Hello. Hoping I can get some advice from this forum. We had our whole house renovated and the designer/contractor installed engineered hardwood on the main and top floors. Here's the product https://fuzionflooring.com/product/soleste/.

Species: European Oak. Structure: Engineered 3-layer solidcore. Surface Layer: 2.5mm wood face layer. Width: 6". Thickness: 9/16". Length: 70-7/8".

The method of installation is floating and they installed it parallel to the joists for esthetic reasons. The sub floor is about 1/2 inch ply and the joists are 14" apart.
I noticed the nails were randomly spaced. Some 6" and some 16" appart. No real pattern there at all. I only see nails under the floor where the basement isn't finished, no screws or staples. The install was in late February (cold winter) and we finally moved back in the house in May, (warm spring) once all the work was done.

A few weeks after moving in we started to notice crunching on the floors. It was quickly every floorboard in the house and was really loud. So much so that it wakes people up in the morning. It's been driving us nuts - and we paid a TON of money for this reno so you can imagine our disappointment.

There were also around 8 spots where there floors were very spongy and actually dipping quite a bit when you stepped on them. In one room. it looks like the floor is starting to slant a bit and is no longer level.

The GC had the installer and floor manufacturer out to look and suggested two things... add more expansion gaps and lower the humidity. They also had a specialist come in and fix the "sink holes" by adding long headless nails and filled those spots with wood filler.

It was a very warm June and the RH was around 50%. We moved out of the house for a week while they added more gaps and the humidity has been around 40-45% for a good 3 months now and no improvement. In fact, it's getting worse. The only time it gets any better is when we have a lot of people over and there is weight on the floors.

In checking, the gaps around the room are still not at 1/2 inch as the manufacturer. instructs, but perhaps that's because the wood has expanded?

The GC then tried the product Stop Creak. It's been a week and no improvement. Again, possibly getting worse.

I'm wondering if I should call a floor inspector to pull up some boards? At this point, and from reading this board, my gut tells me that it's an installation issue and the floor was laid improperly.

Thoughts?

A floating floor does not have any nails holding it down. Is this a recommended installation method from the manufacturer? The product usually will have a detailed set of instructions, in several languages if from Europe. Get a copy of the instructions and read them if you think the flooring may have been installed incorrectly. I haven't seen headless nails that will work in the long run, unless glued, too.

Oddly enough, the installation instructions say to nail…. https://fuzionflooring.com/wp-content/u ... ood-TG.pdf

Is there a nailing schedule? What type of fastener and how far apart fasteners are recommended? Is there a requirement for a flat floor within specifications like within a quarter inch or less variation per ten foot area of the sub-floor? These may be relatively easy to ascertain.
These characteristics would have a big impact on how well the floor will perform.
The installation of a nail down floor uses brads very 4-6 inches along the edges of the flooring nailing through the tongue side of the planks. The sub-floor needs to be flat to within 3/16ths of an inch using a ten foot straight-edge.
The float-in installation never recommends any fastener other than using glue on the top edge of the groove, tapping planks together so the glue will spread across the tongue as they slide together.
Nails or any other fastener are not recommended for a float-in floor. It has to be one or the other.

That’s what I thought as well, but the installation instructions say to nail. I’ve attached them above.
I’m thinking I should hire an independent hardwood inspector to help but was hoping this forum has some experience with this issue and offer of some solutions.

It actually says click staple or glue down. my guess is the subfloor was uneven and the boards are rubbing because of the deflection when walked on.

Even as a floating floor? The contractor said that’s why they did a floating floor, so they wouldn’t have to upgrade the subfloor … more forgiving.

What about the fact that it’s laid parallel to the joists as opposed to perpendicular? It’s the entire first floor and upstairs - the area is 2500 sq ft.

if your correct with 1/2 in plywood it could be sagging between the joists would be worse if it were running perpendicular if it is sagging. we are all speculating with not actually seeing it your best bet is to hire an independent inspector.