Mercier Wood Floor In Kitchen Cracking

Question:

Hello….I am writing for my daughter…to remind you I am the person you helped w/the diamond stained floor…they are fabulous! She has what I see as a larger problem…some months ago she had a “Mercier” wood floor installed in her kitchen….it has slowly, but surely, begun to crack all over….the company & the insurance company have agreed to replace….she wants to put in a different brand. We would like your advice….prefinished?(which is what she has now) or finished in the home???? any brands better than any other? Your help & advice would be appreciated & very welcomed! Thanking you in advance…Debi

Answer

Dear Debi I will need to learn a lot more about your daughter’s situation, before I can offer some concrete advise. Please have her email the details, as to the subfloor material, fasteners of the hardwood, and the composition of the hardwood. Meaning solid wood, laminated and the thickness and width. And do you mean gapping or actual cracking of the wood itself ? Generally speaking I NEVER recommend a hardwood floor in a kitchen, and the contractor should have read your daughter the riot act before installing such a moisture sensitive floor in a water spill prone area. And ANY prefinished floor is less than useful in this kitchen due to all those exposed seams. Whenever I am persuaded to do a kitchen floor in hardwood, it is always sand on site with 4 coats of oil modified polyurethane, but don’t get me started, have you daughter email me directly.