Signs of My Home Missing a Moisture Barrier

Are you saying the wood floors were installed with no moisture barrier...?

http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/articles/view/pro/28/241

Yes. That's what we're suspecting.

Is the floor glued down directly on the concrete..?

It doesn't sound like you're missing a moisture barrier, it sounds like the company you hired, drilled holes in it.

I live in Baytown just outside of Houston. This has occured in many of the new homes in the area. I put it down to lack of building inspectors or inspectors who show up when the house is 75% complete.

Sounds like you called it.

First, call the contractor and put them on notice that you suspect a problem. How you approach this first step, and the action the contactor takes, if any, will set the stage for the next round. The warranty period may be expired, but don't let that stop you.

There should be no statute of limitations on shoddy work.

Take lot's of pictures, date them. Then try to dry the floor in one area. Take more pictures when it's dry. Then take more pictures when the dark spots reappear.

If they are reputable, they will probably make it right.

If not, report them to:

State and Local Consumer Agencies in Texas | USA.gov

Consumer Protection Division - Texas Attorney General

National Association of Consumer Advocates | Consumer Protection

after you've made it clear that you have the time and tenacity to follow them to the ends of the earth to get rightful satisfaction.

DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER. If you act rationally and are deliberate that you will pursue satisfaction to the end, they may fix your problem, just to shut you up.

Hire an attorney as a last resort.

Hi lyn:
"There should be no statute of limitations on shoddy work."
Yes, I think the company who did the work need to be questioned for what they did. They did not do proper work that only means they did not do work at all and only meshed up.
I think legal support may be available else ask the judge if he or she wants this kind of work in their home?

I'm not real familiar with your region, do you have a basement? is the house on piers or a concrete slab?

Basements are practically un-heard of in Houston. The vast majority of houses are on slab. Houston is well-known for its black gumbo soil. It's an extremely expansive black clay and well-known for causing problems for grade slabs as it changes moisture content. OP's contractor was probably drilling holes for slab repair piers/pilings. It's not uncommon to have an irrigation system around the house to try to prevent slab cracking due to differential settlement from soil shrinkage during droughts.

Hi bigg:
"soil shrinkage during droughts"
Soil can develop cracks but overall floor should remain intact. Moisture diffusion barrier must have been affected badly and is to be investigated in this case. Some wood is specially meant to be in water and other types may develop fungus.

I would have sealed the floor with a moisture barrier just to be safe....

http://www.concretesealerandblanket.org/concrete-sealing/concrete-sealer-application.php

Solid hardwood should never be installed below grade. Even if you are above grade, before you install over concrete, you should always test the moisture content first. I would recommend using an engineered hardwood floor instead of solid planks.

Renee010305 -Your home may not be missing a moisture barrier, but the barrier may be broken, in which case you have some plastic doing no good at all.Is a popped ballon still a balloon?
As the other commentators have already said - this is most likely water damage to your wood floor caused by either 1) water penetration up through the slab that was previously prevented by a moisture/vapor barrier under the floor (between the slab and the wood) that was damaged by the foundation repair, or 2) Damage to the vapor barrier under the slab between the slab and the soil, that has allowed water to move up through the slab. This also would indicate that there is probably not a vapor barrier under the wood floor.

Background - My mother is a real estate broker in Houston. She's sold thousands of homes in the Houston area since 1970. 100 percent of the time, when we have seen this happen after slab repair, it's because the company either excavated under the house and jacked it up, and in the process damaged the vapor barrier between the soil and slab, or drilled holes from above and did not properly grout/seal the holes after pressure-jacking (mud pumping or foam pumping) the slab.

Another thing to have inspected in the investigation is if the vapor barrier under the slab is in "intimate contact" with the concrete, or did it fall away during the tunneling/excavation work. If the crew did not re-pack the tunnels with enough back-fill soil, there can be an air layer between the slab and the barrier which can bring more than vapor under the slab. This mistake can even bring in rain and sprinkler water right from the outer edge of the slab. I saw a house in Spring Branch that had a pond in the sunken living room because of this mistake. What a mess.

Your floor is ruined. So is your slab work if you don't get a reputable company to come fix it properly. Any crew that would leave this defect in your slab is suspect of not doing a proper job on the slab repair.

Sorry for the bad news. If you will PM me I can give you some contacts for inspections and information... and likely for depositions and trial testimony.

Firstly, I am really sorry that you have such problems.

Secondly, NEVER EVER FORGET its your house. Make sure that you find a reputable company, ring back and visit any of the people who recommend them.

Make sure YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW THE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE.

Follow the work as its done, make sure its done 110% correctly.

In Germany, we call the house owner in such situations the "Hausherr". The buck stops here so to say!!!

If they do something incorrectly, call an immediate stop to all work. Take pictures, talk to the company, either get them to leave (pay nothing, document errors) or to do it correctly.