"Yes, if you and your husband are not in accord on this, then it's sure to be exploited by the builder. And it's sure to introduce strife into your relationship as well. If you're not happy with the floors, but your husband is, then you need to pick your battles. You've had enough other issues on this build where having your husband's support to correct is vital. " this is a very good point. as are several made in this thread. movement of wood,,,floating flooring use of fillers etc. but none of it solves anything if it isn't put into effect. expecting perfect just isn't going to happen, having the correct install should be the goal. the reason I asked twice about where the foam insulation was installed, and if load calc was done for hvac is for a good reason. granted you can't see it..which seems to be your main view, but different types of foam insulation allow moisture to exit, others don't. hvac removes humidity. high relative humidity inside a house will cause wood to swell. low rh causes it to shrink. new builds have a lot of RH. moisture content of lumber used for framing, subfloor...sheetrock mud, paint all add to RH load. wooden flooring should always be put inside the house several weeks prior to install....with hvac system running. this acclimates the wood so that you don't have cupping gaps etc. I realize that this is an excellent place to vent your building frustrations...but ignoring the good advice you get here isn't solving anything. understand that you are one house. GC will build other houses & has a working relationship with insulator, hvac company, flooring co...and so on. each will do cya for each other so that the warranty runs out. and then you are left with substandard flooring...brick whatever flavor it is today. they build and move on..you live there. the one advantage you have is that the gc hasn't been paid in full. and having been to court for my own clients...it doesn't often go the way you want. its that cya good ol boy network. you & your husband need to chose what you can live with and can't live with. complaining about every little thing puts you on gc/builder/sub's sh!t list. not saying it is fair...but it is the way it is. construction is a tough field with good and bad players. chose your battles, stick to your guns & keep your complaints short to the point, factual & without getting on an emotional rollercoaster, as it will only make things worse. let your husband handle it if you can't distance yourself from your feelings. it isn't about making friends...it is about getting what you paid for in a huge investment that you will live in for years. IMO this thread is like a train wreck...one can't help but see the latest advent. I'm not trying to put you on the defensive, but as a woman in a man's field of work...these are the things I've learned. best of luck.

My take on engineered "solid wood" flooring is that it's an overblown term to describe a lower quality product than can be created by any local sawmill. It's basically plywood with a thin layer of decent wood on the top. The one good thing I can find about it is that it uses resources that otherwise would be wasted, and it save trees. So it has environmental benefits, partially. On the other hand, the plies are glued together with adhesives. I don't know what glues are used, but I'd bet they're environmentally offensive and will offgass in your home. (another "green" conundrum.) There might be specific conditions under which the plywood's greater stability is useful, but in most cases, real wood will stand the test of time better. I was looking at some yesterday and it's several layers of junk wood with a very thin layer of hardwood on top. We've installed solid wood floors all over our house ourselves. It's one of the more doable projects for a homeowner with modest skills. I wouldn't buy a brand name, I'd find a quality small business that mills the boards. I'd ask about the length of the boards, whether the boards are end matched (cut at a 90 degree angle so you don't have to cut each one while installing), the color consistency and the knots. A high quality floor has nice board lengths (few in the 2 to 4' range, and some being 8 and 10'), consistent coloration of the boards and few, if any, knots. Oh, and 3/4" thickness. Most of the flooring you see these days, especially by brand name, will contain lots of short boards with varying color. When laid, what you see is a choppy floor. There are good and easy-to-use sanders that you can rent that have a flat bottom and don't gouge the floors. They put out surprisingly little dust, visibly, anyway. I'm not sure about finishes, but research might turn up some tough ones that aren't as toxic as the typical polyurethanes. I don't know the age of your current white oak floor, but if it's an older one, I think this is the best way to match it. It's also the best quality wood floor, imo. BTW, there's a lot of confusing terminology in the wood flooring world, no doubt intentional. Using the word "solid" to refer to engineered wood is a little tricky. Or "hardwood". The samples I saw yesterday looked like they consisted of layers of fir or whatever plywood is made of, and that's a so-called softwood. If you can't use the word "solid" to distinguish a board sawn from a tree, I don't know what you're supposed to call it.

I remember when you got those new sofas and how much I loved them. Now, with your beautiful wood flooring, everything is looking super! I feel a rug would go nicely, there. You have already received lots of good advice & suggestions from other posters. I'll throw in another option for you to consider. For my home, I've used washable Latex backed rugs from JCPenney. I know many people will cringe at the mention of Latex backing in contact with wood floors. I've heard that some factory pre-finished floors will be fine with these (Latex backed) types of rugs. I'm keeping a close eye as the months go by and so far (it's been 1 year), all is good. My floors are engineered wood by Lauzon. These rugs are not as plush as other more expensive rugs, but they are fine for me. I have not had the need to wash them, yet. When I do, I'll try the smaller one (5'x8' family room) first and see how it goes. I'll use a commercial front load "mega capacity" washer & then hang to dry. The 8 x 10 living room may just need to be washed by hand/hose in the backyard one sunny day. If you have a JC Penney near by, rugs can be returned if you don't like them. Also, don't pay full price! JCP always has sales. My 5 x 8 Double Border rug was $170, the 8x10 Majestic Scroll was $220 (including tax & free ship). The fibers are Nylon and they are made in the U.S.A. These rugs are not absorbing dirt hardly at all. My Olefin fiber rug in the entry (ordered from an online rug store) became dirty looking after only 3 months : ( I also do not like the feel of the Olefin rug. Pictured below is the 8 x 10 JCPenney Majestic Scroll rug (color: Sand) in my living room. I don't have a coffee table or ottoman, yet. This open space is where grand baby practices rolling over & his toddler cousin builds Lego creations : ) Here is a link that might be useful: JCPenney Rugs

Absolutely NOT. A messy person can never ever, ever, have a wood floor. They must only have a gray cement floor. Okay I am being sarcastic. I can not help myself I am still laughing from NYE. happy new year... Pardon me my dear, I digress. Messy people should only have gray dirt colored cement floors with drains lowerd slightly in the center so the water can wash away the dirt. And they can have a hose attached to the wall to keep the rooms clean. The water washes away all the mess. No furniture, no tables, no chairs, no dishes (that is too messy), no lights because lights get dusty, no windows because windows need cleaning, beds? Never, they need fresh linens that get dirty.... Let me review the question? Can a messy person have a wood floor ? No never. I would know this. Because I have wood floors on my entire first floor. Yes, I am always clean. Never dirty. Because I am perfectly clean, I never have tiny micro dust bunnies under my kitchen stools, I never have dog hair from my boxer dogs or their kennel mates or the relative dogs that pop in to visit, I never have bits of playdo, candy, cookie crumbs, trails of snow shoe puddles, crayon shavings, barbie doll hair, water, soda, sugar, flour, sparkles, glitter, cut pieces of paper, spilled salt, Christmas tree needles, dirt from the driveway or boots, chips of unidentified items about my floors.... Never, never do I have dust, ashes, cinders, dirt, earth filth, flakes, fragments, gilings, granules, grime, grit, ground, lint, loess, powder, refuse, sand, smut, soil, soot,pencil shavings... I live in a bubble of perfection. ~boxerpups Please know I am being silly, sometimes humor does not come across in print but please know I am trying to be silly. I am truly a messy lived in kind of lady. I am not clean and I have wood floors. Thank God, because wood hides the dirt. I love my wood floor and my messy family so much, I want to put wood floors in all the bedrooms because it really is easier to keep clean. And I have had tile and carpet. Toss the carpet put in wood. ~boxerpups the real me not clean at all.