Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - clicks in new install, dear god help me!!

ok i just installed 3/4 " solid kempas in half of my downstairs. and now when i walk on it it appears to click or crackle (best way i can describe it). this happens only soemtimes and once you crackle a certain spot it doesnt seem to want to do it again (at that moment anyway). is this a break in thing or did i mess up? i want to finish the rest of my downstairs but i am not proceeding until i figure this out.

Here is my process:
1. screwed down 1/4" plywood to my 5/8" subfloor every 3 inches along teh joists. the subfloor appears to be plywood, though im no expert. it does not appear to be wafer board or particle board. there is wood flooring in one hall that was installed pror to our move in, that was installed above the same *plywood* and never crackled.

2. after i screwed the floor i laid 30lb roofing paper opverlapped 6".

3. i then used a bostitch flooring stapler and stapled every 6 inches as per the manufacturer.

i was super anal about keeping the baords together and keeping the floor clean during the install.
i used 2 1/2 " staples which are long enough that they break through the subfloor in certain spots but not all.

i swear i am going to rip the entire 500 sq ft soon if i cant figure this out.

like i said its like a crackling tahts happening. not creaks, squeaks or pops. lol. :wall: :wall:
PLEASE help.

It could be a break in thing as you call it. But a few questions for you.

Did you use any glue between the layers of plywood?
Did you have much tongue splitting to deal with?
How much air pressure are you running?
Was you substrate flat enough? Did you check?

These are the things I see that it could be...

How long did this flooring sit in the constant conditions of the rooms it was to be installed in? did you acclimate the ¼" underlayment too?

What was the moisture content of the substrate at the time of installation
What was the moisture content of the wood itself?

Just how flat was the substrate, and how and what did you use to check it to be sure it was within 1/8" in 6' as required?

Are you positive you used 2½" staples? What gun were you using that shoots that long of a fastener??? 2" are the longest my gun or any gun I have seen or touched, shoots. If you indeed used 2½" staples and they blew through the substrate completely, they have lost over 50% of their holding power.

These are the things I see that it could be...

How long did this flooring sit in the constant conditions of the rooms it was to be installed in? did you acclimate the ¼" underlayment too?

What was the moisture content of the substrate at the time of installation
What was the moisture content of the wood itself?

Just how flat was the substrate, and how and what did you use to check it to be sure it was within 1/8" in 6' as required?

Are you positive you used 2½" staples? What gun were you using that shoots that long of a fastener??? 2" are the longest my gun or any gun I have seen or touched, shoots. If you indeed used 2½" staples and they blew through the substrate completely, they have lost over 50% of their holding power.

um well to tell the truth i did not check the moisture content. i let teh wood acclimate for a week and installed. i did not let the plywood acclimate at all as i didnt think too. :o

and youre right the staples are 2 inches not 2 1/2, my bad.

that is the bad news. the good news is that the floor stopped crackling after some "walk on" time. i hear it everynow and then, but it has stopped for the most part. :)

as a side note, if the wood is being stored at a local store that seems to have similar conditions in environment, how much different can the humidity level be from my house? hope that doesnt sound stupid, but it seems like they should be pretty much the same, therefore the mositure levels should be the same. ?

It could be a break in thing as you call it. But a few questions for you.

Did you use any glue between the layers of plywood?
Did you have much tongue splitting to deal with?
How much air pressure are you running?
Was you substrate flat enough? Did you check?

1. no i didn't use any glue between the plywood and the floor, i screwed it down every 4-6 inches at the seams and in the field. should i use glue for the rest? if so what kind?

2. i think i split about 15-20 tongues out of the couple of hundred i put in . i spoke to a nofma aid and he said to pull the boards out if the tongues crack or go underneath the crackling boards and screw in form underneath with dry wall screws and a washer and pull em down.

3. as far as pressure i definitely was running too much. for some reason i could have sworn that the manual for my bostitch stapler said minimum of 90 psi and so i was using close to that (maybe a little less). the next rooms i am going to lower that significantly. supposedly i can run at around 60, and this is supposed to alleviate the cracking of the tongues.

4. as far as the substrate it seemed to be flat, though i'm not sure i used the correct method for checking it. what do you do to check for flatness? i used a 4ft level and laid it down across the floor, and it seemed pretty good.

thanks for the response. :)

I have the same issue in spring and fall when moisture levels change the most. Are you using pre-finished wood?

I have the same issue in spring and fall when moisture levels change the most. Are you using pre-finished wood?

yes its prefinished kempas by bruce :)

I don't know why noone has mentioned this but from all the research I did before I did my wood floors I understand that for 3/4 in. solid wood you need to use a nailer with cleats[ or nails ].

the manual says staples or nails.

Staples are fine, unless the manufacturer specifically states one over the other.