I have an issue that I would appreciate your thoughts on.
I have recently purchased a new build home and have a mountain of issues. The most problematic one being that I have a large ridge in my upstairs flooring. The carpet has been lifted and there is a difference in levels between floor boards. The builder has tried to rectify the problem before I moved in by shaving some off the floor board :/ which has caused a mountain effect rather than a step up and not rectified the problem at all. The difference in height is about 6 mm and very noticeable under the carpet.
The long ridge runs in line with a load bearing wall (exactly) underneath. I think this wall has been built too high which is what is causing the problem - however this is not something the house builder is suggesting or admitting.
There response to solving the problem has been the following :
"In this house type, there is a load bearing blockwork wall between the living room and kitchen / dining room which continues between the stairwell and utility room. This wall position is under the landing and the corridor between the wardrobes of bedroom 1.
The first-floor structure is made up of joists and chipboard flooring. Engineered joists have been used which is typical for around 20 years now rather than solid timber joists and software from the manufacturer of the engineered joists was used by the supplier to us, to design a layout. The design has a change of direction in the joists, which occurs under the landing and in the bedroom corridor which can be seen highlighted in the excerpt below. Joists over the lounge and hall run parallel to the load bearing wall that joists over the kitchen / dining room that are laid perpendicular to the internal load bearing wall.
Timber is affected by thermal movement and moisture and as it dries it can twist and crack and loose shape. Moisture can swell timber and it can dry with the swelled dimensions. Engineered joists are the answer to solving most of the movement that can occur with timber and it also enables far greater spans to be achieved, although we are not looking at extremities of span distance here. However, all joists spanning distances will deflect, with allowable regulated tolerances this can be as much as 12mm. The joist running parallel to the kitchen / dining wall might not have been dead straight to begin with due to the movements of timber, and now have loading within it causing deflection. The joists perpendicular was measured 2 to 3mm bigger than design height as well. So, we have culminated in differences in heights that have left a step.
The proposal is to apply a levelling compound to the top of the chipboard flooring on the lower side to lose the step in the floor. This is a recognised solution which has been tried and tested, and is designed to address issues such as these when they arise. We can confirm that we will replace the carpet in the master bedroom, landing and stairs."
My thoughts I don't like to sound of this levelling compound and don't understand why they are not fixing the root cause which is to sort out the joist that is too high. If they put this levelling compound down how would I access under the floor boards in the future if I had to get to any cables ? Also will this work ? Will it crack? Is levelling compound suppose to be put onto wooden floor boards. It all sounds like a quick fix to me rather than sorting the problem out. It also sounds messy. I am not sure as well how far they are planning to apply this compound as it will effect 2 bedrooms and a landing which is huge disruption.
I am exhausted after moving in 6 weeks ago, I have had issue after issue after issue and I can't go through another disaster so want to make sure this is the right solution.
Any help you can provide would be gratefully received. I am not sure whether they have involved the NHBC in this solution, which is another concern of mine in terms of structural warranty once the builder has disappeared in two years :/
Sarah
