Nope, screening was what they were going to do this last time (to get rid of the excess poly that was spilled down the stairs), but it wouldn't have done anything for the remainder of the original problem (the gooped on stain--they didn't get it up from the edges along the walls. Why they thought we wouldn't notice is beyond me). So, "spot treating" so many areas probably would've been noticeable, and the flooring sub was told if we weren't satisfied with our floors, he would never work for our builder again.

Without seeing your floor up close and personal, there is no way for me or anyone else to assess what, if anything, is wrong with your refinishing job. By now you have dealt with your contractor, so anything I might say here about your floors will be moot, but I'll give a few of your concerns a go at it. The color difference between the two floors could be due to different wood species or different grade and/or sawing. Then, also, lighting could play a big part in adding color to a floor. Shoe molding can be gotten in long lengths, but it is common to have shorter lengths make up a long length. In fact, if you look at how the trim in many older homes is done, you will see several pieces fit together to complete a long basebord length. Sometimes it is even the baseboard that gets pieced together to complete a certain length. I usually spot fill floors after the staining is done and sometimes after the first coat of finishing material. This allows me to add just the right amount of color to the filler to get it to blend well with the wood. Wood fill is notorious for not taking stain in the same way as the surrounding wood. In your case it seems that the filler may not have been colored at all. Stain spills on baseboard can usually be wiped off with mineral spirits as they occur. They still may be removable. However, if what you are seeing is polyurethane splashed on the baseboard, then that may be more difficult to remove. You may be obligated to allow the company to address your concerns and to give them a chance to make it right with you.

I completely agree with Nancy. There are too many bad boards. They should not have put them down with with those bad ends. Filler is commonly used in hardwood flooring. There's nothing wrong with using filler. But, I don't think it's a good solution for those widespread (and shallow) corner chips. Filler is better used to fill in small gaps here and there in a floor. By the way, filler shows. It is not invisible. It looks fine when you have filler here and there, but not when it's everywhere. It IS completely irrelevant to the current situation whether or not you will have good humidity control in that room in the future and what anyone's opinion is about whether or not you will have problems with the floor in the future because of that. You don't deserve a bad floor now because someone thinks you'll have problems in the future or because they think you shouldn't have used wood in the first place. You are paying for good floor install and finish now and that's what you should get.

In building/construction law, the rule of thumb is: The original contractor must be allowed ONE attempt to "fix" a problem. After that, the homeowner is then allowed to bring in another contract (at the original's expense) to "fix" the problem. You have to check your state/provincial laws to confirm this approach. Assuming this is the case, the contractor has officially used up his/her SINGLE kick at the "redo" can. Now you are free to go elsewhere. I would not pay them anymore money at this point. If they want the TOTAL amount, they will have to give you a PROPERLY FINISHED floor. This is not properly finished. This is a redo. That's a full sand/refinish. The amount of times a floor can be resanded (completely) will be determined by the original thickness of the wood itself. To complete a resanding, there must be a MINIMUM of 3mm of wood ABOVE the tongue. Normally the "wood" can offer 60-80 years worth of service...depending on plenty of factors. A hardwood floor from the 80's probably experienced ONE sand/refinish event before you started your project. A hardwood finish lasts around 25 years. Some can push 30 years but then it looks like HELL. If you do the math, the 1980's build probably had ONE refinish sometime in the early 2000's. Your project is *probably the second event. The "second" time these guys sanded, probably wasn't a full event. They merely removed the stain (a light sanding event) and then tried to start over. I would guess this caused 1.5 sanding events...not 2. It is easy enough to figure out. Simply find a flooring vent and pop the vent off. Look at the cross section of the wood floor. Measure the amount of wood left ABOVE the tongue. So long as it is MORE than 3mm, you can go again with a FULL sand/refinish. I would reach out to the flooring company that recommended these guys and let them know that the work was subpar and that you would suggest "removing" this company from their recommendation list. That's all you can do with the flooring company. The next contractor you want to work with will be an NWFA Certified Wood Sanding/Refinisher. You can find a list of local professionals from the NWFA website: www.nwfa.org If you want stuff that "stands up in court" you would ALSO contact an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring INSPECTOR (at your expense...which could then be charged back to the original company in small claims court). The same website will offer the professional nearest you. If you want to go this route, make sure the floor is inspected BEFORE the refinish occurs. Once you have contacted the NWFA professional(s) of your choice, you then need to INFORM the original company (in writing) that: 1. The Floor is not properly finished as per industry standards 2. Another flooring professional/inspector has been engaged to help correct THEIR mistake 3. The final payment is "not owing" because the job was not completed to INDUSTRY STANDARDS 4. You reserve the right to recoup financial losses due to their poor workmanship (you may or may not want to add this...it depends on how nasty you want this to get). And leave it at that. Do NOT share the "full report" with the flooring company until ONE of TWO things occur: 1. They PAY you for the report (ie. they pay your out-of-pocket costs for the report); or 2. The courts direct you to disclose documents for your day in court. S/He who pays for the report, OWNS the report. You can "quote" from it, but you have no obligation to share the report in it's entirety. Good luck.