Just registered today. This forum was highly recommended on another site I frequently visit. After a little bit of browsing here, I know I have come to the right place to get help.

We have 3/8" Bellawood Brazilian Cherry floor from lumber liquidators installed on the first floor of our home. (~1000 sft)

There are a few issues with the flooring like creaking, uneven gaps, planks popping up in a few places etc.

The installer has agreed to replace the entire flooring at no cost to us with a like quality flooring from a different manufacturer.

The installer does not want to use Bellawood from Lumber Liquidators since they think it is an inferior product.

Now we have to make a decision on whether to use a 3/8" floor or spend extra money and get the 3/4" solid flooring.

My questions:

1. Should we go with a 3/8" engineered floor or a 3/4" engineered or 3/4" solid?
2. Can you recommend some reputable manufacturers? The installer who came in today was recommending Bruce, Armstrong (like quality), Mirage and Lauzon (higher quality)
3. Any personal experiences about engineered and solid flooring? pros and cons?
4. Good or bad things about any of the above mentioned manufacturers?

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at Muskoka. Same parent company as Mirage (which is considered top-of-the-line). Muskoka 3/4" solid prefinished is advertised as the smallest bevel in the industry. I just did my whole house with it... 3/4" X 2 1/4" prefinished solid Red Oak. Minimal waste. Milling was excellent. I had done quite a bit of research and Muskoka did not disappoint. I'm sure you'll find that everybody has their favorite(s) and ones that they do not like. After a while you will see the same group rising to the top of the most liked list.

After a while you will see the same group rising to the top of the most liked list.

Appreciate the prompt response.

What is included in this "same group"? Are Lauzon and Mirage part of this?
We would like to stick with Brazilian Cherry since the cabinets and other stuff matches the flooring.

Thanks.

Yes they are. Also, and I may get slammed for this but Canada manufacturers some pretty top notch flooring. One point that they make is that the colder Canadian climate makes for a slower growing more stable wood.

What was the condition of the underlayment/subfloor like? Sounds more like a substrate problem than just the hardwood. If so then you may end up with similar issues even with a quality floor.

There are a variety of good brands on the market. Since you are looking for an exotic such as Brazilian Cherry, you may want to look into brands which are focused on more exotics. Of course if you go with Lauzon or Mirage this is a name which you can trust will stand behind their product, however, their specialty is mostly Domestic species originating from North America.

As for your specific issues, it sounds like there could be a variety of factors which could cause squeaking, gapping, and buckling. It may or may not be product related. I must agree with the above post, get the job site condition looked at before proceeding with the new install or the outcome may be similar.

Generally 3/8" thick wood is not going to give you much in terms of wear layer. Which is important to consider because it determines how long your flooring will last. With 3/4" solid wood, the wear layer will not be a concern because you can refinish many times.