Contracts signed..prob with floors!

B

Bambo

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Ive signed contracts on a house and am due to close 29th Nov. I cant wait to move in, but before we signed we noted that the semi-solid wood floors were warped looking - they had buckled. Our solicitor addressed this, and we were sent a letter from the sellers solicitor stating that the floors would be either repaired or replaced after we had signed the contracts.

Ive made 2 visits to the house since signing the contracts and the floors are even worse, the seller hasnt touched them. I rang their EA today and she said something about having to wait until the heating is on...I dont know what shes talking about - but I presumed he would have to have fixed them before the closing date???

Does anyone know how to go about fixing these floors...is it a major job ..do they have to be replaced once buckled?

I dont want to delay the closing, as we are also closing on the sale of our own house on that date and it is going to mess things up big time.
 
If it was me, I'd be getitng my solicitor to seek an undertaking that the floors will be replaced/repaired to the value of actually getting the work done yourself. TBH once floors have buckled, the only way is up baby (I can hear Dunphy in my head saying this as I type :eek: ) so I'd ask around for a few provisional quotes for replacing like with like to give your solicitor a figure to go on.

Don't get caught up in the drama yourself - keep it legal to avoid confusion
 
The only way is up/....you mean they have to be replaced rather than repaired??
 
However the floors may fix themselves once the heat is on. This kind of problem is common enough with relatively new floors in an unheated house. Having the same problem myself at the moment in a house where the heat was off until the end of October - my flooring guy told me to turn on the heat and wait about 3-4 weeks before taking any action. He's not the kind of guy to fob me off.
 
extopia...I cant see how they would fix themselves...some areas of it are so bad they are really raised like a wave in the ocean. - Im a bit of a girlie girl so please excuse my way of describing things!! :) These floors were probably laid during the summer...I viewed the house in August and saw the problem, it wasnt too bad then, but last week I actually had to lift my leg and step OVER some of these patches.

Im very anxious because we have a kitchen ordered and I cant exactly get that or my furniture in until this is sorted.
 
Yes - sounds like the problem I am having. The boards have taken in moisture in an unheated house and expanded, forcing them up. Normally there would have been room left for a certain amount of expansion but this would have assumed a normal heat level. When the heat is turned on they *should* lose this excess moisture and return to normal. If you fix now by cutting out a piece of a board you will run the risk of the boards having large gaps between them when they dry out.

However I would still insist on getting an expert opinion before closing, just to be safe. They should have the heat on to a certain minimum level anyway if they care about the house.
 
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