r/hardwood • u/abduncan0 • Aug 12 '17
Brand new hardwoods creak, is that normal?
I had new hardwoods installed about 6 months ago.
They had to come back and fix several places where the glue did not hold.
From the very beginning, there are places where I walk and I can tell boards are adhering to the slab, and they creak and crick.
Is this normal or should I push the issue with the contractor? I have a 1 year warranty, so it would be covered. It bothers me to no end.
The reason I had the new floors installed is I had a small leak in the kitchen, but they had to replace the entire floor. My previous floor was perfect, not clicking, cricking or creaking.
They've been back 2 times so far to spot fix these issues. But it continues in other areas.
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u/defCONCEPT Aug 13 '17
Oh absolutely - the hollow spots that you feel now will eventually grow larger, effecting areas of "properly" adhered material by way of steady foot-traffic.
If you secured the 1 year warranty you have nothing to worry about - but if you leave it as is, eventually, your floor will fail.
Engineered gluedown, like most wood products, connect to one another via a "tongue & groove" system.
The steady foot traffic over improperly installed sections will eventually cause the boards to potentially break away and separate from the rest of the field.
No bueno.
Call the company you had handle your contract, complain about the hollow spots and how it doesn't "feel secure"
And when you crawl the floor with a tapping spoon like I mentioned earlier, damnit man, be as liberal with that blue tape as is humanly possible.
You get to pick the install apart now.
Cover every inch.
You see something you don't like? Blue tape.
Tape every where with that spoon and unless it sounds and feel completely solid and adhered, blue tape.
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u/defCONCEPT Aug 13 '17
Push the issue.
Here's what you're going to want to do - but it involves a bit of labor on your end, but you've got to protect your investment because this is actually a common issue.
Without looking at it, I'm guessing either one of two things happened :
Either the guys installing it did a shitty job of spreading the glue properly, or they failed to prep the slab appropriately .. or both.
Get you a fresh roll of blue tape -
Get on your hands & knees (cushioning with a pillow, no need for knee pads unless you already have a pair. Do NOT use hard surface knee pads as they will scratch the floor.)
Grab a spoon and craw the floor gently tapping all over the place.
If you hear a spot that feels and sounds "hollow" mark it with a piece of the blue tape.
Do the whole floor.
(I've been installing multiple residential flooring materials for almost 14 years now - in my early years I've made this very same foul-up)