How many soft spots are typical on a new install?

[jrrodgers68]

We just had new LVP flooring installed on the entire first floor of the house - approximately 1200 sq ft. The original flooring was a mix of hardwood, tile, and carpet - all directly over a concrete base (house on a slab). The new flooring looks great but there are around 2 dozen (22+) soft spots on the new flooring. We were not present at the time the flooring was installed (at the request of the installer). I know the installer ground down high spots from the large volume of concrete dust everywhere. But it seems they didn't put an leveler down to handle the low spots. This seems like an unacceptable level of issues for a new floor to me. I'm assuming each one will need to be fixed by removing the flooring around the low spot and some sort of leveling compound added. Am I being unreasonable in demanding these spots be fixed? As an amateur woodworker, I'm also adversely annoyed by the poor quality of the baseboard molding installation - butt joints in the middle of a wall rather than scarf joints, pieces cut more than 1/4" too short, etc... - but I don't want that to make me overreact to the flooring issues themselves.

 

[C.J.]

You got hacked!

You pay by credit card or still have a balance owing for the job? Who you dealing with (who did you sign a contract with)? GC, salesperson, the installer directly?

Document, document and document cus this is gonna be a fight. Make a list of all the issues you have and mark all areas in question with blue tape. This includes your half ass baseboard install since I’m sure you paid for that as part of the whole job. I’d also point out all the concrete dust and want to know whose gonna pay to have that cleaned up as well. You need your hvac ducts cleaned because of all the dust? Silicosis is real. If you’re gonna make a list of complaints you might as well list ALL legitimate issues you have cus you can’t go back later.

Now you need to have a walk through with the person you signed your contract with because that’s who is responsible for correcting your problems.

 

[jrrodgers68]

You got hacked!

You pay by credit card or still have a balance owing for the job? Who you dealing with (who did you sign a contract with)? GC, salesperson, the installer directly?

Document, document and document cus this is gonna be a fight. Make a list of all the issues you have and mark all areas in question with blue tape. This includes your half ass baseboard install since I’m sure you paid for that as part of the whole job. I’d also point out all the concrete dust and want to know whose gonna pay to have that cleaned up as well. You need your hvac ducts cleaned because of all the dust? Silicosis is real. If you’re gonna make a list of complaints you might as well list ALL legitimate issues you have cus you can’t go back later.

Now you need to have a walk through with the person you signed your contract with because that’s who is responsible for correcting your problems.

I paid for the dumpster and some of the materials, but not the labor yet. We used a friend of my wife that is a house flipper - it was her crew. I warned the wife ahead of time that if things go south, she could lose a friend...
I already paid for a cleaning crew since it was unacceptable to even be in the house with that level of dust. Definitely going to get the ducts cleaned. Guess I should buy another role of tape!
thanks

 

[C.J.]

We used a friend of my wife that is a house flipper

Seriously. You tellin me you didn’t know any better. Or you did know better but you did it anyway cus life is expensive and you stood to save a lot of money if it all worked out.

Either way, yes you should definitely buy another roll of tape and start looking for a new friend for your wife. Best of luck to ya.

 

[highup]

Admirable that they ground the high spots. Most installers wouldn't do that. They'd just use filler.
Your guys went to the trouble of grinding but didn't follow through with the filling? They obviously knew that things weren't flat.....
....this needs to be fixed, friends or not.

 

[rugaddict]

There should be zero soft spots on a floating lvp—-at this point you might want to consider gluing it down

 

[JCobb]

Seriously, in this day and age people don’t use a dust shroud for the grinder. So cheap compare to cleaning the whole house and HVAC system. Most flooring need a flatness of 3/16 in 10”. Soft spots and hollows will be a problem later. Check your HVAC filter. There is professional floor inspection services, but they run 3-5 hundred. As a part time woodworker as well I feel your pain about what passes for acceptable these days.