Due to water damage, I had a contractor replace my engineered hardwood floor. The original installation used a thicker locked engineered hardwood with 3 mm top wear layer. The new engineered hardwood we picked is 3/8 thickness and 4 3/4 in width. It is installed over a concrete floor with a 1/8" padding. After the installation, I found a few spots near the sides were soft and often generate squeaky noise when step on it. Some spots even my cat walks on it would generate squeaky noise. The contractor replied that it was floating floor where no glue was used so it took time to settle in and the softness was expected because no glue were use. He also mentioned that if placed heavy furniture on top the noise would go away. However some of the spots are in a walking path where we would not place any furniture on top. I mentioned that the cause of the squeaky noise was caused by an uneven concrete floor. They should have leveled it before installing the locked engineered hardwood floor on top of the padding. The answer I got was that they could only lay down the padding but nothing else to level the uneven spots. I was not convinced that the softness and the uneven spots with squeaky noise are natural because my original hardwood was also floating locked engineered hardwood. The only difference is it was thicker and wider. Is there anything they can do to rid the squeaky noise and soft feeling of the floor?

 

Welcome to the forums! Comparing apples and pears. The thicker engineered flooring was a better quality flooring and laid down better due to its own weight. 3/8" is marginal, IMO, and you have to expect some lifting due to the light weight of the flooring. Yes, if there was a question regarding the levelness of the floor, it should have been addressed, even if it meant spending more money. The squeaking may can use a little trick. Sprinkle talcum powder along the offending places and walk on it. Then vacuum it up really well. The residual powder will work its way down into the click lock and act like a lubricant to help quell the squeaking. Edge lift should have been taken care of with shoe molding, pressing down as it was installed and nailing to the wall.