We had Bruce engineered hardwood flooring installed about a month ago and could use some advice. The installers had to replace all the wood subflooring because they couldn't remove the previous wood flooring without damage to the subfloor. One thing I noticed is they brought the flooring materials over the day of install and had to get more boxes to finish.

The flooring was installed before we moved in and we are noticing some things that don't seem right to us. The biggest issues I've noticed are around the end to end seams. There are numerous seams that have gaps 1/8" to 3/16". What is an acceptable gap here?

The are also numerous areas where one board is higher than the next. Sometimes it's a corner, other times it's the entire board. Is this acceptable?

I've also noticed numerous boards where the finished is cracked along the seams and a few places where there is a void under the laminate.

The last thing is there is one area where there is a creaking sound if I step anywhere in about 2'x2' area.

I just wanted some opinions and advice before I contact him and show him the issues. I don't want to get worked up over something that is deemed normal, but I feel like this is just a quick, lazy install and we're not thrilled with the level of quality and detail that went into the work.

Thanks.

If the gaps have been there from the start and are only at the edges I would say that is installer error, if they appeared after installation it is a humidity issue and the floor was not acclimated properly, if they are everywhere from the beginning it could be a lower quality floor with milling issues. the higher boards seem to be a common complaint among prefinished floors and is usually due to poor milling. With cracking finish and voids under the top layer my opinion would be the flooring is not the greatest quality. Depending on moisture of flooring and subfloor the amount of time the flooring was on the jobsite may or may not be an issue if the moisture content was checked and found to be in an acceptable range time does not matter, The higher boards could be due to a lumpy sub floor, was neww underlayment installed after the old floor was removed or was the old subfloor flat and smooth. Your issue may be installer or m anufacture I suspect a little of both. I would call the com[any and have them take a look usually if you are not irate and blaming someone when you call you will have better results. Good Luck

Make a list of the items you see and make a printed copy of the installation procedures, hand both to your installer and request that he address each item, (by complaint), so that you understand what to do next. Once an installer starts installing a floor he has accepted it as having no defects, (unless), the defects are beyond his scope of understanding. If he's a professional installer however the manufacturer draws issue with hom reporting a defect, post-installation. Any/all other conditions woould therefore be installation related unlesss they are inherent characteristics. (sorry in a hurry), bad typing

Thanks for the replies so far. Are there any more?

Is Bruce engineered wood flooring known as a lower quality floor with milling issue?

Thanks

Bruce Flooring offers some decent products and some below average products. It's hard to say what the quality of your floor is without knowing exactly which line of Bruce flooring it is.