Laminate flooring expanding/humidity??

[Dot]

Hi there, question for the folks that have experience building in Puna. We had laminate flooring installed in August (new construction),a local installer did it for us, did a great job, no complaints. He left 1/2 gap all the way around, so it would have room to expand. We came over in October to work-work-work, he stopped by and was visibly stunned at how much it had expanded, it was almost flush with the sheetrock. Our caretaker has been keeping an eye on it, and sure enough, it has expanded up to the sheetrock, and it's starting to buckle now. He's going to go trim the sheetrock all the way around to see if that is enough to make it lay down flat. We mudded, taped,sheetrocked and textured in May, used a de-humidifier to speed up the drying time.

Could there have been a lot of moisture in the house from the sheetrocking? The house was closed up from May to August. The caretaker opens up the house about once a week and airs it out, turns the overhead fans on etc. At what point does laminate stop expanding? I know I've read on the website that the sheetrock can take months to actually cure and be as dry, as dry can be, in Puna.

Appreciate any info, I'm having long distance nightmares of the Incredible Expanding House......and to just top it off, guess who wanted laminate in the kitchen and livingroom instead of tile (ahem). The joy of building a home together!

Dot

[Kapohocat]

How long did it sit before installed to acclimate?

On Bella Wood the mfg says it only takes 2 weeks to acclimate but the builder said that is BS and it needs to acclimate longer in our very humid climate. Mfg also said just tear off the ends of the boxes so the moisture can absorb. Again, the bldr took let it sit (more than two weeks) with the boxes open, and then spread it out to continue to acclimate.

But it has only been down about a week so time will have to tell.

[mella l]

Were the laminate floors put on sub flooring over post and pier or on a cement pad?

mella l

"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these."

[Dot]

I wasn't there when they were installed, I'm assuming the packages were opened and installed the same time. That will be a good question to ask the installer.

The house is post and pier with a subfloor on it. It is a DuPont brand, we ordered it from Lowes in Hilo.

Appreciate the replies - thanks much!

Dot

[Dot]

oops, correction - we bought it at Home Depot in Hilo, not Lowes! I talked to the flooring guy there and he said he had a similiar problem when he installed his, he let it sit for 3 days before he installed it (manufacturer's specifications). It buckled in place and he trimmed it up and it's been good to go ever since, so that is comforting. He said in hindsight he would spread it out like Kapohocat's builder suggested and let it sit for several months to acclimate. Humidity is a whole different animal to deal with!

Times of panic, contact the Puna Web site first, Home Depot 2nd [] Husband says I worry too much, go figure......

Dot

[csgray]

I had a coworker who put laminate floor in his house in Eden Rock, he left an almost 1" gap and his floor still buckled in the winter. He finally ended up putting in a wood stove just to dry the house out in the winter rainy spells, problem solved.

Carol