Tina - as I remember them, the floors were not shiny but had a lovely mellow glow. As I'm reading more about wax floors (and talking to my brother who is 11 yrs older and remembers more about them) I'm rethinking this. Not all the boards can or should be long, they should be mixed lengths and ideally 2 adjacent boards ends don't line up and the butt joints are all staggered. catspa your description brought back some memories of wiping doggy paws in the winter to get the snow off them so the floors aren't ruined! awm you have to tell me about your Waterlox experience - that's one of the finishes I'm considering but no idea if we'll find anyone here who's experienced with it. I'm not after shine, not interested in matte, want something in between and if we end up with a poly again it'll be a satin finish. I won't do a water based again, had that on the natural maple in our old house and didn't care for it. The oak floors had oil based poly and it held up much better but at least part of that is the nature of oak - it's a VERY forgiving wood for flooring. Still trying to wrap my brain around this reality - I was determined that we'd buy existing and remodel but small-ish house, big land, reasonable distance to town, not in a subdivision and so on proved to be a fantasy. I'll need input for sure and I'm afraid of getting input for sure IYKWIM!! Deb

Starting construction without all major choices being made is opening the door to change orders and costly added expenses. Substituting allowances for needed decisions is exactly the same situation. Not only are allowances before construction frequently insufficient (but the low costs feel so good at the time), but no one ever thinks about the contractor's mark-up on all change orders. The effect is a combination of paying additional sums for selected items after the start of construction, PLUS the contractor's overhead and profit on the added costs. Pricing different items to compare and select before construction is one thing. Starting construction without decisions having been made is another thing entirely. The best rule is get everything selected and priced before starting construction. There's an old saying which is as true today as ever: "Haste makes waster!" Your choice!

Spisland, I enjoy your sense of adventure! I figured I'd probably run into floor problems when I made the decision to install narrow cabinets at the window end of the kitchen, and I decided that whatever problems cropped up could be addressed in a fun way. I like the idea of a playful bistro area, which might minimize the narrow, linear feel of my galley kitchen. But, I wonder if too much differentiation would make the kitchen seem even smaller than it already is, because one third would be visually set off as a separate space. I'm glad I don't have a tight deadline... this will take some mulling.

Hi all, Thank you all who answered this post. I wanted to give you an update since things got real crazy for quite a while. I know when I read posts, I always want to find out the resolution. This situation is that we were buying a home from a production builder. After carefully re-reading the fine print in the contract, we realized that we didn't really have much power to force them to upholding our selections and options. We were in contract with them as a buyer and seller, not as a buyer and a builder. Any customizations and selections were totally within their legal right to follow through with or not as they chose. We could have cancelled the contract but then would have been without a home for our in laws. There was not another lot left to swap to for a do-over. We decided to forge on ahead, and actually banded together with some other neighbors on the court to keep each other on our toes in regard to preventing more major mistakes happening. We know this was the best option for us and the parents. They do not have many years(if any) left and they want to spend it living in the same neighborhood as grandkids, not waiting around for perfection. Also, since we started the process pre-covid, we would have ended up spending loads more to get less of a home further away. We did have them build three shallow steps into the house from the garage and if we need a ramp in the future, they will convert it for us. They moved in May, and their home is in the perfect spot for them at the end of the cul-de-sac. They see all the neighbors and dogs walking around the loop and there is a trail that adjoins the older and newer section of the neighborhood that comes out right past their home. Due to the trails, hills, and trees, the backyard has 180 degrees of lovely trees with no other homes in sight. This was absolutely the right move for them, it just was a LOT of headache for us. We tried to not stress them about it too much because we wanted them to actually enjoy living in the home and not have a distaste for it because of all the problems. And yes, we did have a few more minor issues. The main take-away is to carefully read the contract and then determine what is worth cancelling it over. I was not familiar with a builder selling as a seller, not as a contractor, but I realize they do this to keep things rolling and to protect their bottom line. I am sure many people would not choose this set up for themselves, but for our family this has been the right choice. Overall, the quality of the build is very good so we are not concerned about things falling apart on us. Oh wait, but there's more...DH, myself, and our 15yo son have moved in with them! We decided to relocate across the country so DH can spend time with his parents while they are still with us. They are doing great and are very active and DH golfs weekly with his dad. We have made the bonus room over the garage our little apartment and son is in one of the 2 bedrooms downstairs. The other br is a guest room/office for DH to work from home. It is tight for sure, and we have two enormous storage units with all our stuff. We are in the middle of designing our forever home and we have taken GREAT care to vet the buider for our future home so we don't run into this type of struggle again. Thanks again! Juls