Oak Floors Online want some installers to become more responsible about the information they pass on about oak flooring over UFH

We cannot stay quiet about this for any longer... if we upset some wood floor installers then so be it, but something has to change!

Apologies for that rant to start off with but we've recently received a complaint about our 21mm engineered oak flooring that's been installed over UFH, even though the problem is nothing to do with our oak flooring... other than the fact that it's started to split and crack.

The installer claims that the product is faulty, so the owner of the property also claims the product is faulty because in his words; "he's a good fitter and been doing it for years".

They both make this claim even though the installer provided no information to the owner about his ongoing responsibilities for maintaining the conditions surrounding the flooring but instead, just did the job and took the money.

Even though it's now nearly 3 years since we supplied the flooring and THE ONLY REASON for a natural product like oak flooring to split, crack and reduce in size is that IT HAS BEEN FORCED TO DRY OUT AND HAS LOST MOISTURE since installation, the innocent product still gets the blame (along with us as the supplier).

Even though there are 3 separate documents that provide all this information actually enclosed within every carton of flooring we supply, still no information was passed on to the owner.

This situation is not down to product failure but instead down to 'person failure'... the person being the installer, for not providing sufficient information to the end user about the necessary ongoing maintenance that's required in such situations.

NB: I must state here and now that such situations may arise even when the installer has provided the necessary information but the owner has chosen to ignore it.

FACT:
The dimensions of any piece of wood are directly proportional to its moisture content - the higher the moisture content - the bigger the piece of wood (until it fails) and the lower the moisture content - the smaller the piece of wood (until it fails).

In this case (far too common when UFH is involved), the reasons for failure are that the flooring has been forced to dry out since installation because of the changes in either the UFH output or the humidity (or both) after installation.

Now I cannot categorically say that the problem has been caused by poor or insufficient acclimatisation, and I cannot claim that the UFH output has been set too high at times because of the cold weather...because I cannot prove these things.

But what I can say is that the oak flooring has responded exactly as any natural piece of timber will react when it's forced to dry out. If you position an oak table next to a radiator, the same will happen.

"Yes but isn't it engineered oak flooring" I hear you shout.

Yes it is... but it's still manufactured from ALL NATURAL materials, which will perform as natural materials will throughout their lifetime.

Engineered oak flooring has been designed to provide extra stability after installation, which it does.
But it was before being cut down, and always will be, a hygroscopic (water absorbent) natural product, so surrounding conditions must be maintained as consistently as possible for consistent floor performance, whether UFH is present or not.

Until installers start to become more responsible for the necessary information being 'passed on' to the end user or home owner, these sort of challenges will continue to happen, especially with the increased popularity of UFH and it becoming the heating product of choice.

Let's turn the situation completely on its head and ask this question...

If someone purchased our 21mm oak flooring and installed it outside as their garden decking, when it soaks up the rain and expands causing buckling of the floor...

Is the product to blame?

No it's bloody well not!