I had a major rebuild 2 years ago. The whole of the ground floor had underfloor heating and screed laid by the builders in May ‘23. In August ‘23 an LVT floor was laid by a professional floorer they recommended. A large round bubble appeared in Nov in the doorway between the hall and kitchen, he came and patched the floor badly. I’ve spent a year chasing him to re do it. Since then 2 more long bubbles have appeared in the hallway. The floorer, having made various excuses why he couldn’t come for a year, now says it’s not his responsibility as it’s due to hairline cracks in the screed. I took a photo when he came in Nov and it is a crack. So I’m looking for advice on how to proceed please? I did the build as a single parent with no knowledge of building at all and the builders were great, it’s unfortunate that the floorer has been so difficult. Is this his responsibility to fix? Is the badly patched initial bump his responsibility? And if not, is it the builders? Or can they argue it’s a year and a half now since the laid the screed? Or that it’s natural settlement? I think the whole hallway floor will need redoing. The kitchen, living room and cloakroom floor are all fine.
these are pictures of the crack under the initial bubble, the patching of the floor over the initial bubble, and one of the later bubbles
The problem is with the screed, not the lvt, so whoever laid the screed is responsible, that's why a lot of us refuse to lay on someone else's preparation, to avoid being blamed for someone else's work
Thank you for replying. I’ve just checked the floor invoice and it says ‘supply and lay latex screed’, as well as the lvt, so is it the floorer? In the photo, it looks like the crack is a level below this though?
You will probably be better with an independent inspection, if you could find out which screed the floorlayer used (long shot),you might be able to get the manufacturer to inspect, from the pictures it's hard to tell things like thickness of the screed, if it was primed, is there moisture now,was there too much moisture when it was laid
What date was the main screed laid ? Was the underfloor heating then switched on for 30 days? Did the floorlayer do a moisture test ?
So many potential issues here. Was it dry? Is the heating working properly? Most ufh systems we see dont work correctly as the plumbers connect them but dont test them or balance them. Whats the floor temp when the heating goes on? Was the heating fully commissioned and run before any flooring works? Is the subfloor concrete or gypsum based? Have they used the right smoothing compound? As said above you will probably need a inspection to put it all together
Thanks for the answers. The main screed was laid in May, the floor in August. It was a hot summer so the floor had over 3 months to dry. The heating was switched on and tested, but not for 30 days. The hall floor is never set above 21 so doesn’t get really hot. I’ve asked the floor layer for the screed and latex info, will ask if a moisture test was done. The house was empty and he was dealing with the builder direct. Fixing it is going to be hard as it joins 3 other rooms that are fine. Does anyone know who could do an inspection in St Albans and advise on the problem, and a really good fitter who can re-do the hallway to patch with the other rooms? Thank you.
What do you have 21 degrees temp set with? A floor probe or a thermostat on the wall that reads the air temp? Was the screed a liquid or dry mix? Cement or gypsum? How deep was it?
The way I’ve read that, correct me if I’m wrong. It’s the sub floor that’s cracked and that in turn has blown the screed above it? if that’s the case how on earth can it be the floor layer at fault? Surely we are not responsible for peoples buildings? If it is the subfloor cracked I’m not sure liability falls at the feet of the floor layer. I’ve seen it often on new builds with floors cracking and walls moving away slightly and never have I known the blame to lie with the installer
Yeah we did a job last year for a small new build site. They wouldn't guarantee anything bonded to the subfloor for the first year. It all had to be carpet or cushion floor.
Thanks for replying. If that’s the case, and it’s the subfloor (which is what the floor fitter says) is it the responsibility of the builder to fix, or is it just part of a settlement in a new floor and therefore and my responsibility? I wasn’t told not to floor over it, in face the recommended the fitter.
Ive got a feeling its a cement levelling compound over gypsum based screed. Or the slab wasnt dry or both