I didn't mean to sound mean, that's just how I are

Yes, I believe jjsabenario is an installer.

In one of his messages, the OP said it wass the biggest job he has done, along with it being the biggest problem he has encountered. So if not a dedicated hardwood guy, he at least has a background in construction work.

Could also be just your typical handyman from craigslist. I look at lots of those and try and fix some, some they can't be fixed without lots of ching$$ I ran an ad in there recently "I Fix Those $1.00 A SF Flooring Jobs" lol Actually pays better than installing them.

Time to set the record straight. I'm a licensed floor contractor #914597 www.1DayFloors.com is my business. I'm more the marketing guy in the equation but I do get down and have over 100 installs under my belt over my 3 years in the biz...but I'm here to learn and don't boast to be a veteran pro as I never had the oppotunity to undergo a training/apprenticeship program. This is why I'm grateful to have a forum like this to learn more (IF) I stay in the business. I do appreciate all the help here and I guess I'll take my lumps as they come til' I get "learnt"

Thanks Dennis! I'll be taking pics of the debacle today and will post them for group scrutiny...and I will go out and find a Moisture meter today. thanks~ jj of 1DayFloors.com. I might be able to provide help through my background in sales/marketing in this forum and trade what I know for the technical details. I have a B.S. in Business Admin/Marketing and need help in the technical end~

No offense dude but by the type of questions you asked it seemed to me you didn't have a lot of experience with wood. It's Dennis's meanness rubbing off.

Nice to see someone doing moisture testing. Do you also advise clients to use a MVP type product even if the emissions are low?
Nice website BTW.

Man with the prices you get for hardwood, and laminate installs can I come work for You?

I figure this guy is in my neck of the woods! What I call "the south bay". Looks like Fremont, Union City, Oakland, San Jose, probably, Hayward, Castro Valley, Dublin, Pleasanton, etc. are the places he most likely services. This area generally commands some of the higher prices in the SF Bay Area, with SF itself usually the highest. Nest would be the "peninsula" and Marin county, followed by his area.

Thats where I used to live, Dublin. Dublin and Pleasanton, San Ramon very beautiful place, least it was back in the mid eighty's. I worked all those areas.

I think I found the problem! The floor was pinched in a couple of spots where the speaker wires were forcing the floor very tight to the wall...i trimmed the floor with a toe-kick saw...left the baseboards off...and placed heavy furniture on the puffy area. Do you know if this is a good idea or should I put the base and furniture back and let nature take it's course???

Yeah, it's still nice. But as expected, more built out and more people. Alamo and Danville are also very nice ( and pricey ) as well. I'll bet you may have worked in those areas as well. And Blackhawk. Ever work there? Around here, these are the communities that most often get the upper end wood floors. That's because their homes often start in the $600,000.00 range and go up from there, to millions. Dublin and Livermore are not priced quite as high. But Fremont has gotten very expensive as well. I usually do not go past Pleasanton to work. Too far. Mostly just CCC and east Alameda . I'll bet it was tough getting used to the temp and weather in Tuscon after living in Dublin.

Gary, I lived here before there and even though I only worked there for just over a year or so it was hard re-ajusting back to this climate. When I moved back it was summer. Dublin is much warmer than the over the hills in the bay. lol It was definetly weird being cold in SF in the summer! And that fog is definetly very scary. First time I had to drive into a fog bank I freaked

I thought there were two versions of Blackhawk. I worked a couple in the newer version in 85' before I left

You got that right. There are many micro climates in the SF Bay area. Inland, over "the hills of Oakland", it does get down right hot in the summer. 100+ temps. But Oakland, Hayward, Berkeley keep much cooler at 80 degrees or so. Then SF itself can be 60 in the am with tons of fog coming in off the ocean. It burns off by the afternoon typically.

There are two "areas" of Blackhawk. The "old" Blackhawk and then, the newer Blackhawk, which had two phases. It's been built out for years now. And it is a very nice community.

My experience with Arizona was going to Phoenix in the summer of 1970 for an army physical. I was drafted and living in LA and they ordered us to Phoenix for our physicals. We had to take these army busses from LA that had no AC. It was so hot in Phoenix, hot and dry. But earlier, I had lived in Las Vegas, so I was a little accustomed to hot and dry. I hope Tuscon is a little better climate wise than Phoenix. The highlight of that particular trip was going to an indoor "surfing"/swimming place" called "Big Wave" or something like that. Is that still there?

Yes it's is still there, the wave machine with a beach right in the desert. lol

As you know Tucson is much cooler than Phoenix, give or take ten degrees... due to it's higher elevation and it is surrounded by 10,000 ft mountains. I see snow up there now but I don't have to touch it. lol

I remember the the newer Blackhawk was with homes you could order furnished with a fully stocked wine cellar if you chose to. My shop was in Fremont and I worked the city most of the time.

Welcome jjsabenorio. Nice blog.