Flooring first then cabinets sit on top. Just that some contractors will not want to be responsible if got scratches on the flooring afterwards.

If cabinets first, then will have some joint connection in between the flooring and cabinet spaces. Doesnt look that nice.

Hi all,

I am currently having issues with my SPC flooring. Around 1.5 years ago, I engaged a flooring shop to install SPC for the master bedroom of my property. If I recalled correctly the SPC flooring was made in Korea and it cost RM5 per piece. The property was for rental and it has been empty for a year. Only recently I got a tenant, he only stayed for 1 month, and when he moved out I noticed that the SPC flooring was damaged quite badly. I can confirm that the tenant did not spill any water, and upon inspection by the shop it was confirmed that this was due to SPC expansion that already happened for quite some time; due to expansion the flooring popping up and the edges easily chipped off especially when people walked/stepped on it.

Does anyone ever have this problem?
I find this as material quality or installation issue, but the shop so far claims that SPC expansion is expected and I should have told them when it started to happen in the 1 year installation warranty so that they could do adjustments (they mentioned that adjustments are quite common). I find this as an excuse; I was not informed that this expansion problem might arise and adjustments might be needed, and I am not a flooring expert; it is difficult for me to know whether there is expansion unless it is very obvious.

I am currently looking for settlement from the shop; but so far the shop is only trying to get replacement material from the supplier which will take time, and other than that they suggest to quote me based on the full material amount, then they will dismantle and check the flooring one-by-one and check which ones still can be used and which one need to be replaced, and refund me based on the actual flooring replacement. I still need to see their quotation, but if the cost is too high it does not make sense to spend on the same material that might give me the same problem in the future.
Do you have any suggestion on a good / reliable flooring shop with cheaper price ( not like Home Depot or Inovar which are typically very expensive).

Thanks!

I thought nowadays most SPC claim dimensionally stable and can withstand temp +-40C?

At least yours lasted 1yr plus, mine not even 3 months start giving problems, now less than 6 months after installation have cracks, and feel the floor have places that the board sinks in. Now calling them in - this is the 2nd time (excluding the time we have issues that we caught when they were installing the flooring) calling them in to fix problems with the SPC flooring.

I don't think you mean Home Depot but another Depot. I got mine from them.

What was told to us vs the performance of the product differs significantly. Told us it's hardy like ceramic tiles, can last min 5 yrs, 10 yrs easily.

so many problem with SPC flooring? i got quote for korea spc brand as well 4mm..

Hi, the shop have any warranty period, is it 1 year? I was thinking of going to small claims court for my own SPC issues but the cost of my flooring is above RM5k, so I think that's above small claims court, but yours if for bedroom only maybe is within the RM5k limit?

Mine is also 4mm, but dunno produced from where but supplied by a so called well known chain shop (wanted to say more but scared kena LOD).

can PM me the name? i wanna ask my contractor which brand they supplying to me

What kind of flooring? If it is SPC, appearance wise it would look nicer if flooring is done before your built-in wardrobe. However, based on what I learned from a flooring shop, it is actually better to do the built-in wardrobe first. The reason is that SPC relies on the skirting to leave gap for expansion. If your built-in wardrobe sits on top of the SPC, the floor may not be able to expand properly and issues may arise.

Does anyone have experience with hacking your tile skirting in order to do SPC flooring? Currently I am considering doing SPC flooring but I will need to remove the existing tile skirting, level it with the wall and paint it before SPC can be done. I am afraid the color will look different from the existing wall paint even though it is white.

What I mean was Floor Depot. Wow, you bought from Floor Depot and within 3 months got issues??

I was actually not aware that there was 1 year warranty, and because that 1 year period already passed, the shop used it as a reason not to take any responsibility. They admitted that the floor had expanded within that warranty period but put the fault on me for not noticing it and reporting to them.
I asked them for help to solve this quality issue for me, I am not looking for a free solution, I am willing to pay as long as still reasonable. Last time it cost me Rm 3.3k to buy and install this SPC flooring, and now they quoted me Rm 1.6k based on the assumption that 50% of existing floorings need to be replaced, with possibility that I have to pay more in case more floorings are damaged. So basically I have to pay the same amount of money like the first time I bought it, they even did not want to absorb 2 days of labor cost. They said this is their good will, not their fault, and I have to bear this problem myself. The most ridiculous thing is that even if I agree to proceed, I wont get the installation warranty! So if the this same material expands again, I need to pay for it myself again!. When I asked the shop owner whether she would accept this offer if she were in my shoes, she could not answer. She could only say "Why do you worry too much?". Ridiculous..

I have decided to dismantle everything and go with other flooring shop, and I will expose this shop, but theshop owner offered inspection by the manufacturer inspector; they will measure the moisture level in my room, if it is below 8% they can consider the material as defective and get replacement. i will just wait for this last attempt and see how it goes. Should I need to go for another shop for sure I will reveal the shop details here so that everyone takes precaution of it.

Mine is Korean brand as well..where is the shop located?

Shh.... I will neither confirm nor deny it....

Yeah will be difficult to claim, I think even if you complain within 1 yr warranty period also they will try to wiggle their way out of it.

Looking for SPC tiles installer with hacking job. Any contractor to recommend?

This post has been edited by Acoen: Feb 21 2023, 06:35 AM

any particular brand of WPC to go for? thanks

Any brand will do. It's just a matter of how deep your pocket is only... Haha