In April of '09 I had a Bella Brazilian Teak Hardwood floor put down on the first floor of my house.
(The floor is real wood, put down on a sub-floor, with underlayment, and I have a crawl-space...moisture reading were done on the wood and sub-floor before installation)
About 3 months later I noticed to spots in two different rooms where the floor was buckling. I called my installer and he said he would send someone out the next day. Well the next day the guy came out and ripped up the two places that were buckling. While doing the second area he took a moisture reading...the reading came back at 13%-14%. His first question was "did someone spill something here?" Of course it was possible...but unlikely that it had happened in both areas. He then suggested I have a moisture problem that needed to be addressed.
He replaced the wood in those areas...but about two weeks later it happened again, but in different spots...but still in the same two room. I called the installer again and the salesman. The installer couldn't come immediately, but suggested I buy a dehumidifier and contact a home inspector to find the moisture issues. So I went out and purchased a dehumidifier ($160) and hired a home inspector ($180). He determined I had no such moisture problem and that everything with the HVAC and the crawl space were normal. As well as the gutters and fireplace flashing.
The owner of the installation company came himself and inspected the floor and looked around. Without any tools or taking any readings he said the only thing that could be causing the buckling is moisture and that 95% of the time it is with the HVAC....despite what I told him about the home inspector he said I should call an HVAC expert. He said he would fix the floors, but it would just happen again with the moisture problems.
So, I hired a HVAC expert ($140) to check out all aspects of the HVAC. He determined I have no issues at all with my HVAC...it is working properly.
I have since contacted the manufacturer of the wood...no response yet, and I contacted the installation company that contracted this erson to install my floor, no answer yet.
Any Ideas what ELSE could be causing this. I know the installer would never admit fault in installation...but if that's what it is, how can I prove it?
Could it be that Brazilian Teak doesn't work in the humid climate of VIrginia? Could it be a bad batch of wood? Could the wood floor be too thin (5/8th)?

La Madera0 Hardwood Buckling