I'm not much help other than to say that we have quartersawn red oak floors with polyurethane finish and it is not a soft floor and we have had no problems with denting and we are a shoes on family. Are you sure you have quarter sawn oak? Quartersawn white oak is supposed to be very hard. I remember another post about your indentation--is it possible that those indentations are from the wheels on a dolly/cart etc. that was loaded down when you moved in instead of from a staple in someones shoes like you thought on the other thread? Also, could you describe what you mean when you say "opened the grain of the wood"? Do you mean that they sanded off the stain so it's a different color? I'm sorry you are having these problems with your floors.

Carolyn,

That's exactly what I mean. When they hand-sanded, they must have hand-sanded too much. So in the middle of a piece of wood, the grain will be much more visible than either end of that piece. And the color is a little lighter, and you can actually see the transition--there's almost a ring around where they hand-sanded. (I don't think it will show up on photos.) Technically there's a depression there and that's probably why I'm seeing dull and shiny spots.

I don't think a dolly did it because no dollies came in this house, or not with the movers anyway. They are deep indentations like something was stuck in someone's shoe.

Maybe because we have a Swedish Finish and not a polyurethane finish, it's not as hard? Our NY floor had a poly finish and we never had any dents.

Thanks for the advice.

I have regular red oak floors with just satin oil based poly and none of those issues...swirl marks etc. No dents after six years...scratches yes, dents no. Are you sure you have oak?

We did have some water damage and they said if they refinished that area with sanding, they would need to do the entire floor or it would be noticeable.

I also found that true when I tried to touch up some natural colored woodwork in the house.

So, based on my little experience and non expert advice, is that I think they are going to need to refinish it completely...sand it all down and start over.

Maybe someone here know of a better way though.

They claim that after they handsanded, they applied a finish coat to the entire floor--they didn't just spot-finish. Or are you saying that they should have started all over, starting with the stain?

if there are numerous imperfections especially dents then the whole floor may need to be re-sanded, stained & finished

White oak is harder than red so you really shouldn't see indents from walking on them w/shoes - any floor/surface has it's "indent" pt - if you were to move a large appliance w/o proper weight distribution than you will see indents -

Proper prep should be done PRIOR to staining - it sounds like maybe this was not done in your case?

It's a long story but the whole process was messed up from the beginning. When they stained the floor and applied the first coat of finish, someone turned off the heat. So instead of it drying over the weekend, there was a cold snap and it didn't dry properly. Still sticky after five days. At that point they should have sanded and started all over but I didn't know enough to insist on that. But you're right. There were holes and everything then that they didn't take care of.

Then with each subsequent coat of finish, it was just sloppy work. Drip marks, swirls, hairs in the finish, etc. You get the idea.

The flooring guy never showed up today. What a surprise! Guess he knows I'm not thrilled.

This sounds like typical new construction.

You get the cheapest materials, the cheapest installers, the cheapest finishers, using the cheapest finish.

You can't get a Cadillac or a Ferrari, from a Yugo.

When I talked with the builder yesterday, he said that he uses the same floor in all his houses. (These are not inexpensive houses, btw.) He said that he has never seen this problem, or that no one has ever complained about it. He said that my eyes were "keener" than most people, "but not in a bad way."

My husband just wants to move in so I guess we're going to live with it. We'll definitely have to have a "no shoe" rule.

"My husband just wants to move in so I guess we're going to live with it. We'll definitely have to have a "no shoe" rule.

This is how HACKS get away with so much crappy work. They get away with it and there is no use trying to do a better job, then just good enough.

"Your the first" Ya, right!!!!! That is the universal scape goat, reply.

I know, I know, flooring guy. If I had my way, we'd be staying in the apartment here while the floors get re-done but everything has been moved into the house. I didn't realize the floors dented that easily until this last week but when they took the protective cardboard off (before they stained) all the little holes in the floor should have been some indication to someone, right? Of course no one noticed those holes until I pointed them out--after the stain had been applied.

So do I have a batch of bad wood? When the first coat of stain and finish didn't dry properly, has that caused further problems? Why DOES the floor dent so easily? And is it possible to now spot-stain the areas that they over-sanded? Will applying stain to certain spots even be
possible now that the floors have three coats of Swedish Finish on them? All I have are questions (and lots of complaints).

But you're right flooringguy, this is how hacks get away with it. And now the flooring company (I haven't even talked with them about this stuff) is not returning the builder's calls. Gee, I wonder why!

bumping this up

You should hire an independant floor inspector. They charge a lot but are well worth the cost. I know this is a pain but if you have to move in, move into the rooms that don't have hardwood. This floor needs to be repaired or totally replaced. You will be living with this floor for many years.
Donna

Hi Donna,

Is that just another floor person or is it someone who just inspects others' floors? It sounds like a good idea.

I can't remember exactly how I found the inspector, it was a year ago. Floorguy, can you help? I did a search and found this site. I'm sure they can help you find someone. It is good to have an independant inspector if you ever take this to court. I know how stressful this is...you must try and not just move in and let it go.
Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: here is a link that might be helpful

Try the NWFA www.NWFA.org
Another is...
http://fits4.org/ilist/ilistmain.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Inspectors by State