Seagull , What type of Adhesive did you purchase for your floor? Was it a Urethane? I had a Bamboo cup on me a few years back because the store we installed the project for sold the home owner a water based adhesive. I have seen cupping happen on inspections i have been called in on and they were all from moisture transmitting from the sub-floor.Especially with solid products. A 9ply product with a 4 mil wear layer should be a very stable floor when glued down with the correct adhesive and it shouldn't be cupping. The installation may have been installed correctly with the exception of using the correct adhesive. If they used a water based adhesive and it is cupping and the manufacturer recomends a urethane in your installation specifications, it will be on the company that sold you the wrong adhesive and the installer if they didn't use the correct adhesive. I would refer to your invoice and see what type of adhesive was used on the project. I have been installing floors for 20 years and i have never had an engineered product cup on me nor have i have ever seen or heard about one cupping. I always recomend a urethane based adhesive on all of our products for this same reason. It defintely doesn't sound right to me unless you are pouring water on that floor when you clean it or you flat out have a moisture issue and they didn't test for moisture before the floor was installed. I will discuss this with my Armstrong Rep on monday when he comes in and see what he has to say. Here is a link that might be useful: S&M Hardwood

estraitlover, Thank you for lettting me know. Fastfloors sent me a sample of the Brazilian Cherry True Loc Opulence that is not much more in price than the Laminate and is very nice (1/2" thick with 2 MM wear level and a very pretty color) but the two pieces (another sample of their cherry wood with the same locking mechanism so I tried to lock them together) do not lock that great together. I can't find much else on it. I am going back and forth now on going with the BR-111 Amendoim Engineered Wood Floor in the Triangulo Collection , the Br-111 Brazilian Cherry Engineered Wood Floor in the Triangulo Collection, or the Bruce Exotic Wonders Brazilian Cherry 12MM Shinny Laminate that is 1/2" thick with a 30 year warranty. If I could only find reviews on the True Loc Opulence since it seems to be made very well and is very pretty and not expensive. I LOVE the Makore but it does not have the tint of red in it I wish it had.

I like to point out a simple fact. FLOORING is the MOST ABUSED 'finish' inside the home. The only thing that takes MORE abuse is the ROOF. If you have a $50K roof line, then feel free to spend roughly the same amount on the flooring. Roofs should last 25 years. That's why we pay so much for them. A floor (or finish on a wood floor) *should last the SAME AMOUNT of time. That's why we pay so much for them. Think of ALL the floors that do NOT make it 25+ years. They are all cheap. Carpets that are 25 years old are considered DISGUSTING. They are considered 'builder favourites' because they are CHEAP and EASY to install. That's why builders love them. Laminate floors (entry level to mid-grade = $0.79/sf - $1.99/sf) are 'disposable' floors and will offer 10 years before they look really bad. They are in the same category as carpet. Disposable floors that are cheap and cheerful...for a small amount of time. A low-end engineered hardwood ($4.99/sf at LL) is much the same as an entry level laminate. Your expectations should be 10-15 years....just like laminate. If you want a floor that will offer 25 years of service (wood floors can go MUCH longer but they need refinishing to do this = HIGHER GRADE = MORE MONEY) you need to work in a HIGHER price bracket. I like to ask people: How do you feel about redoing/refinishing your wood floors in 15 years time? For today's investment of $7/sf (not including labour) do you EXPECT more than 10 - 15 years? You shouldn't. That's entry level stuff. How about 'upping' the price to $12/sf? Would you expect 25 - 60 years worth of life? You should...because the $12/sf price SHOULD get you a wood floor that has the ability to be refinished AT LEAST once (20 years + 20 years = 40 years). If you purchase carefully, you can get 2 refinishes out of it = 60 years. A sand/refinish = $5/sf. Compare that to a 'rip out ($2/sf) and replace ($7/sf)' cost of $9/sf (not including installation). Now you really see the difference. How much did you pay for your roof? Going cheap on a roof NEVER works out. Now compare how much you are willing to spend on your floor. Going cheap on flooring is the same thing as going cheap on a roof.

@tdld This is the online store I've used to get my Haro - https://shop.anchorfloorandsupply.com/ They say 5 samples free but I've gotten a few more on occasion due to some indecisive homeowners lol. you can try their room visualizer too if you wanna play around with some ideas.