"Seems like a whole lot of wasted work ... could have been avoided" Seems like? Prices go up unneccesarily with this type of wrecklessness, on what are already expensive projects for consumers. I wonder how many floor layers the homeowner has lost for future sanding, to sand out these dips and such. Would love to know if the GC was trying to save money with his sub selection and what made him think he was good for the job to begin with. What criteria for the job he was meeting. Maybe they need to replace it now and give you the brand new floor you paid for. Installed by a professional. Don't accept it unless you are satisfied with your purchase. It's too bad and a catch 22 that we have to pay into these things before we see them. And good luck resolving and living thru all this! P.S. Who is paying for the expense of your moving out each time this is re-done? I hope it is not costing you more money to have to do this, just the inconvenience. This post was edited by snookums2 on Sat, Sep 13, 14 at 14:48

I just got the same...and several people recommended to me the Bona System for hardwood floors. I picked it up at Bed Bath Beyond and so far it has been amazing. Way better than the Swiffer Wet-which left streaks.

Hi, Worthy, I can't speak for the NAHB or how they arrived at their standard; I'm just a single, soggy southern swamp dweller. NOFMA (The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association) says this about gaps in hardwood flooring: "Normal gaps may vary in width from "hairline" gaps thickness of stationary, to more significant gaps, up to or greater than the thickness of a quarter. The larger gaps are expected in those geographical areas associated with an extended dry heating season, and warm, mild humid summers that require little air conditioning, i.e., the Great Lakes or New England area...Plank floors, because of widths involved can shrink individually up to 3+ times as much as 2 1/4" wide strip floors."

@shead, it is not an either/or between engineered and onsite finishing. I am planning to get an engineered floor — that will be supplied with the raw white oak top layer (to the thickness I specify) and it will be finished on site. There will not be bevels between the planks. I can specify the quality of the wood of the white oak (character grade or less knots — I’ve forgotten what all the grade levels are called). It is my understanding that if I want boards over 3 or 4” wide, the engineered boards help prevent cupping, curling and etc distortions. The humidity in the house also needs to be controlled. Although I love the look of really wide planks, I understand that people have more problems with 10” and wider boards so I plan to stay around 7”. There are various companies that offer this raw wood engineered product. The color of the white oak varies from where the trees are grown so that may impact your choice (and mine). I haven’t yet decided on what sealer (or stain) I’ll use — the installer will provide samples on site. If I go with Bona for the sealer, I also plan to use the Bona water-based protective coat (leaning towards 3 coats of Bona Traffic HD as the installer uses that a lot and is not as familiar with the similar quality Loba product). The installer also uses Rubio Monocoat; I haven’t researched that yet to see how it compares to Bona. So far, I haven’t heard a downside to taking this route — if there are any pros out there that think differently, please let me know.