Hello,

We had engineered flooring installed about 1 week ago.

1/2" 7 foot 7" wide planks
Stapled down
Aqua B underlayment
Acclimated 1 week prior to install

We are noticing a crackling sounds when stepping in multiple spots. It almost sounds like the tongue/groove on the plank is crackling. I do not see any movement with the floorboards. I suspect some flexing the floor joists is causing some stress on the planks. Do the hardwood floors need to settle or go through a full cycle of seasons?

Thank you.

Could be cracked tongues. Only way to tell is pull some up. How thick is your substrate? And joist spacing is?

There is 1/8" luan over the subfloor and then the Aquabar B Moisture Vapor Barrier Underlayment over the luan. The joists are spaced 16" apart.

If the luan was not glued down, I would bet it's the eighth inch plywood.

Acclimated for 1 week prior to install - why? New construction or Reno?

And also, what are the site conditions you acclimated the material too? Can you post RH and MC in the material?

Remember that acclimation is for when the material from the shop doesn't match the expected performance conditions on the site its to be installed. Typically you don't want to acclimate to new construction conditions, especially now in the summer with high humidity. Your material may have gone in fat (expanded due to high MC) and then contracted after install, leaving less pressure and more movement at the t+g which can create noise.

True that what Weston says. Your installer should have documented the moisture content of the wood and substrate, temp and rh prior to installation. Lots of guys out there who bought a nailer then call themselves a hardwood installer without getting any formal training or education.

Why the luan? Is it particle board under the luan?

Hardwood floor layers have a 5 year apprenticeship. The jobs have so many challenges that it's not possible to see everything. I had cracking from needing to shim a whole floor to match height in an adjacent room because the general contractor did not get his sub-floor elevation correct. Even though the correct nailing schedule was used the plywood still popped as we walked on it even though we used sub-floor adhesive to glue the edges and ran a serpentine bead around the field over a solid fir sub-floor.