I didn't have buckling but I had lots of checking in Home Depot special order Brazilian Cherry - inspector said it was improperly dried, even though we had let it acclimate, the installer (my cousin) didn't have a meter so didn't check the humidity of the wood, though we did acclimate the first part we put down for 2 weeks and the last part (it took him a while working nights) for another week. We got HD to reimburse us for the wood after they ordered replacements and they were checked in the box (I stopped after opening 4 boxes). We had Bellawood 3/4" thick 3.25" wide BC installed 10 months later, installer made sure the wood was no more than 4% difference from room, we have had no problems so far (that was in Sept 08), though I have heard crackling and popping as I walk on it (over 50% RH in house right now).

An undercut saw or a toe kick saw okay. I will have to get myself one. The installer does not seem to care who his man hired and what his man did. My own contractor on the job said common sense would tell you. It is good product by Award Flooring. I was told this wood was very stable. my enivironment is not too moist. no no moisture problems. i have old subfloor up there and it is measuring fine. i had another man come up and take some moisture readings with his good delmholst. I have a patina relics wide plank 6. distressed engineered. It is in my cottage so why would i have put real hardwood. I have dogs this is the ideal flooring. Now i am hearing that the cracks-from what i have read-could be the glue settling and people walking on it. How long would it take glue to settle? This floor has been down two weeks. From reading about I now know get the subfloor and your wood reading no more thatn 4% in the difference. But this might be slightly different with wider planks? maybe. Do you know anything about glue drying. Could the cracks be the tongues breaking? My installer will not listen to me and won't tell me what he did with the float in install. I found nails-oh yes- in the hallway. the hall is not finished. So what do i have now a combo job. This was not a cheap job. I paid for complet flooring in the place plus some fiber flooring. thanks for your input. Greatly appreciated. I have a show down with this man on wedneday i have asked him to bring along his installer. He refused to cut an expansion gap and insists the floor does not need it. This is a man in the businness for 14 years. I have lots of pictures taken. i do not know if he taped the seams on the foam underlayment either. ....

Here is my take... Since the existing is flat, it tells me that the existing was installed at the regions average MC, or gaps were left in it during the installation if it took place in the low humidity season. Acclimating a floor in a low humidity season, and installing it tight, is just as bad as no acclimation at all. There is a documented average regional moisture content for wood. Each species of wood has what is called a shrink & swell coefficient. It is a number so you can do the calculations to see exactly what the wood is going to do given a rise or loss of moisture content. If the wood is acclimated to the heating season or season of low humidity, gaps need to left in the field of the installation, so when the humidity does rise, the wood doesn't compress the edges, in a cupped appearance and eventually buckle if it is excessive pressure. Proper acclimation isn't just sitting the wood in a room. Actually far from it. I'd say improper acclimation issues, brought on the condition your seeing. Cupping from a wet humid basement or crawl space, will show up faster then 5 months. Take all that with a grain of salt... I'm sitting here, and not there with my moisture meters.

I had a similar situation with an icemaker line that damaged the hardwood in the kitchen and an adjacent hallway. The insurer paid for replacement of the entire downstairs because the hallway hardwood had been discontinued. The adjuster indicated that if it hadn't been discontinued, they might try to replace only a few boards. (I would have fought her if that was a serious proposal, but it wasn't.) I'll echo weissman's comment -- I sue insurers on claims like this for a living, and for a small claim it's not worth it. The insurer should have brought in fans/blowers immediately upon you reporting the claim. Sometimes the fans/blowers can work wonders with drying things out, esp. if you're on a raised foundation.