Hi floorguy, The only possible upside I can think of is that it is winter (the coldest time of the year around here) and there is no heat in the home, and they did lay down a moisture barrier. So, from here, it can only get warmer (when the remodel is done and we move back in). It's not Bellawood (don't they only produce Engineered wood?) The company is called USC and I'm concerned about the quality. I called the distributor and sent a few photos but he replied that the gaps he saw in the photos are to be expected due to the "handscraped" aspect of the boards. I call BS on that because the boards fit flush everywhere else in but for about 10 spots where it appears the installer just did not make the effort to find boards that fit correctly.

Hi, Worthy, I can't speak for the NAHB or how they arrived at their standard; I'm just a single, soggy southern swamp dweller. NOFMA (The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association) says this about gaps in hardwood flooring: "Normal gaps may vary in width from "hairline" gaps thickness of stationary, to more significant gaps, up to or greater than the thickness of a quarter. The larger gaps are expected in those geographical areas associated with an extended dry heating season, and warm, mild humid summers that require little air conditioning, i.e., the Great Lakes or New England area...Plank floors, because of widths involved can shrink individually up to 3+ times as much as 2 1/4" wide strip floors."

And WHY is this 'nail only'? These are 5" HICKORY planks. A wide plank floor (anything 5" or wider) must have glue assist during install. And hickory has a little bit more movement than oak...which means it needs a bit more stability (ie. glue assist) when installed. The "American Spirit" brand is sold by Floor & Decor. Their installation instructions are...limited. Which means the installer has to have quite a bit of knowledge to know all these things. A guy with a hammer (or nail gun) will have little flooring knowledge. At the price of $5.29/sf (as listed for a store in WA state) the chances of milling issues could be quite high. I think we have several issues going on here. As Oak & Broad suggests, start by CULLING all the boards that are BAD (this is what you are paying your installer to do...but he's not doing it so it falls to you to go for it) and then find out your TOTAL square footage of bad boards. Figure out if they are MORE than 5% (industry standard allows 5% waste for bad wood). If your culled footage is MORE than 5% you have a claim worthy of the paper it is written on. And while you are culling your wood, have someone that is well versed in wide plank install come in and have a look at this install. I'm PRETTY sure you need glue assist on this one. A 5" solid hickory plank (3/4" thick) for LESS than $6/sf is going to need some help. And please tell me that it was acclimated for several days/weeks. And please tell me your installer took moisture readings from random planks equal to 10% of the wood delivered to your home. And please tell me the boxes were opened and stacked PROPERLY while acclimating. And good luck with Floor & Decor. It's my understanding they take quite a bit of time to get moving if there is a claim that they have to deal with. The sooner the better is what I've heard.

Is there any way to measure the temperature at the 'wood-subfloor' interface? Most floor products do NOT allow anything warmer than 85F at the subfloor-floor interface (the temperature found between the two products). The 60 F INSIDE temperature is quite low. It is just on the very edge of "indoor living temperature". Most warranties (paint, carpet, hardwood, baseboards, doors, drywall, cabinets, etc) must have consistent indoor living conditions. The building industry has a definition of indoor living conditions (which are to be maintained throughout the life of the home...regardless if someone is home or not). Relative Humidity: 35% - 65% Temperature: 55F - 85F Your indoor air temperature is only 15 Celsius. That is VERY cool. The lower temperatures have a harder time 'keeping' moisture in the air. That's why you find dew on the grass during the chill of a spring morning. The grass is colder than the air. And the air is already quite chilly. The air has a hard time 'holding on' to the water vapour. The cooler blade of grass is JUST ENOUGH to cause a water droplet to form - pulling the water from the air and onto the earth. As the air warms up, the vapour is HAPPILY stuck in the air. That's why you have hot-sultry areas (like NYC in the summer time) and you have cold DRY areas (like Mongolia in winter). It's how the laws of physics work. I would tip up the heating a snick and OPEN THE WINDOWS to pump up the humidity. I would bet the closer you get to 50% RH and 70 F (20 C) the better your floors will look. Somehow you need to get the humidity and the temperature up AT THE SAME TIME.