Unless it has some type of locking system or is being laid over an adhesive membrane, I would agree with you. Their installation guide agrees too. http://www.somersetfloors.com/pages/engineeredInstallation.html

It's hard to believe that an installer would neglect to put pad under a section of floor but I have seen stranger things. Maybe they ran out, wanted to finish and thought you wouldn't notice. Does it sound different if you tap on it? If it's at an edge, I suppose they can remove the quarter round and a row of wood and prove the foam is there. If it's there, could they remove the floor from the wall up to the line you describe and add another layer of padding? There are techniques for replacing boards in the middle of a floating floor. Hopefully you have an installer that is skilled at making repairs. How else would you suggest the issues be remedied? Consider that in the future, you may damage a board that requires replacement. Is the defective board near an edge? For the finish flaw, would it be possible to rough it up with some fine sandpaper and apply Minwax spray polyurethane? We use it for touchups quite often. It's a little tricky to feather it in right and to get the right sheen. It's worth a try before removing a piece. They might also be able to tape off the offending piece and coat the whole board. I am not aware of any company that offers prefinished 12' long trim. Most companies sell 78" long trim. A few have 84" or 96" trim. Ask the person who said they make 12' long trim for the name of this trim supplier. You could have a piece of longer trim custom made and finished to match but they would be justified to charge you more for it (and it would probably be quite expensive). If you don't like the look of the joint in the middle, would it be more acceptable to have a full piece in the middle with two equal size pieces on the sides? Or would that look worse to you? Floating floor trim IS glued to the subfloor so the floor will float underneath. I've seem some trim that has an aluminum extrusion that attaches to the subfloor and the trim snaps into it but that's the exception rather than the norm. I'm not exactly sure what you're describing with the quarter round. Are you saying they stopped the quarter round at the trim then put a little piece on top of the trim. That would look crappy. Is the vinyl floor lower than the wood? If it is, there may be no way to make it perfect and you'll have to put up what offends you the least. The transition could be butted into the base and quarter round could end at the trim and restart over the vinyl. Or it could be coped and lapped over the trim. Or the qtr.round could be installed first and the trim be cut to it. None of these options is ideal. The open seam sounds potentially to be the worst of your problems. It may require removing and re-installing a portion of floor. Nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. For me, the difference between a good company and a bad one is that the good company will fix their mistakes. If you picked a company to do your work, it's best to allow that company complete the work correctly unless they show they are unable. Good luck. This post was edited by JFCWood on Wed, Nov 20, 13 at 7:32

"and im guessing you do not buid tile showers youself and have to navigate inspections" -- Guessing is what got you back-peddling in the first place, (and changing/ deleting your posts after I show you that you are wrong). You would be hard pressed to find something that I have not personally gotten a permit for, and passed the inspections. "as such It makes sense I confused you again." -- You are not confusing me. At best, you are confusing the issue at hand and the OP's original question of slope. I would be more concerned with this statement; And, how they had planned on getting the Oatey liner even 2" above the threshold, and behind the Durock without taking it all off. BTW, how much of the bottom edge of the Durock do you usually leave flapping in the wind without screws in order to not screw through that extra 6" of liner? The Durock also has to be screwed per MFG instructions. When trying to one-up the code, make sure you are not shooting yourself in the other foot.

The 'hand scraped' look is on it's way out (as a fashion). The 'distressed' wire brush is more common and more trendy right now. Either way, the floors probably are not 'refinishable' so you might as well get what you want and ignore the 'can be refinished' concept. Just remember: an engineered hardwood MUST have 3mm OR MORE (more if it is hand scraped or distressed) to ensure 1 sand/refinish in the future. In reality, a hand scraped engineered floor is *normally a one-and-done type of floor. You install it. You beat it up for one life cycle (15-25 years...depends on the poly used at the factory) and then you rip it out and start again.