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

Thank you for responding. I also find it hard to believe they left the padding out but I can't think of any other explanation other than I have a strange groove in the floor that we never noticed. And if there is a groove or imperfection in the floor I would have thought they would have told me before laying the floor.

I know cutting out the floor to replace problems when they arise is the only option. I just hate the fact that my brand new floor that I just had them lay had problems that would need to be fixed in this manor. The uneven floor boards are about 4-5 rows back from the long transition strip so it's not like it's in the middle of the floor. But the transition strip is glued so it's not easy either way they do it.

The piece with the defect is in the foyer area and is fairly close to the wall in maybe a 3x5 foot area. They tried to do a couple things to fix it but in the end they made it worse so it needs to be replaced. I think they could lift the floor here back to that piece and re-lay it.

Sounds like you are saying I am stuck with the transition strip the way it is and even the quarter round molding. I was afraid of that. If that's the case they could have done a better job matching the 2 pieces. The wood grain pattern is different enough that I don't like how it looks.

I also believe the open seam is my biggest problem as it is in a large entry way from the hall into my front living room area.

I guess my biggest complaint about how this was all done is that I didn't ask for a cheap floor or to have it done the cheapest way. I didn't tell them this is how I wanted it to look. I asked their advise on what they would recommend so it looked the best. I got 2 quotes and didn't even go with the cheapest one. We went with the one with good recommendations and the one my wife felt more comfortable with...lol. If it was going to look stupid or there were problems with my slab they should have warned me. They are the experts not me.

I guess I am just frustrated at this point.

I can see why you're frustrated.

It sounds like there's no alternatives to replacing those boards either. The foyer should be easy since it's near the edge. The split in the middle, not so easy. Is this at the thresholds that don't match well? If so that might work out in your favor. I have replaced doorway transition before when they were either poorly installed or could have been matched up better so it's a totally legitimate issue to bring up. Suppliers don't match up the strips they send. They can vary quite a bit and be hard to match up. Unfortunately the strips are a bit pricey so it's not practical to buy a bunch then match up the best ones. If the floor person balks, maybe you could offer to buy a couple extra pieces to give you a choice of strips. You could store the extras in case one gets damaged.

I can't think of any elegant solutions for the quarter round. When the dealer comes out to look at the other problems, ask him if there are any other options and see what he offers. I can think of several imperfect options but they would be hard to describe in writing.

At this point it's probably a good idea to put a hold on the payment until the issues are fixed.

This post was edited by JFCWood on Thu, Nov 21, 13 at 7:20