months from when we started this.