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Mohawk Complaint - Problems With Mohawk Engineered Wood Floors - Engineered Wood Floors
Complaint
When we purchased our townhome we chose to have the builder put in the Mohawk engineered wood floors that were available as an upgrade. They looked fantastic on the sample. Since then have been very dissatisfied with these floors and have had numerous problems ranging from annoying to huge.
First, like other folks have noticed, they get smudges instantly after cleaning them, no matter what product one uses and no matter if you have socks, shoes, or bare feet.
Second, we noticed that there are gaps between the ends of the boards where they are supposed to meet and sometimes between the boards on the long side. Also, many boards are not level where the ends meet, resulting in an annoying lip. It's hard to say if it's the product or the installers that have caused this. A customer service rep at Mohawk said gaps are normal and we should see them go away as the seasons change - well, we've been through three seasons and there's been no change for better or worse. The rep I spoke with couldn't even tell me under what conditions (humidity, temperature, etc.) the gaps wouldn't be there and whether there was an actual quantitative size that below which was deemed acceptable. Because we're under warranty with the builder we are having them address the issues.
So far we've met with a rep from the company that installed the floors and he said that the acceptable industry standard for gaps and unlevelness is the thickness of a credit card. We said that's not acceptable. Then he said that it's a man-made product and we should accept these flaws. We said no, because it's a man-made product you can control such things and it's more dimensionally stable than solid wood (a natural product) so it shouldn't expand/contract that much AND the boards are glued down so they shouldn't move at all. His solution was to fill all of the 60 or so gaps with these special filler crayons and shoot finishing nails through the boards that are not level to get them to stay down, then fill the holes with the crayons. The problem now is that the crayon doesn't match the color of the floors and you can see where the nails went through the boards anywhere there is light from a window. We are also concerned because we now have holes through the top protective coat - who knows what problems this will cause in years to come.
To add insult to injury, we found that two colors of wood have been installed in our living room. The rest of the floors are uniform in color but there are blond planks intersperse with our butternut. The installer insisted he ordered the whole house from one batch in order to avoid such a problem. Interestingly, the builder's punch-list guy admitted they've had similar problems with these floors in some of the other townhomes.
Now we are waiting for a third party Mohawk rep to visit to see if it's "normal variation". We still need to revisit the "fixes" the installer did because the floor looks worse now than it did before. More to come....In summary, it's not worth the trouble to even bother with Mohawk engineered wood if you have a choice (we know that now).
First, like other folks have noticed, they get smudges instantly after cleaning them, no matter what product one uses and no matter if you have socks, shoes, or bare feet.
Second, we noticed that there are gaps between the ends of the boards where they are supposed to meet and sometimes between the boards on the long side. Also, many boards are not level where the ends meet, resulting in an annoying lip. It's hard to say if it's the product or the installers that have caused this. A customer service rep at Mohawk said gaps are normal and we should see them go away as the seasons change - well, we've been through three seasons and there's been no change for better or worse. The rep I spoke with couldn't even tell me under what conditions (humidity, temperature, etc.) the gaps wouldn't be there and whether there was an actual quantitative size that below which was deemed acceptable. Because we're under warranty with the builder we are having them address the issues.
So far we've met with a rep from the company that installed the floors and he said that the acceptable industry standard for gaps and unlevelness is the thickness of a credit card. We said that's not acceptable. Then he said that it's a man-made product and we should accept these flaws. We said no, because it's a man-made product you can control such things and it's more dimensionally stable than solid wood (a natural product) so it shouldn't expand/contract that much AND the boards are glued down so they shouldn't move at all. His solution was to fill all of the 60 or so gaps with these special filler crayons and shoot finishing nails through the boards that are not level to get them to stay down, then fill the holes with the crayons. The problem now is that the crayon doesn't match the color of the floors and you can see where the nails went through the boards anywhere there is light from a window. We are also concerned because we now have holes through the top protective coat - who knows what problems this will cause in years to come.
To add insult to injury, we found that two colors of wood have been installed in our living room. The rest of the floors are uniform in color but there are blond planks intersperse with our butternut. The installer insisted he ordered the whole house from one batch in order to avoid such a problem. Interestingly, the builder's punch-list guy admitted they've had similar problems with these floors in some of the other townhomes.
Now we are waiting for a third party Mohawk rep to visit to see if it's "normal variation". We still need to revisit the "fixes" the installer did because the floor looks worse now than it did before. More to come....In summary, it's not worth the trouble to even bother with Mohawk engineered wood if you have a choice (we know that now).
