Hi all,

I installed 3 1/4 wide, 3/4 thick solid Brazilian teak from LL in one bedroom a few months ago. Im a diy and this was the first room i've done. Everything went well except I get a crackling sound from the wood when I walk on it for the first time in a while (like when I get up in the morning). After that, it's quiet. There's no noticeable movement in the wood. I'm about to start another room and want to know if theres anything I can do to prevent the noises.

The floor was installed on 3/4 T&G plywood subfloor with a pneumatic flooring nailer, 2" nails. I used the aqua-bar tar paper underpayment. The crackling is worst at the edges of the room where I used a 16ga finish nailer. Would a 15ga finish nailer be any better? Anything else I can do? All tips are appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Sounds like expansion.This is caused by moisture.Did you allow the wood to acclimate inside your home for a few days before installation?Relative humidity,moisture content in both the wood and the subfloor...these are all determining factors in the behavior of wood flooring.

In many houses the r/h will vary greatly between day and night, that might be the cause. During the day the ac is doing a better job because its actively running and dehumidifying the space. At night when its cooler it runs less and thus the r/h will normally rise. Try to keep it constant that should help minimize the movement.

Thanks for the comments so far. I did let the wood acclimate for ~3 weeks in the room it was installed in.
If the issue is relative humidity changing through the day, is there anything I could have done during installation to prevent the noise? Or is this just something to expect if the rooms are not kept at a constant humidity level?

Thanks!
--Sal