My New Laminate Floor is Noisy – Help!

Q: Our new laminate is only a week old and it goes from our entry way throughout our kitchen…..the entry way feels solid and has no noise, the kitchen however is very noisy with popping and crackling….any suggestions….it was professionally installed………
thank you so much
Jill
A: Its likely that one of a few things is happening here. One possibility is your subfloor in this area is uneven and the movement in the floor over it is causing additional noise. Another option is simply that if it is a different subfloor material (concrete in the kitchen, wood elsewhere for instance), then it is likely that the underlayment itself causes more noise over this subfloor.
One other possibility is that the flooring itself may be the issue. It could be that one of the boards installed was out of square or that some of the locking mechanism did not lock properly and so as the floor moves with this problem, it causes noise. If the noise only occurs in a specific spot in the kitchen, rather than the entire area, then its likely a subfloor issue. If the entire area floor in the kitchen is noisy then it is likely a problem with the floor or underlayment.
My suggestion would be to get in contact with your installer and request him to come out and take a look. If they are unwilling, it might be a good idea to hire a third party, certified inspector to come out and determine the problem with your floor.