Comments:
Posted by dealerdirect on 2008-08-06:
Sounds like you have a disaster. The problem probably is not the actual flooring since the wood flooring is all tongue and grooved pieces, I be willing to bet the problem exist in the subflooring and installation. If it is the subflooring the only real way to fix it is to rip it all up and start over. An acceptable gap should be no more than a 1/16th of an inch and the ends should fit flush on the ends. As far as the smudging goes, welcome to hardwood floors. If you can find a solution please let me know as mine does the same thing. Good Luck
Posted by al1113 on 2011-03-08:
well, on a good note- its cleaner than carpet! my floors always smudge and I thought it was because they were darker-- either way, I guess I don't mind cleaning them as much as I saw all the dirt from vacuuming carpet....at least for now- I've only had mine 2 months.
Posted by ok4now on 2011-03-09:
Good Post. Having recently moved the laminate dining room floor needs replacement due to the dog nail scratches & urine stains the seller did not correct. I installed Mohawk carpets in other areas which are beautiful with no problems. Now I'll think twice about their flooring.
Posted by AceCustomFlooring on 2011-03-30:
I am very sorry you are getting the run around. Yes the rep is correct that under certain situations the standard for gaps in a natural hardwood floor is a credit card. But that is in a house where temperatures fluctuate and in an area where humidity is a factor. All wood grows and shrinks somewhat. Engineered hardwood is designed not to do that...or very little at all. I am located in Indiana where temperatures and humidity fluctuates greatly and we have little to no problems when properly installed. The things that matter most is do you have a crawl space or a basement...are they properly heated and vented? Was a proper vapor barrier used? Were the correct staples used for the thickness of engineered plank...did they put enough staples in each plank?
We make a good deal of money every year replacing and repairing shoddy work. I feel very bad for your situation. Mohawk actually makes some of the best wood flooring out there and it seams that you were victim to a bad contractor, or a contractor with bad subcontractors.
We make a good deal of money every year replacing and repairing shoddy work. I feel very bad for your situation. Mohawk actually makes some of the best wood flooring out there and it seams that you were victim to a bad contractor, or a contractor with bad subcontractors.
Posted by jimjanetmura on 2012-10-26:
No one should buy stranded bamboo flooring from Mohawk. We have been trying for over a year to have Mohawk Industries accept responsibility for this flooring which the included instructions stated could be placed over radiant heat and then we were told by a MOHAWK INSPECTOR that this flooring should never have been sold to us for this application after which he brought forth another instruction manual which said it was not to be placed over radiant heat, but that is not what our installation booklet says. Mohawk is saying it is an installation issue but that is not what their inspector says. The floor is buckling, separating, splintering, and is a tripping hazard. We were in contact with Mohawk within weeks of installation with our concerns about the flooring and they did nothing and in every correspondence Mohawk says it is not their responsibility. My husband is confined to a wheelchair and it is a problem for him. What a lousy and uncaring company. Boycott Mohawk products and if you have stock, sell it.
Posted by Melissa Barnhill on 2012-11-28:
Wish that I had found this site before purchasing my Mohawk flooring. Scratches way too easily and leaves white marks instead of just a scratch. Spent ALL of my savings to do this and have had no help from my dealer or Mohawk. They say since the scratches are from my dogs nails and that is not covered by the warranty they will not even inspect my floors. Not all the scratches are from my dogs nails and I am begging someone to explain why the scratches are white instead of just being a scratch! Bad decision and expensive lesson learned. Do not purchase this product.
Posted by Mrs.H on 2013-01-30:
We installed Mohawk handscraped engineered flooring throughout our house. We even used all their transitions and nosings. The transitions have color chipping right off of them. The nosing color has worn right through on the stairs and my floors are super scratched everywhere. I will never buy Mohawk products ever again. We spent all our savings on these floors and they need to be ripped up and replaced already after 3 years post Reno.
Posted by kayzee on 2013-02-22:
Mohawk definitely and I mean DEFINITELY does not stand behind their products. My hardwood flooring proved defective within 12 weeks but Mohawk just ignored our complaints and refused to honor their warranty. Their is no redress with American manufacturers so from now on I will buy foreight products without any feelings of guilt. If Mohawk and other US mfrs. go out of business I will cheer because they are bringing it on themselves!!
Posted by AmyR on 2013-03-10:
Do not ever buy Mohawk engineered wood. The color of the wood floor under my area rugs are 80% darker just after 2 years. Mohawk said this acceptable even though on the color change scale my floor is an 4 out of 10! They do not stand behind their product. I will never use Mohawk products again.
Posted by fred on 2013-04-18:
Melissa-no wood manufacturer covers wood scratching, just like no car manufacturer warranties their paint scratching. The white is the aluminum oxide that every manufacturer uses as a protective layer.
jimjanetmura and kayzee-check out Mohawk’s stock performance over the past year. You might know less about business/stocks than flooring.
AmyR-Sun makes the color of floors fade, the manufacturer can't make wood not behave like wood.
jimjanetmura and kayzee-check out Mohawk’s stock performance over the past year. You might know less about business/stocks than flooring.
AmyR-Sun makes the color of floors fade, the manufacturer can't make wood not behave like wood.
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