How to tell if flooring installation is wrong
Contractors and retailers often defend unconventional installation methods, leaving homeowners unsure if visible flaws, gaps, and creaks are acceptable or require a redo. Second-guessing these methods stops people from confidently confronting installers or demanding fixes before paying thousands for defective work.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1consulting multiple flooring retailers for second opinionsDid this help you?
- 2Using painters tape to mark areas for the contractor to fixDid this help you?
- 3Checking if gaps are actually intentional enhanced bevel planksDid this help you?
- 4Arguing with the installation crew or contractorDid this help you?
- 5Trying to point out discrepancies with other tight seamsDid this help you?
- 6Refusing to pay until the job is done properlyDid this help you?
- 7Insisting on getting the seams redone or welded correctlyDid this help you?
- 8Painting the quarter round and baseboards to matchDid this help you?
- 9Removing the quarter round and staining or painting unfinished pine to match the baseboardsDid this help you?
- 10Caulking the gaps to conceal poor cutsDid this help you?
- 11Pushing back the installation dateDid this help you?
- 12Jenga blocking the boxes to allow airflow so they can acclimate in the home beforehandDid this help you?
- 13Insisting on a 3 to 7 day acclimation period depending on whether the wood is solid or engineeredDid this help you?
- 14Filling gaps and mistakes with sealantDid this help you?
- 15Reaching out to the manufacturer for supportDid this help you?
- 16checking installation standards via AI searchesDid this help you?
- 17asking the contractor to fix or fill gapsDid this help you?
- 18Leaving the floor as-is to avoid delaying the project furtherDid this help you?
- 19Trusting the installer's judgment that the seams are spread out enoughDid this help you?
- 20Asking online flooring communities to review labor quotes and proposed prep work before hiring.Did this help you?
- 21Researching standard installation procedures online before hiring outDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I posted on here a few days ago disappointed with my marmoleum sheet installation - a few days later I have gone back to check out the flooring again and think it’s actually looking worse - the seams are supposed to be nett fit but have been cut poorly, some spots where they’ve gone off course with the knife and corrected by filling with sealant, lines aren’t straight so there is some really obvious peaking of the seams and bubbles which appears to be caused by too much tensions at joins, while some areas have large gaps that have been filled with sealant.”source ↗
“I paid for all the product up front but haven’t paid for the installation yet.”source ↗
“Paid 10k for 550 sq feet of LVP flooring. Floor is uneven in parts, there's gaps, there's creaks with the material, and there's already scratches. Should the nose have this big of a lip too?”source ↗
“Wtf...are we overreacting?”source ↗
“I was told this gap is normal, very strange considering every single other joint is nice and tight. Says nothing is wrong and won’t do anything about it.”source ↗
“Got these floors done back in April through Lowes - I obviously hate the quarter round being mis matched. What can be done?”source ↗
“Also, they didn’t use any of the water proof backing. I ended up returning all of it. Was it necessary?”source ↗
“I thought that sounded a little off, so we went to the highest end flooring place in town and they also said that would work. Is this the best approach?”source ↗
“we've now noticed very obvious stair stepping patterns in the high traffic areas (particularly hallway).”source ↗
“How bad is the stair stepping pattern? Yes, I know it's not ideal, but is it a problem?”source ↗
“I don't love it, but I'm also not going to drag this out by making him redo it if it's not necessary.”source ↗
“I have just had sheet marmoleum installed and just inspecting the work, I had asked and paid for heat welded joins and upon leaving the contractor told me they don’t look good so he made the decision to butt up the seams and seal them - obviously not happy this was done without consulting me as I paid £100 for the welding materials and this is what I asked for.”source ↗
“I also noticed all rooms appear the same colour apart from this one room which is more grey and is very obvious at the join line”source ↗
“The flooring company intended to install the hardwood without letting them acclimate in my home so I called them to ask why.”source ↗
“I was told that the hardwood would acclimate in my place around 3 days after install. Does this sound right?”source ↗
“That’s what I tried telling them after they mentioned expansion. Doesn’t make sense to me when every single joint but that one is nice and tight. They won’t fix it”source ↗
“I tried explaining that to them and the guy went there and said everything looks great.”source ↗
“I have just looked closely at all seams, this one is by far the worst but most are similar to this.”source ↗
“The moisture barrier I am most worried about. I don’t understand why they didn’t use it. It’s in the contract that it was supposed to be used.”source ↗
“Help.. Is $2.25/sq ft a good LVP install price near Boston? What am I missing…”source ↗
“Got quoted the following below from a guy who has 30 years of flooring experience...”source ↗
“The basement currently has old peel-and-stick vinyl tiles on top of concrete. My installer says we can install the new LVP directly over them without removing the existing flooring and that’ll act as the moisture barrier.”source ↗
“First time doing LVP, so appreciate any advice or red flags before moving forward.”source ↗
“Thoughts on a reasonable quote? Should I expect they should remove and replace all the baseboard instead of just doing quarter round? Do we need luan? Do we need a vapor barrier?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5What to do about a bad hardwood floor installation
- 6Hollow spots and messed up baseboards after new flooring
- 4Should I glue down engineered herringbone flooring or float it?
- 13How to tell if uneven flooring panels are defective
- 6Can you install LVP flooring room by room?
- 2Do I really need to self level my floor?