Need your advice - New build, hard wood floor got soaked. whats the damage?

Hi everyone,

Please bare with me while I explain a few things. Would be absolutely great to get your opinion on damage.The past week has been an absolute headache....we are building a house..and the rainy weather has shown a lot of drainage problems with the house. we have brought these issues up with the builder a number of times in the past and he has said its fine, it will all be fixed no problem etc etc...(he has put it off all the time).
We don't know about building, so who are we to question the builder.

Now with more and more rain these problems are becoming more apparent and damage to our ceilings, walls, floors is a huge concern of mine.

Water is coming through the house somewhere (the exterior walls perhaps) and is running along the ceiling joists on the first floor (or a two story house) and has cracked through the cornices and running down the walls and onto the wooden floor.

We have blackbutt hardwood floors (they have been polished already) that has been soaked in areas a number of times now. Also the stuff (is it particle board?) that the hardwood is layed on has been soaked from underneath (seen through the garage) heaps of times in most areas (and is also mouldy now).

What are your opinions on damage....
1. when blackbutt is soaked like this does it need replacing?
2. when the particle board (or whatever the wood floor is layed on) need replacing when it is soaked like this?

the house was nearly finished to be moved into. I don't want long term problems (when it is too late to take action against the builder).

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate your advice.

cosmic :C

G'day.
If the flooring has been soaked, it will have grown in cover width for each board. Measure how wide each board is. It should be 80mm. If it is over 81mm, then you will have the entire floor pushing against the walls and can cause structual damage. The floor can also "blow". this where the floor gets so tight that a few boards will break free of the nails and glue and pop up and look like a peaked roof.

The only way to fix a flooded floor is to rip it up and lay a new floor. As the wet boards dry, they will shrink and have huge gaps between them and look terrible. The soaked Yellow Tongue subfloor will need replacing as well.

In Sydney, call the timber inspectors at Forests NSW. They are in the Phone Book ( Don't have their number here at home). They will come and inspect the floor and give you a report that can be used against the builder if he refuses to replace the floor.

Who's production is the Blackbutt? There would have been a name stamped on the underside of the boards.

Hope it isn't mine.:oo:

It's also worth talking to Fair Trading tomorrow. This isn't going to instantly cause a bucket to be dumped on the builder (make sure you're in a level frame of mind when calling) nor will it impact on you. But someone will be able to talk you through the usual procedures for getting stuff fixed properly.

Whatever you do, don't set your own rules for defects, as you may then break the contract yourself in a disadvantageous way.

Many builders have cashflow issues. I know that's a bold and sweeping statement but it's also a reflection of the fact that accounting and cash management are usually a single module in the last quarter of building course... Your guy might really want to do it right, but be so busted for liquidity he simply can't.

The other pertinent detail, is that weather since mid-year, has been exceptionally poor on the whole. Your contractor may have a way to do things that has worked a treat in the last eight or nine dry years, but the constant wet this time has messed him up (segue to above paragraph, too). I've got jobs not started because it's unreasonable to impact on the client with this as-yet unquantified wet spell.

Anyhow, give Fair Trading a bell, and you'll feel clearer about what to do next. :)

Regards, Adam.

sorry to hear your builder has been less than professional. it's never nice when things that could've been avoided come to pass through in-action. here are some thoughts for you to consider.

- find out under what (if any) 'general conditions of contract' your contract is based on. this may be the fair trading gcoc (reasonably fair), mba or hia gcoc (both stacked in favour of the builder), maybe even the aria which has something to do with architects (if you are under this one then relax because it is stacked majorly in favour of the architect :U)

- find out if there are any special conditions of contract

- now you need to see the clauses associated with defects, fair notice and payments if you are going to withhold any payments due to defective work you must do it in accordance with the GCOC otherwise you will be in default and work may cease - this often involves notification in writing to the builder and specified time-periods - withholding payment may be necessary because in some contracts a progress payment constitutes acceptance to the current state of building.

- take photos & print them out then date them by hand & sign off. also include copies of all the correspondence between you and the builder in relation to the water damage to date - include anything else you think will be necessary. now post them to yourself or someone you trust but do not open the envelope. this can then be opened in the presence of a jp to put a fixed date (the postage mark) against the photos included, which may be handy in the event of an arbitered dispute - especially because time will pass between now and the arbitration.

- now you must sit down with your builder and figure out a couple of things - first, further damage must be prevented; second - you need to come to an agreement about what is going to be done. the builder must be financially capable to hold a license and have insurance for the job so don't be too concerned about any capability to rectify the damage that has already occurred. he may take a hit but the insurance is in place to ensure you don't wear it either. now is also the time to discuss any withholding of progress payments; finally, document these agreements with a follow-up letter to the builder.

- find out if the builder belongs to an association such as the mba or hia, then get in touch with them for any further advice, especially if the above meeting does not go well with your builder.


good luck
r's brynk

thanks so much for your replies. I really appreciate it.

the builder said that the water will not/has not damaged the flooring and will not need replacing etc. as the floorboards are polished and that means they are waterproof. which I know is absolute bs.
I'm a little bit frustrated at his response to this situation...especially after the absolute fortune everything has cost. he definitely has a huge Christmas bonus this year thanks to this build...where as our Christmas is going to suck.
I will look into getting an expert in the fields that we are having problems with and getting their opinion on the matter.
I have been looking into those building inspection reports some places do.

I will carefully read through your replies tomorrow and try to put your advice into practice.

thanks again for your time.:)