Cracked granite hearth (duplicate thread)

[ness13]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice. We had a granite inner hearth and multi fuel 5kw stove installed in December (we already had a granite outer hearth). There is now a crack the full width of the inner hearth where one half has slightly risen, the crack is the full depth of the granite. The engineer came yester morning and said it was due to rising damp, I cannot find anything about this online and wondered if anyone could tell if this is the likely explanation? Thanks

 

[ness13]

Was called this morning to be told that the cause is damp and I will have to pay to have someone come in and test and then pay to have damp proofing installed and pay out again to replace hearth and fibreboards?????

 

[^woody^]

The engineer is spinning a yarn.

Faulty installation, faulty material, or unsuitable product or combinations of these are the cause of failure.

Ask them to cite a technical reference document for this cause of failure, and how the hearth should be installed. Perhaps tell them that your surveyor or solicitor would like to review it.

For reference, dampness can expand fibre boards. Dampness in floors is common and not indicative of a defect or a problem. The installer should not use fibre boards or any product that could be affected by damp.