I have purchased my own bruce 3/4" flooring from Lowes. The flooring was in the house for 4 days and hired floor installer (my neighbor) to install who has installed hundreds of floors and i know that he does good work. i picked up the carpeting myself to save some costs. installer laid underlay rosin paper, and started installing floor using the required nails for 3/4" flooring and his nail gun. he did a beautiful job and he used one and 1/2 boxes of nails. he left a 1/2 inch void area for expansion to which shoe mould was applied later. He came over few times and floor looked great. i have since installed a french door onto the opening to the room and i keep it closed for pet reasons. the hardwood floor room is cooler than rest of house. after about one month, floor started crackling and it is obnoxious. is this an install problem or a air circulation problem. when you step on floor once it seems to be ok until few hours later when you step on it again. should i get the installers insurance carrier and report problem? what exactly is happening and why?

Four days is usually not enough acclimation time unless it was already close. Did they perform moisture tests with a pin meter on the underlayment and wood before installing? Was it OSB or plywood or particle board? Need more info.

Also, closing off your room from any HVAC and letting the temp and Rh to go out of control and out of the comfort range is reason for denile of any claim you might think about starting.

No, they did not do testing for humidity, yes, the underlay was 3/4 plywood. i have a dehumidifier on my furnace that i use reguarly as i have had previous water situations in basement.

1. does the crunching mean wood floor is already ruined?
2. will this situation go away when wood conforms to house
3. will wood floor be ruined if it is pulled up
4. what is RH?

thank you for your prompt attention and i appreciate all your help. regards

Well to begin, RH = relative humidity.
Sounds like a floor that may be drying out too much, if so; floor is not "ruined" and there is no need to remove it. Open the space into the rest of the house that is in "live-in" condition and things will most likely return to normal. Time will tell.
Has there been any water issues in the basement since the hardwood was installed?

no major water events in basement but i do have moisture there from previous situations as reason why in installed dehumidifier....i do thank you for your precious time and all the info you have given to me....thanking you again

woods a living thing, it needs air and moisture from the air to survive. open your doors and let it breath.

thanking you again makes sense....

Temperature has more to do with popping and cracking noises than moisture, really. Moisture can lead to buckling and other structural problems, but not within the first few days. Buckling/warping/etc are more noticeable in appearance and definitely require repair work. Popping/cracking/etc is usually just the wood expanding and contracting due to temp fluctuations and doesn't require repair. Try to keep the area at a consistent temperature and you should be fine. Let those floors sing!
PS - Do you have solid hardwood or engineered flooring?

we have bruce 3/4" engineered. thank you in advance for your reply

Does Bruce have a 3/4" Engineered ??

yes, 3/4" oak flat or beveled color is gunstock

Yes...Bruce 3/4" Oak pre-finished, Gunstock, Bevel or Square Edge has been available for ever in "Solid". I've never heard of it being "Engineered", in 3/4 thickness. ( Maybe you have Solid and Engineered mixed up?)

im sure you are the expert and maybe my understanding of "engineered" is not what true engineered is...i thought that true hardwood was when you actually laid the wood and stained and poly'd it yourself....and engineered was what was sold in stores as lowes and home depot made by various manufacturers in this case bruce which was purchased at lowes. thanx in advance

I get a lot of customers that say, " I want real Hardwood ". What they are trying to tell me is they want a "solid", as opposed to an "engineered, (unfinished or pre-finished, but a solid).
Engineered is made up of layers,a "cross grain construction", (like plywood). Solid & Engineered are both "real hardwood" . One difference is.."Engineered" may only have "real hardwood" on the top layer.
What you have is a "solid", and it's "real" . I can guarantee you that on your floor ,or an engineered hardwood floor, you can't find to identical pieces, it's a product of real Nature,( I love it ).

Yes I have seen the 3/4 engineered. They make ot for those lazy ppl who don't want to get a site finished floor yet want to match it up with an existing solid 3/4.