Hi All,

I have Mohawk Hickory engineered floors. And I noticed some of the planks have surface layer cracks that are dark. Im not sure how it's caused, maybe when I was cleaning but it looks like the finish is cracked and dirt or something collected in the cracks. Is there a way to repair/clean this?

Thanks, Jen

LINK TO THE IMAGE (not sure how to upload):
https://www.diychatroom.com/attachments/screen-shot-2021-04-22-at-1-32-04-pm-png.650152/

This look like a peeled veneer that has checks. An inspector could have a look to determine whether the surface veneer has been installed correctly. Sometimes it is manufactured with the veneer installed upside down which make the checks more pronounced.
There will not be an easy way to get the dirt out of the checks. They show up on the natural finished color more than when there is a stained color.

I think that's exactly what I'm seeing. This is on landing but it seems every plank in this section has veneer checks. Is there a way to repair this or should I just replace the planks? I do have an extra box.

In this landing section, the planks began to bow, lifting the center up. I'm assuming its because the installer didn't leave expansion gaps. Could the stress of expansion cause the veneer checks?

Thanks, S

Check the landing sub-floor with a straight-edge if you do replace. Expansion will not cause checks.

Do you know what usually causes this

If this is a peeled veneer, smaller logs will have more checks when the veneer is flattened as it is pressed onto the core of the plywood. If the veneer is adhered upside down checks will be inevitable.

So they checks can appear later? Cause I don't recall seeing them when the floor was installed.

Mopping can induce checking.