ComplaintsforElysium Interiors, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Elysium installed hickory wood plank floors in April 2022 in our new home. Within 3 months the floors started cupping and several planks have broken. In January of this year, Elysium came and saw the floors and and said they would repair / replace the floors. One month ago, they repeated that they would repair / replace the floors. Today, they said they are stopping work on repairing / replacing the floors. We spent approximately $80,000 for these wood floors and Elysium is not standing behind thier work.

  Business response

  05/31/2023

  Installation was done to standards, correctly and as well under the supervision and direction of the builder contractor. We have all supporting videos and photos showing the installation, barriers used, and proper expansion gaps and installation standards as required. We strongly stand by our installation. We have had numerous persons in home note and have record of owner stating “does not run AC as they are from California”, high moisture readings which led to cupping (moisture is not something we control as installers). Home has no gutters, has noted air conditioning issues, including a non working unit at one point, and all installation was done above grade, using the correct materials, methods, and procedure. We have strongly encouraged a flooring inspector visit the home to report findings. We always accept our mistakes and again strongly feel we have done so to standards. We warrant all work for one full year from completion which has passed. I ordered the wood weeks ago, and today am having it canceled after we learned the basis for the claim is negated by the fact a moisture barrier was indeed installed. 

  Customer response

  06/13/2023

  
  Complaint* ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) See floor inspection report - according to the certified floor inspector, the issues with our floor are 100% installer error so the floor install was not done to standards.  Elysium did work with our general contractor, but we contracted and paid directly with Elysium.
  

  2) We have asked for videos, documetation of subloor and concrete moisture levels at installation and were not given anything - so for Elysium to claim they have those, we should have seen them by now and readings taken by the inspector indicate the plywood subfloor moisture levels are high.  We were given a few pictures, but the pictures we received according to the certified flooring inspector showed inadequate or non existent expansion gaps and a vapor barrier that was installed between two sheets of plywood.  The top layer of plywood was then nailed into the lower level of plywood, negating the moisture barrier that was laid down.

  3) I have never stated we do not run the AC because we are from California.  California has very low humidity so the statement itself is lacking logic.

  4) We keep our AC unit at 45% humidity.  Our AC unit has whole home dehumidification that automatically controls the humidity to the level we set - with a 3% variance either way.  There are no high moisture readings in our house.  Per the inspection report, the wood in the garage that was not installed has expanded to 7 1/16 inch - no climate control in the garage, while the installed wood in the house has expanded to betwen 7 1/8 and 7 3/8.  If this was a house humidity problem, the installed wood in the house should be the same or less than the uninstalled wood in the garage, yet it has expanded more. This extra moisture in the installed wood had to come from somewhere other than the air.  Also, per the inspection report, the plywood under the wood floor has a higher moisture reading than the bottom of the installed wood floors which have a higher moisture reading than the top of the wood floors, indicating the moisture is from below.  Elysium claims they put a Bostik Glue moisture barrier, yet each installed wood plank was nailed down so each nail put a hole in that barrier and made it ineffective.

  5)  Home has gutters - this is just another lie and lack of knowledge of our home environment and an effort to avoid liability for their poor workmanship - we have gutters and have had gutters since we built the house.  We have never had an air conditioning issue, our heater did not work in January when Elysium was onsite to look at the wood floors and Elysium is using this fact to claim our AC systems don't work and somehow caused the issue - but not logical given condition of planks in garage.

  6) After Elysium said they would take care of this beginning in January and even scheduled an install to fix the problems and then cancelled after the 1 year warranty period blaming the failure on us, I called a flooring inspector and the report is attached.  The flooring inspector says this is 100% installer error.  You would think a company that stands behind their work would have ordered the flooring inspection if they thought it was the clients responsibility, but we had to pay $750 for the inspection of Elysiums faulty work.

  7) We started this claim in January 2023, which was 8 months after wood floor install.  The problem actually started almost immediately after install.  For Elysium to claim it is past the 1 year warranty period is fraud.  In January, they said they would take care of the problem, they repeated this in April and again in May (I have emails supporting this) and even ordered the replacement wood as stated in the Elysium response.  After the 1 year warranty period passed, they claimed the wood issues were our fault and refused to fix the wood.  The inspection report says something very different than Elysium claims.

  8)  The basis for the claim is not that a moisture barrier is not present, the basis for the claim is that the wood install was faulty and moisture from below destroyed our wood floors in addition to the fact that the wood floors were not installed with enough room for expansion.  This is now supported by the inspection report.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ********

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