This is my first post on this board- I'm desperate for answers so here goes.
On 10/15, we had an engineered wood floor (Mannington, 9/16") installed in our home. The wood was glued down directly on the slab. We immediately noticed several areas that squeak and pop as we walk on the floor. There are also MANY areas that have a "hollow" sound when you tap on the floor. We had the installers and the gentleman from the floor company back out to our home and showed them the problems. They "shot" several small brad-type nails into the flooring to help "attach" it to the concrete. They also described to us a procedure where glue is injected through a small hole to fill the void under the wood, and said they may try that next. Is this a long term fix or just a band aid? It seems to me that a properly installed floor would not need these remedies. The installers used five bags of leveling compound on about 375 sq. ft. of floor. The floor company is not showing a lot of interest. Does it sound like this floor can be rescued or is it time to consult with an attorney?

You can hire an independant floor inspector for an impartial opinion. Sounds like floor not flattened well enough and/or improper trowel size and/or insufficient adhesive transfer. Bottom line: contractor is responsible

Dear JSX4
I agree with the other posts. There are many things that can go wrong with glue down installation. Some nobodys fault such as if the slab
had good moisture meter readings when installation took place and
built up moisture later because of location . Others such as wrong leveling
compound that did not adhere to the slab but popped loose because of normal expansion/contraction. The wrong Adhesive. No moisture readings
taken. using or not using a roller depending on specifications called for. Sliding the boards in place vs. setting them in the glue. Walking on the
floor too soon or while installing. Would be install problems.
Some companies state in their installation instructions
that hollow sounds that occur are normal and not caused by loose boards.
Good Luck
Jim (bootjack in NC)

They didn't do enough floor prep, or they didn't know what they were doing when they did the floor prep!!!


Do not let them put "sprigs" (Brad nail looking thing) into your floor!!!!!

Small hollow spots are not a problem, unless you find many in one location.
Big hollow spots, with popping and creaking are problems.

Drilling a small hole and injection, is one way to deal with it. Although, it won't fix them all, and they will be drilling and filling numerous holes into your new investment.

Make them replace sections that are really bad.

perry why do they make sprigs? if we arent supposed to put them in the wood and into the concrete. take it easy on the installer on this one hell he did try floating. has mearperfect as i am i do not get 100% coverage, no one does. drilling into a floor is not ideal but an accepted practise in the flooring business, i believe your beloved book even acknowledges its use and acceptance. am i wrong? and let us all remember the proper height for inspection is at standing level. a 1/16th bit with very good matching wood putty{or is that stuff not supposed to be used either} would never be seen in one of my floors. and yes i do use sprigs, i hide them in grain, cant see them, and dont leave them sticking out, i imagine they would do real damage to a tenderfoot. this floor to me sounds repairable without tearout.

????

exactly what i thought.

bar me if you want ken but you know what i type is true.

again but even louder...

I have enjoyed reading this board for the last year (I'm not an installer, just someone who did their own a year ago and continue to be compelled by the discussions on topics here).

That said, I'd like to offer a consumer's perspective. I would hope that a professional, big-dollar installer would hold himself to a higher standard than those you describe, William. The attitude that you often seem to take in these discussions is that numerous flaws should be expected and accepted when a floor is installed. Most of the others I read on here seem to understand their customers' desires better. They spend more time on prep so their final product is devoid of the problems caused by rushed prep. They don't hide behind contractual language about "inspection standards" and expect their customers to settle for less than first class work, just because NFMA says so. Probably 5% of customers even know what that is, and even less care. They want a good floor, not what NFMA says is a good floor.

Reputable installer deliver what they know is good work... not just what someone else tells them is acceptable.

Mannington does not require a moisture test other than striking a match to the concrete.

They also say: if you have a floor that has low spots switch to a bigger notch size on trowel.

If you have some extreme bowed planks this can cause a lot of hollow areas.

Call Mannington.