What is the finish material? How many coats so far? What did they apply the finish with?

Well, I'm finally checking back on this thread. We just moved back into the house after having the new wood floors installed and then having the old and new floors all finished at the same time. DH would not budge on the finish, so we ended up with the Swedish Oil Finish. I mentioned to DH that some states have made Swedish Oil Finish illegal, but he still wanted that finish for our floors because that's what we had before (or so the guy who bid the job thought). Want to know something funny? The day before they started finishing the floors the guys working in our home stated that we had WATER based finish. So who knows? On the plus side, I'm very happy with the looks of our floors. They did an excellent job threading in new boards with the old to combine the new wood floors with the ones that were installed twenty years ago. You can't tell which is old and which is new---it all just looks like a beautiful new floor. We decided to go with the natural finish, and I couldn't be happier. We stayed in a hotel one day longer than the floor guys suggested, and I'm glad we did. Yesterday I spent much of the time parked in the car in front of our house, after DH had gone in (with a respirator on) and opened windows everywhere to start airing the house out. Later, we added fans and then the started the furnace on fan only. As I write this, I'm sitting in my house with fans running everywhere and almost every window open (on three floors). My eyes sting a little and my throat hurts; I have a nagging headache. I also have noticed some impact on my breathing. However, I'm hanging in there and haven't had a full-blown major asthma attack so far. Upstairs is definitely better than downstairs. I'm disappointed to have to deal with this, but it does seem to be getting better. I'm hoping to be able to sleep upstairs tonight, but if I can't, I'm going to ask my sister if I can sleep on her sofa tonight. Does anyone have information on the time it takes for the floor to fully cure (and, thus, for the off-gassing to end)? Also, I'm wondering about moving furniture back in. I've heard everything from two weeks to sixty days, so I'm not sure what to expect. The foor guys seem to only state that the vast majority of the chemicals are off-gassed in the first forty-eight hourss. That's all well and good, but with something this strong, the few remaining can be pretty significant. If I can get through this without a trip to the doctor/hospital, it will be worth it. I'm so excited to finally have this done.

I'm familiar with the Rubio and WOCA finishes. Both can achieve a nice satin finish. The Rubio is a single coat hardwax oil where the WOCA is a pure oil. The WOCA is duller unless you use the Maintenance Oil Paste. Then it's fairly shiny, but it gives the impression that it would be more resistant to water and wear. My Rubio finished floors have some sheen, probably slightly higher than what would be considered satin. I think that's dependent on how smooth the floor is sanded and how much it's buffed after the oil is applied. I buffed the area I did a lot. A workman did the same finish in an adjacent hall and it's a little more satin. On an Oak floor, I wire brushed it, used the Smoke reactive stain and Cotton White oil. The water made the surface rough so this one looks more satin. When my house is finished I will end up with Rubio finish in five areas but I wouldn't use either Rubio or WOCA in my own kitchen. I prefer my kitchen to have a less maintenance intensive floor. Of the two I'm familiar with, I would probably choose the WOCA since it's a multi coat and has more friendly maintenance products (Natural Soap and Oil Refresher). You should research the daily/periodic/yearly maintenance requirements/recommendations for each finish you are considering. The Rubio oiled foyer/living room I finished almost a year ago looks great but it gets very little water. I vacuum it regularly to remove sand and construction dust and have retouched the finish after a few mishaps but I've yet to use the Rubio Soap to clean it. The worst thing that could happen is that you apply a finish and after a few years you can refinish it if you find it's not suitable.

I take it you dont have a new home warranty? (They are required where I am up in Canada, but let me tell you, that 'warranty' isnt all its cracked up to be either). If you dont have a warranty, best bet it to get a 3rd party expert (or two) and serve your builder with copies and politely ask him again to remedy. If not, pursue small claims. (Sadly these are workmanship, not code issues, or I'd suggest you sick your building inspector on him). Good luck, I get what you are saying about yoru house - I'm waiting for a new home warranty claim to be resolved - spring came and my drywall got ruined due to a water intrusion issue! The warranty rep and GC are speaking to each other, but refuse to speak to me. (I have to wait for 'paperwork to come in the mail', grrrr...)