Q: I recently purchased the engineered wood red oak flooring from Pergo (5 inches and 3/8 thick). It is to be floated. I hired an installer and noticed that several planks give a little when I walk over them. Is this normal with floating floors. Or should I try other options like nailing them down to the floor? Will it hurt that part of the floor is floated by part of it is nailed. Any ideas would help.
Thanks,
Nav
A: All floating floors will move some as they are not solidly anchored to the floor. Usually this movement is very subtle and difficult to feel unless you are specifically looking for it. Now if you are feeling a decent amount of movement, such as being able to see a gap as the floor flexes underfoot, then this can be a problem.
All floating floors have a tolerance for movement and certain underlayments allow a floor to move more than others. Dense underlayments like Cork allow for a bit less movement than the cheaper foam based underlayments.
With the Pergo floor you have installed, this floor should have been glued in the tongue and groove sections when floated, so if you are hearing any pop noises or are able to see into the joints when the floor moves, this can be a problem.
What is most likely happening is that part of your subfloor has a small valley that sits lower than the rest of the subfloor and the floor is flexing down into that valley as you walk over it. Typically this is taken care of with a bit of subfloor prep before installing the floor and although floating floors can account for a small variance in subfloor height it is still best to level out the floor before going forward with installation.
I would not suggest nailing portions of the floor, as this will prevent the floor from being able to move which floating floors are designed to do. This means that the portions of floor which can move could buckle or warp as they move and other portions do not. At the very least, your can run into problems with gapping as the floor expands and contracts.
In the end, I would have your installer return and check the areas in question. If the movement is within the tolerance limits of the floor, then there is no need to repair. If this movement is beyond tolerance, the precise cause should be found and remedied, which is most likely going to require a small amount of work leveling a portion of the subfloor.
