Kim, I have about 740 sq ft to finish but I am hoping to be able to it in 3 sections. I won't mind if it's not a perfect look as thats the way pine is but I love it more than any of the other floors. I discovered that Waterlox is sold in Ontario so I may give them a call. The problem is I like to experiment with the product and be able to go the supplier in person to discuss any issues. Also, I need to add a stain to the product, which you can do to Waterlox, but again, need to experiment to get the colour I want. Waterlox in itself is pricey, and I need about 5 gallons. I'll give them a call in Ontario and see what happens.

We've used the same process Greg uses with success. Pine is a closed grain wood that doesn't soak in stain evenly. Applying a thin coat of water before staining makes the wood "fuzzy" so it absorbs stain better. After water popping we generally do three coats of oil poly. I don't recommend mixing oil poly and water-borne poly though and applying one too quickly over the other might be problematic. Pre-stains are usually sealers that controls stain penetration. Using it on the Pine floor might make the stain more uniform but I think it would also make it much lighter.

I'll try point by point. Vibrates the whole house: This will be due to improper leveling or weak floors. The legs should each carry 25% of the weight if they are not adjust properly the washer will shake more. If the floor is weak this can be proved after checking the level. If you feel the floor flexing while the washers in spin it's a flooring issue. This has been covered in hundreds of posts in GW so I won't repost here. Musty smell: 1st check to see if the installer may have pushed the drain hose more than 6 inches into the drain pipe. If so this could be part of the issue. If they only wash in cold water this can cause soap, fabric softener & body oils (scrud)to build up in the outer tub. They should be doing at least one hot wash a week. Also changing detergent and sometimes using Oxiclean will help. Grease and oil need warm to hot waters to remove them. Again they may not be using the right cycles. Some stains set in hot. If their model has a Power Wash cycle, I highly recommend using it for the most stubborn stains. Power wash start out cold and heat the water to a final very hot wash to remove the various stains that come out in different temp ranges. Pilling could again be from selecting the wrong wash cycle like washing perm press golf shirts in regular wash.

claud So sorry about your flooring issue I am assuming "our contractor" is a GC - I would recommend he now get an expert on the job - a flooring sub, if he is not willing then you should & take that off his bottom line. I would request the GC leave sealer, poly, stain out in the work area with written step by step explanation of what he did & where with the materials. Then when the flooring person comes they can determine the best method in making this right. If you have some scraps of the hardwood that may help with trial/error - applying same as the GC then what will take it down. Your GC is ultimately responsible here - You may need to move the appliances back out of their location to get this done right. Make sure they move them onto a piece of plywood - those lil appliance wheels will dent your new hw that can not be removed (ask how I know this!) Good luck