Those are not gaps they are
1) the v groove
2) normal butt ends
Unless you sand and finish a floor smooth to remove the groove, that is normal for prefinised flooring.

Thank you for the response.

Is it normal that they are inconsistent from piece to piece? Some appear to nearly flush with each other (though of course there is a groove), and others (as I mentioned above) allow a credit card to pass through.

Having another day to look at it, I think most of the places that jump out to the eye are probably OK. There are a few butt ends that I do believe might have slipped out of place, allowing too much space between the pieces.

Hi mentsmin,

Just a lay person here. I see what you mean. They look like gaps to me from here not just the v groove. I believe the floor should be tight after install. But with normal expansion and contraction during seasonal changes, you will probably have some of those anyway down the road. Unless the humidity in your home is kept consistent.

Are there many?

Gluedowns are a bear to remove when they're shot. I'm not sure if they can replace individual boards or not.

Consider yourself lucky you didn't end up with an install like mine. Who did you have do the floor? Have you called yet?

There are not many, and really only a few that I'm concerned with (though I'm also annoyed that in two places, several alternating boards were laid in the same relative position without being staggered, which draws the eye and is distracting).

I'm irritated that this wasn't caught in the first place--because obviously ripping up the floor and fixing it would be a headache, even if I done bear the cost (which of course isn't even certain).

My contractor's floor guy did the install, who allegedly has been installing floors for decades or something. We're still mid-project at this point, so I've only paid half the bill.

I know your pain.

It might be difficult to keep those glued boards from moving apart when it's still wet. They're supposed to strap them together as they go. Did you see anything like that going on? They will likely blame you or your house. Or the manufacturer.

I'm headed into a gluedown in the next rooms but will be having someone else do them. The naildown was somehow a disaster. Who knew.

Its a milling issue with the manufacturer when sizes vary between boards that do not allow a tight fit when tapped together properly, or any out of square ends that causes gapping.

Gapping when there are no out of square ands or piece size differentials is an improper installation issue wher ethe boards were not tapped into place properly or moved during the installation process.

Best you can do is file a claim with the manufacturer and ask for an independent inspection, then go from there. You can do this through the retailer and see what they say. Or you can go straight to the manufacturer circumventing the retailer of you think they are trying to screw you.

What I see in those pictures are end joints that might not ahve been properly tapped together and I see possible manufacturing defect in milling from the manufacturer. Its difficult to tell for certain without a physical inspection.

I think you're right in that the gaps between the long sides of the boards (in a few places, but one that's quite prominent) are due to a milling issue; however, I'm of the opinion they shouldn't have used the board in that case.

I'm still waiting to see what the contractor and installer has to say, but I'm not confident that they'll want to fix it (or will even recognize a problem), and at this point fixing it will be quite an ordeal.

One other quick question, floorman--am I correct in thinking that alternating boards should not be laid in the same relative position to each other (creating a - - - - line)? Is this something I should have requested? I thought it went without saying, but there are two places in our room where numerous (5 plus) alternating boards were laid in a line.

They're supposed to check the boards before they go down for bowing, defects, etc. Even do what they call dry racking boards to get the desired pattern effect and mix before installing them. I don't know how many installers take the time to do that or if it is the norm. If they had trouble fitting a board, it should have been pulled. I think when nailing they can push it a bit because it's being fastened in place. Glue takes time to dry so shifting from the force of the defect could occur.

The boards should have a staggered spacing, minimum of 6" between adjacent end joints. My guys paid attention to the last four rows they were working to not repeat a joint too closely. I don't know what the standard is there.

Looking at floors, you will see all sorts of things and this doesn't always happen. But putting five boards the same in a row, or even two for that matter, is pretty bad.

If it is brand new then it would be installed incorrectly. For the record, inspectors normally will use a credit card for thickness as a gauge. I believe it is a shoddy job by an installer.