So we just had 700 square feet of Aquaguard laminate installed and I am growing very suspicious that the contractor cut some corners in prep but as I have never had laminate I am doing my homework. There is also a small tile issue...

This is all in a 20 year old home with concrete slab as sub floor.

- When I pulled carpet and baseboard I saw that the slab on the outer edges has some crack and chunks coming up (expansion joint) I sent a picture to contractor well in advance their arrival and was told to pick up 2 bags od concrete patch in addition to the self leveling I already had.

- When they arrived they began prepping floors and used all the self leveling and then some plus had to grind some areas. They used none of the concrete patch and when I asked they said they did not need it.

- I am now 2-3 weeks out install and I noticed their are several areas on outside wall where the laminated that runs parallel to baseboard has a decent amount of "give" in some areas as in I can push ir down with my fingers and expose a gap under baseboard. Additionally, in the master bedroom there are some very small gaps between baseboard and flooring, again on outside wall. I had a rep from the coney come out and he told me all this is normal for a floating floor but he did not bother to get down and inspect closely.

- Part of the job was to carry baseboard in the the master bathroom and it became very clear on day one that they crew was a laminate crew and did not touch tile. They installed all the baseboards and the contractor sent out a glorified handyman to do the grout however there was still old grout attached the tiles in some places that he just forced ground into and also got it all over new baseboards which probably should not have been installed until after ground was done.

I know this is not a new home however I am getting very nervous that some bug mistakes might have been made and I wanted to get some feedback before I contact the company.

The good news is that I still owe the a balance so it is in their best interest to make me happy. The bad news is that if this flooring has to come up because of bad prep work I will most like lose my mind.

What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

Yes, we did opt for a premium underlayment and as for the gap, it is not even a 1/16 of an inch but it is very inconsitent and the floor has a "hollow" sound in those area when I knock on it

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

Sorry, I also had the product in my house for 2 weeks prior to acclimate

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

Yes, we did opt for a premium underlayment and as for the gap, it is not even a 1/16 of an inch but it is very inconsitent and the floor has a "hollow" sound in those area when I knock on it

It sounds like the sub floor is low in that area. 1/16" is somewhat normal if it's just 1 area. The floor may relax and lay down to the sub floor over a few weeks.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

Yes, we did opt for a premium underlayment and as for the gap, it is not even a 1/16 of an inch but it is very inconsitent and the floor has a "hollow" sound in those area when I knock on it

It sounds like the sub floor is low in that area. 1/16" is somewhat normal if it's just 1 area. The floor may relax and lay down to the sub floor over a few weeks.

Good news "if" that happens is that you won't have any floor "give" there. The bad news is that you will have a permanent gap with the baseboard.

The hardest part of finding a contractor is finding one that does good work for a fair price!

quote:

Originally posted by TBH:
The hardest part of finding a contractor is finding one that does good work for a fair price!

That and finding one that owns their mistakes instead of trying to blow smoke up your ass

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What underlayment did you use under the flooring? That is more important than the flooring itself IMO. Premium underlayment makes a huge difference in give, shifting and noise of the flooring. Also did the flooring sit in the same room for a week or two before it was installed. This is important so that the humidity in it is the same and it's dimensionally stable when you install it. With cheap underlayment you will get a little give and movement from my experience, but nothing like you're describing.

How big of a gap are you talking about? 1/4" I think would be acceptable if you press down hard on it, over that not.

Yes, we did opt for a premium underlayment and as for the gap, it is not even a 1/16 of an inch but it is very inconsitent and the floor has a "hollow" sound in those area when I knock on it

It sounds like the sub floor is low in that area. 1/16" is somewhat normal if it's just 1 area. The floor may relax and lay down to the sub floor over a few weeks.

Good news "if" that happens is that you won't have any floor "give" there. The bad news is that you will have a permanent gap with the baseboard.

Nothing that a careful bead of paintable caulk won't fix.