In theory, you are correct. But having installed floaters for going on 25+ yrs. now (Kahrs, Boen, Harris-Tarkett, Award, Universal, Bruce,+), I can tell you not all floating brands of floors are milled to the precision of Kahrs. And yet they still work. I've put it Awards back when they first came out and were glued up. Talk about gaps! Plus some of HT floors were milled off as well. But I think what we are refering to here is the degree of gaping. IMO, a few, very small gaps the thickness of a business card will not cause a floater to fail. However, IF the entire floor is gaped everywhere and the gaps are larger, that would effect the integrity of the floor. So I think you and I agree that large, numerous gaps are a problem. A few, very small ones are insignificant.

It looks like a piece of stained base shoe covering an exterior door sill, I hope that finish nail does not go thru the flooring itself. Sloppy job by your installer but no reason to exaggerate problems.

Yes sir, I agree with that, I was going by the posters remarks about seeing the padding.

I really thought I was seeing the padding but on closer inspection(which I should have made before posting) the gaps are only credit card width. I don't think they would cause the floor to fail but they don't look great either. The joint stagger is another matter since several are only 2 inches and not 5 as the spec sheet requires. Dan

What you are seeing is the unfinished tongue through the crack, I can see it on the first picture and the gap is quite wide for the fist pic. You should never see the tongue from the top down, The door jam should be fixed with some caulk and some filler. And the third pic seems about normal to me for a prefinished product. Less than a dime is considered normal and last time I checked an NRA card was not as thick as a dime. You got a slap it in install, which is what most floaters are, but not enough to justify not paying the contractor. Have them fix the issues by filling and caulking and just don’t refer them to anyone else.

Are these gaps throughout the installation?

Chuck, Yes they are. .. In addition they NEVER ran a full plank across the six doors or the hallway which just chops the whole area up. I would have bought shorts if I wanted shorts. They ran four of the shortest planks right in a row in the middle of the living room!! Not a technical fault but pay attention!! There were plenty of mid-length and long boards in every carton. Any ideas if Kahrs will warrenty this thing with the 2 inch stagger that exist in several areas if it ever failed? The GM of the shop was here on Monday and said HE would cover it but I want it in writting from a principal of the company. Dan

That's a good one. As far as the end butt staggers are concerned, if there are only a few that are under that 5" minimum, let it go. But if there are a lot, that could be a problem. I don't think you are going to get an actual KAHRS representative to come by and give you a warranty. The best you can hope for is a warranty from the distributor, which is worth a whole lot more than anything the labor shop is going to give you. Ask him to fix the problems and take $500.00 off the price for giving you such a headache. Maybe next time that shop will use a better installer. Or a least pay them better. But probably not. They'll probably ding the installer for the $500.00. So typical, so sad. Cut throat, penny pinching, retail flooring stores. That is why I have not subbed labor to a retailer for over ten years.

gapping is related to site conditions after installation.
The wood lost Moisture Content after installation.
What did ya'll do to dry the house out so much?

Tex, the gaps existed before the tools were back on the truck. I didn't change anything the joints were not pulled tight during the install. Dan

gapping can occur when the floor is not allowed to move... it can be pulled apart.
Is the base nailed into the wood?

TEX, It was installed POORLY. The gaps did not appear, they were always there. I am waiting for the Kahrs/Adleta rep to make an appearance sometime next week. Dan

The "rep" came out yesterday and saw the job. I told him there were no fewer than 20 joints with less than 5 inches of joint stagger in about 540 square feet. I have one thats less than 2 inches and three of less than five in adjacent courses in a high traffic area. The GM of the store was here also and did little more than study the tops of his shoes. I don't know what they will decide but is it time to get an inspector? Dan

I'd wait for the reps report. Hope the GM will allow you to see it and not just "qoute" what it says.

What range of actions would you expect with the other problems in the install? Thanks for your opinion. Dan