Yes, I Screwed Up My Own Install

I was contracted to install a 3/8" red oak prefinished engineered wood floor. This was to be installed during the client's six-week vacation. With a six-week window, I was going to use this job as fill-in project, meaning when other jobs weren't ready we could jump on this at a moment's notice. We started and got three days into it when we were rescheduled to sand and finish a small project. We pulled out to complete the re-sand and returned a week later to complete the install. We now noticed localized popping/crackling in the newly installed wood floor. Wait a minute! This doesn't happen to me! I'm the inspector … but it did happen to me, and now I had to inspect my own floor.  

Inspection: 

• We use data loggers to track RH and temperature during the install, and they both were in the manufacturer's specifications.
• I used rare earth magnets to locate floor fasteners, and they were within manufacturer specifications.
• I knew the problem wasn't coming from the subfloor. We had handled subfloor flatness, checked MC, edged plywood seams and scraped any drywall mud off the subfloor, and everything was within manufacturer specifications.
• I checked an unopened box for flooring tongue and groove tolerances, and the difference was 0.005". I checked the installed material to see if any climatic changes had made a difference, and no dimensional change had taken place.
• A pressure test on localized noise related areas indicated movement up to .010". I checked and found this movement was coming from the tongue side, indicating the fastener did not secure the flooring tight to the subfloor.  

Cause of Concern: My supplier was out of the hammer tacker staples and I stopped in at a box store and bought a small box of generic staples. Yes, some folded over and some didn't go all the way in and lay flat, and I really didn't pay that much attention.

Cure: After laying underlayment paper, re-check hammer tacker staples to ensure they are flat or hammer them flat before installation begins. This is just as important as cleaning off drywall mud or sanding plywood joints before install. Simply put, any foreign material that can support your flooring material off the subfloor can provide vertical movement and create a noise-related concerns.Solution: Don't buy generic staples!