As an update - my husband came home late-ish last night and he also called the owner to express his concerns (late enough that we wouldn't have expected a return call last night). First thing this morning, we received a call back from the owner and he helped to answer the worries that my husband had. The owner assured us that we will be very happy with our floors. Again, I completely believe that will be the case. I checked on the floor at various points overnight somehow hoping that the bands would somehow just go away on their own. Of course, they didn't...and I knew that they wouldn't...still, hopeful thinking. The crew arrived here first thing this morning and brought the random orbital sander in with them as they arrived and are currently (I hope) fixing the issue. There was no question, no issue, no argument - all in all, so far, as smooth as can be with things not being ideal the first time around. Jellytoast - in regard to your question, it sounds as if this is something that CAN happen even with a well-regarded and well-researched company. The crew that is working on our floor is well experienced - our chief person has been doing this for around 30 years...I'm not entirely certain, but I believe it's likely with the same company, so this isn't a case of some inexperienced person who doesn't know how to use the machines...at one point, our chief guy mentioned working with the present owner's dad, who was the previous owner. I guess that machines *can* go out of alignment...I know that in my own profession (photographer) that I've heard of others in my field who had a lens that had been "spot on" the day before and they did a photo session only to find out that the lens went out of "alignment". I understand that it can happen. And, presumably regular maintenance *should* keep this sort of thing from happening...but, I know that's not always the case...even with the most carefully maintained things, sometimes they break/malfunction. I hope someone can chime in to give additional insight on things that people could ask to help lessen the possibility that it could happen to someone else.

Redroze, I'm just getting back online and seeing your questions, so I'll try to answer what I can. My new floor in the LR/DR was not pre-finished, it was all site-finished. I did put a pre-finished floor down in my office (no pics, sorry) because I work from home and didn't have time to be without my office for the week it would have taken to have floor sanded etc. The pre-finished does have a different feel to it than the site-finished. I wouldn't say it's grooved, just a more defined difference in between the individual planks. The office doesn't adjoin any other room, except the tiled hallway, so I didn't worry so much about the wood being different there. I see from your pictures what you mean about running the planks the same way and wanting to be sure things don't look odd. One idea might be to take up some of your FR planks, like the first 12 or so, and then put them back down interwoven with the new planks. That way there's not a clear line in between the 2 rooms, but rather a more gradual blending. Here's another couple of pictures, this time of my family room. The first one is a before shot of the hardwood floor + a rug-like carpet. The floor created a frame around the carpet. I had the carpet taken up and new hardwood put in where the carpet originally was, then everything sanded and refinished. You absolutely can't tell where the old wood was vs where the new started. In this case, the new is random width because it opens directly to the kitchen (as opposed to the LR/DR which is all the same width). So, one house, all new site-finished floors in the LR & DR, all new pre-finished floor in the office, original/refinished in the kitchen, and half&half refinished + original in the family room. Boy did we have dust! Hope this helps! New:

Yikes... that's quite a herd of pups! Sorry you're having problems... but I'd have to agree with anyone who suggested removal, replacement of the area involved... With any luck (and a bit of expertise) either the people who did your prior "refinish" will have the stain brand & or formula, and can PERHAPS blend in the new material to match (close) to the original... however, there aren't many of us willing to assure a perfect match. Floor looks like 3/4" x 2-1/4" Oak (although if it's actually very old, the material was milled to 25/32" thickness, and in that pic, I'd say Red... but possibly White oak)… Point is, that product is quite readily available UNFINISHED, from most local flooring distributors, (but there may be some slight differences in milling, lumber appearance, etc..) The "old growth" lumber definitely looks a bit different in comparison to the more modern stuff... but as I said, a guy who knows what he's doing should be able to get you back to where you were. One last suggestion... should you try that approach, consider using a water-based poly finish... there are many on the current market that afford the "user friendly", almost odorless, less toxic results in a fraction of the time needed for oil based finishes... and one that comes to mind (which we use regularly) is Emulsion Pro by Basic Coatings. It's an oil emulsion, water-based product which ambers slightly to give the same rich, golden tone associated with oil based products. And, it's easy to maintain & or repair (if needed), although, once again, I don't recommend having someone who isn't "qualified" jump into the picture... experience may come with a slightly higher price tag... but it's typically well worth it in the long run. Sorry to "drone on"... best of luck, and if you have any questions, we'll try to help.

Sorry but the LVP/LVT or even SPC/WPC product needs REALLY FLAT! Oh...no. The wobbly subfloor = DEATH to vinyl click ANYTHING. Why? Because the click edges are VERY THIN. Any bit of height variation will cause EXTREME stress on the click edges. Any stress on those thin, brittle, finicky, nasty edges and you LOSE the floor's integrity. And you lose warranty. And....and....and. I'm in Vancouver BC, so the extra $5K for subfloor work (by pulling the old floor, etc) doesn't even phase me. Cost of labour in Canada runs (roughly) $50/hour in the building industry. The sheet plywood is STAGGERING right now. Unless you purchase DIRECT from a mill (in small town Canada, that's ENTIRELY possible) you are looking at $3/sf for plywood alone. A tile install normally runs (all-in...tile+labour+materials) $18/sf and up...with prep being the extra (which is why he's saying DOUBLE the cost). Sorry but the 'lay it right over' the old wobbly floor is NOT correct. Everyone will tell you, "You can float it over anything," but they FAIL to mention the old floor MUST BE LEVELED and with a flatness rating that is ACCEPTABLE to the flooring manufacturer. I'd be happier with a STURDY laminate (except this is in a wet area) or an engineered hardwood (watch out for the clash) over vinyl being floated over wonky. Vinyl CANNOT HANDLE the floor height variances. The edges are too fragile, too brittle and too easily damaged just by standing on them over that wonkiness. Do the work. Pay the price and get the correct floor. If not, then just throw down any old 'King of Floors $0.99/sf vinyl' and be happy if you get 10 years out of it. You will replace it by then anyway, and you can pay for the subfloor work at that time...if you need to cap your costs today....but you WILL pay for it tomorrow. It's your call.