I just bought 12 boxes of Kahrs Cottage & Castle Oak Tarcot wood-loc flooring. I have not installed a floor prior to this so I don't know what to expect. Most of the boards out of the new packages are warped. The are 5" wide and 69.25 inches long. And when I lay them flat, there is up to about 1/4 inch gap under the center of most of the boards. We found a couple that warp the other way. We are installing the floor as a floating floor over concrete. We took the time to grind the high spots and level the low spots, so the subfloor is in pretty good shape.
I called Kahrs tech line and the first person I spoke with told me that the warping is OK and that it will flatten out a we install the floor. I had another question (We found a couple of boards that are cracked) and called tech support again. This time the person that I spoke with told me that the boards should not be warped and to pull them aside and I can make a warrany claim on them. At the time we thought it was a fe wboards. Now we see that it is most of the boards and are wondering if this is normal? This is a high end floor and was pretty expensive. I would have expected better quality--but maybe it will flatten out?? The store where I bought the floor, although a flooring store, does not regularly carry Kahrs, it was special ordered for me. They are not familiar with the product. We started to install the floor to see how it would lay. The floor is one third down and we decided not to cut the more warped boards in case we wanted to make a warranty claim on them. The floor looks more stable as it goes together, but I can see the floor moving up and down when we walk on it, especially towards the leading edge were we are working. I can hear light ticking noises as we walk over it--no loud creaking though. So, we are not sure whether it is normal for this flooring to be warped and to flatten over time. Or even how a floating floor feels--doesn't it move a bit when walked on? Insight into this product would be appreciated.
Thanks!

I would have no issues installing that floor.

All engineered flooring, when the carton is opened, will do this bowing to some extent. A ¼ isn't nothing!

It will all lay flat once you start staggering rows.

Ditto... Typical for planks to be bowed out of the box. They will lay flat, and the noise will go away, in short time. As far as cracked planks...Don't run accross that often, but when I do, just use those planks as cuts, cutting the damage off.

Thanks--that is good to know. Kahrs packages are sealed with 7% humidity and they were warped right out of the shrink wrapped package. I realize that the boards are up to about 1/2 inch warped and 98% in the center raised position. Our concern is that we have started to lay the floor and we have staggered the boards with 20" min between joints. It is over 1/3 down and it is up in the air in the middle by 1/4 inch is so and deflects when we walk on it. From your responses, I am concluding that the floor will flatten and stop deflecting over time. I was suprized by the mixed input from the Kahrs tech people--one telling me it was not and issue and the other telling me is was. The floor is beautiful otherwise and we are looking forward to seeing the end result.

If your in an arid zone like me and the environment is not sufficiently within the Rh "zone" you can actually see the planks warping right in front of your eyes. A quarter inch isin't bad, a half is getting cut or used the a closet, maybe where a heavy piece of furniture. It pains me to see bowed materiallike that period.

I am not shocked about a manufactuere giving out conflicting info.