Q: I purchased Pergo’s Wynwood Oak flooring, and had it installed by my handyman, who does awesome work. This was in a basement, and the concrete under the original carpet had heaved a bit, so he and his partner spent two days grinding down high points and laying leveling compound to even the floor out. They probably didn’t get it quite perfect, but they definitely just about killed themselves trying. This is floating click-together flooring, and we used Pergo’s Softseal underlayment per the instructions of your sales rep.
Anyway, they’re all done now, and the floor looks great, but I’m definitely hearing some snap, crackle, and pop noises as I walk around. Also, there is one spot where I can see they did not get the subfloor level, as the pergo moves when I step on it – just slightly but I can see it.
What would you suggest? My sister, who had similar work done by a friend who is a professional installer, tells me that he says SOME popping noises will happen until the floor settles. But I read on your site that it’s a sign of problems to come – though the question I read seems to be a case where the floor was not properly installed to begin with, and I really think my guys did everything they could do to prep this floor. Should I be concerned? Should I have something done with that low point? How can it be fixed without ripping up the floor?
I saved some of the Pergo for repairs, so if that low spot can’t be fixed without tearing it up, I will probably just wait until there’s a problem and have it fixed then.
Thanks!
A: With any floating floor you will have some movement in the floor. Typically 1/32″ of movement is well within tolerance although at times more movement can be within tolerance. Underlayment is a big factor in reducing the amount of movement you will see/feel in a floating floor. Pergo features 3 stages of underlayment, all of which will do the job, but some prevent more noise and movement than others. Your particular underlayment is great for the job, but like most foam underlayments it cushions the floor rather than reducing movement.
Most of the movement you are encountering is due to the floor set up you have – a floating floor over a foam underlayment. Now as the floor move some noise can occur, if very load or excessive noise is occurring then there can be cause to worry. This type of noise would happen across the entire floor and if the movement was significant (about 1/8″ or more). Some noise does tend to occur as a floor settles, but after about 2-3 weeks if you are still getting the same amount of noise there is a strong chance something has gone wrong during installation or the underlayment being used is not dense enough to be effective over your subfloor. Pergo’s Silent Step is a better choice over concrete because of its density, but not necessary.
As far as the leveling is concerned, underlayment for floating floors will typically remove variances of up to 1/16″. Anything beyond this is a matter of leveling and if your crew did a significant amount of work it seems unlikely this is a subfloor issue, but checking the level across the entire floor and searching for holidays in the concrete is important.
The great thing about floating floors which have a locking mechanism is that you can remove the flooring and reinstall it with a bit of care and patience. Now this is assuming that no glue was used in the locking mechanisms, as it is not required, but some installers will use it to act a moisture seal in kitchens or similar environments.
I would check with the folks who installed your floor if this noise does not lessen after having the floor in for about 2-3 weeks. If this is the case, it may be best to remove some of the flooring and then check the subfloor and underlayment. You may need to change to a dense underlayment like the Silent Step or something like cork to help remove this noise and movement.
