Hi,
I live in a fairly new 3-storey house where quite a few stairs are creaking. Since it is still under NHBC warranty, I have requested the inspection from an NHBC inspector. The claim was rejected on the grounds that the carpet was not installed by the builder and the grippers on the stairs were nailed; the inspector concluded that nailing the grippers caused damage on the stairs. He did not open any of the stairs to inspect if that was indeed the case.
Since then, I have opened a small inspection window in one of the creaking stairs. Inside, I found this piece of wood:
I suspect that this was being used as a glue block to secure the tread to the riser. However, in all the photos I have seen about glue blocks and wedges, I have never seen anything like this! Moreover, it appears that they have used massive nails to secure it to the stair, causing the wood to split:
What I would like to ask is: is this a standard glue block? Could this be considered sub-standard work by the builder? In my opinion, using this block of wood as a glue block and nailing it as shown is a recipe for disaster and should be considered sub-standard work. What do you think?
Many thanks in advance for your views on this matter!
I live in a fairly new 3-storey house where quite a few stairs are creaking. Since it is still under NHBC warranty, I have requested the inspection from an NHBC inspector. The claim was rejected on the grounds that the carpet was not installed by the builder and the grippers on the stairs were nailed; the inspector concluded that nailing the grippers caused damage on the stairs. He did not open any of the stairs to inspect if that was indeed the case.
Since then, I have opened a small inspection window in one of the creaking stairs. Inside, I found this piece of wood:
I suspect that this was being used as a glue block to secure the tread to the riser. However, in all the photos I have seen about glue blocks and wedges, I have never seen anything like this! Moreover, it appears that they have used massive nails to secure it to the stair, causing the wood to split:
What I would like to ask is: is this a standard glue block? Could this be considered sub-standard work by the builder? In my opinion, using this block of wood as a glue block and nailing it as shown is a recipe for disaster and should be considered sub-standard work. What do you think?
Many thanks in advance for your views on this matter!