2009 Skyline - Floor Problems
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:28 am
We have a 2009 Skyline 28x80 mobile home that was set in March 2009. A few months after we moved in, we started to notice a problem with the floor that has now spread throughout the entire home. It seems that the floor decking is tongue-and-groove OSB (or something similar) that is perpendicular to the joists. The problem is that the tongue-and-groove seams are swelling and buckling upwards. The worst spots are as much as half and inch above the rest of the floor. They make a lot of squeaking and creaking noise when you walk over them as they flex a lot. Under the linoleum, it's easy to see the ridges running the length of the home every four feet. The problem seems to be worse under the linoleum than under the carpet, but it might just be the carpet padding hiding the problem.
I complained to Skyline and they sent a tech out twice. Both times he went under the home, cut through the insulation and stuck shims in to minimize the flexing and thus minimize the squeaking of the floor. This did nothing to eliminate the ridges and each time it lasted about a month before the squeaking returned.
The third time they sent a rep out, it was a different person. After some lengthy discussion, this person admitted that they had just started using this new flooring product and that if we were to pull back the linoleum, we'd see that the manufacturer of the sheeting had stamped on it that it was NOT to be used in mobile home construction and that it was NOT to be used under linoleum without an underlayment. But, Skyline had done both of those! He then went on to describe exactly how they would fix the problem as if he'd already done it many times before. In short, he said that they'd have to cut through all of the belly insulation, scab in 2x6's between each joist so that they'd be under the tongue-and-groove seams, screw the decking down, sand the seams flat, TAPE the insulation back together, and put the floor covering back down. He claims that the seams are somehow taking on moisture and that is the cause of the swelling. He also said that the seams should have been "gapped" during installation but that they weren't. He said that they'd probably also run a saw down the length of each tongue-and-groove seam to create the necessary gap and that they then fill that gap with some sort of filler.
I have several problems with their proposal and I'm looking for advice on how to proceed:
1) I can't help but feel that this is causing a major loss of resale value in our home and we bought it as a temporary solution that we plan to resell soon.
2) Since the linoleum was put down first, all of the interior walls and cabinets are on top of it. So, they plan to cut the linoleum around the walls and cabinets in order to get to the floor sheeting. Then, they'll put it back down and put a fatter baseboard to cover the edges. This just seems wrong to me. I don't want to have to deal with a fat baseboard....
3) I can't believe that cutting through all the belly insulation and then taping it back together will last very long. I haven't been down there to check it myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if where they've already cut through and taped it hasn't already fallen apart.
4) Like I said, some of the ridges are nearly 1/2" high, if they sand those flat again, there won't be much material left!
5) If it's really caused by moisture getting in it somehow, what's going to prevent that from happening in the future?
6) If this sheeting isn't supposed to have linoleum directly on top of it, what other problems are going to crop up in the future?
In addition to the seam problems, we've had several places in the floor where the staples that hold the sheeting to the studs have worked lose and worked their way up and poked holes in the linoleum. The Skyline reps pulled them out, and dabbed a little glue over the top of the linoleum and called it "good". I wasn't impressed.
I still have a few months left on the factory warranty. This last rep told me that since it was a known and reported issue, they'd "take care of me" even after the warranty expired. However, I don't have that in writing. I'm seriously considering talking to a lawyer about this....
Any advice?
Thanks!
-Farren
I complained to Skyline and they sent a tech out twice. Both times he went under the home, cut through the insulation and stuck shims in to minimize the flexing and thus minimize the squeaking of the floor. This did nothing to eliminate the ridges and each time it lasted about a month before the squeaking returned.
The third time they sent a rep out, it was a different person. After some lengthy discussion, this person admitted that they had just started using this new flooring product and that if we were to pull back the linoleum, we'd see that the manufacturer of the sheeting had stamped on it that it was NOT to be used in mobile home construction and that it was NOT to be used under linoleum without an underlayment. But, Skyline had done both of those! He then went on to describe exactly how they would fix the problem as if he'd already done it many times before. In short, he said that they'd have to cut through all of the belly insulation, scab in 2x6's between each joist so that they'd be under the tongue-and-groove seams, screw the decking down, sand the seams flat, TAPE the insulation back together, and put the floor covering back down. He claims that the seams are somehow taking on moisture and that is the cause of the swelling. He also said that the seams should have been "gapped" during installation but that they weren't. He said that they'd probably also run a saw down the length of each tongue-and-groove seam to create the necessary gap and that they then fill that gap with some sort of filler.
I have several problems with their proposal and I'm looking for advice on how to proceed:
1) I can't help but feel that this is causing a major loss of resale value in our home and we bought it as a temporary solution that we plan to resell soon.
2) Since the linoleum was put down first, all of the interior walls and cabinets are on top of it. So, they plan to cut the linoleum around the walls and cabinets in order to get to the floor sheeting. Then, they'll put it back down and put a fatter baseboard to cover the edges. This just seems wrong to me. I don't want to have to deal with a fat baseboard....
3) I can't believe that cutting through all the belly insulation and then taping it back together will last very long. I haven't been down there to check it myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if where they've already cut through and taped it hasn't already fallen apart.
4) Like I said, some of the ridges are nearly 1/2" high, if they sand those flat again, there won't be much material left!
5) If it's really caused by moisture getting in it somehow, what's going to prevent that from happening in the future?
6) If this sheeting isn't supposed to have linoleum directly on top of it, what other problems are going to crop up in the future?
In addition to the seam problems, we've had several places in the floor where the staples that hold the sheeting to the studs have worked lose and worked their way up and poked holes in the linoleum. The Skyline reps pulled them out, and dabbed a little glue over the top of the linoleum and called it "good". I wasn't impressed.
I still have a few months left on the factory warranty. This last rep told me that since it was a known and reported issue, they'd "take care of me" even after the warranty expired. However, I don't have that in writing. I'm seriously considering talking to a lawyer about this....
Any advice?
Thanks!
-Farren