Help! New Coil Springs Creaking - Botched Install?

Hey all. I just installed my Tein S-Techs on my '15 hatchback yesterday, and driving around today I noticed a creaking/knocking noise coming mainly from the front struts. It gets worse whenever I go over a sharp speed bump, but with how low the springs go, any slight bump in the road I get the noise.

Things I've identified as possible issues:

• Incorrect top hat orientation
• Spring incorrectly seated (most probable)

To diagnose the problem I disconnected the sway bar end link and started jacking up the control arm with the strut attached. The spring itself is creaking whenever the strut moves up.

Also, the brown rubber that wraps around the spring on the bottom side is ripped. So it seems like the spring itself is not seated properly. But the end of the spring contacts the little notch at the bottom metal piece

tl;dr how should the spring sit on the bottom of the strut? should I take this to a mechanic to avoid the headache?