what can condo board legally mandate post wood floor approval?

[woodfloorgirl]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Florida
We installed wood floors with condo board approval. There are no guidelines in the condo docs nor are there any city codes governing the sound levels or installation. Our installation consists of whispermat sound barrier + plywood subfloor nailed to concrete + felt moisture barrier + solid wood floor planks. One board member claims that our installation is not per manufacturer guidelines and has gotten the city inspector (coincidentally he is on the city council) to mandate removal of all. We have had reps from whispermat inspect and approve our installation; our installation follows specific guidelines from the National Wood Flooring Association. They are on a witch hunt and will not budge. What can we fall back on legally?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Florida
We installed wood floors with condo board approval. There are no guidelines in the condo docs nor are there any city codes governing the sound levels or installation. Our installation consists of whispermat sound barrier + plywood subfloor nailed to concrete + felt moisture barrier + solid wood floor planks. One board member claims that our installation is not per manufacturer guidelines and has gotten the city inspector (coincidentally he is on the city council) to mandate removal of all. We have had reps from whispermat inspect and approve our installation; our installation follows specific guidelines from the National Wood Flooring Association. They are on a witch hunt and will not budge. What can we fall back on legally?

**A: post exactly what it states on the mandate letter you were sent from the city building department.

 

[woodfloorgirl]

what the city inspector says

what the city inspector says in letter:
"upon inspection of the flooring...i observed flooring nailed directly to the concrete and therefore the flooring was not installed per the manufacturers' specifications. All flooring must be removed. The nails are to be ground down or removed completely, at that point an inspection must be performed and then the flooring can be re-installed either as a free float or by adhesive. Upon completion of work, a final inspection shall be done."

since the inspector wrote that letter, we obtained a letter from whispermat regional sales director stating that his rep had inspected installation, taken photos and verified that the installation "meets UBC standards for sound control and we see no reason for it to be removed." He also added that they had not done sound testing with this specific flooring application but felt confident as 1. the wood thickness of the plywood and floor planking added sound absorption, 2. the product used was their CS product, an even thicker product than the HW standardly used on wood floors, which provides even more sound absorption, and 3. sound reductions will continue to be enhanced when condo is furnished. The inspector also spoke with the regional sales director of whispermat and discussed all of these points in more detail. Following this, he now states that he is requiring a sound engineer do sound tests.

 

[HomeGuru]

what the city inspector says in letter:
"upon inspection of the flooring...i observed flooring nailed directly to the concrete and therefore the flooring was not installed per the manufacturers' specifications. All flooring must be removed. The nails are to be ground down or removed completely, at that point an inspection must be performed and then the flooring can be re-installed either as a free float or by adhesive. Upon completion of work, a final inspection shall be done."

since the inspector wrote that letter, we obtained a letter from whispermat regional sales director stating that his rep had inspected installation, taken photos and verified that the installation "meets UBC standards for sound control and we see no reason for it to be removed." He also added that they had not done sound testing with this specific flooring application but felt confident as 1. the wood thickness of the plywood and floor planking added sound absorption, 2. the product used was their CS product, an even thicker product than the HW standardly used on wood floors, which provides even more sound absorption, and 3. sound reductions will continue to be enhanced when condo is furnished. The inspector also spoke with the regional sales director of whispermat and discussed all of these points in more detail. Following this, he now states that he is requiring a sound engineer do sound tests.

**A: I am a little confused as to why the city building inspector
is taking such a stand. He appears to be going overboard for his jursidiction. Call his boss.