We have unstained, wide plank, rustic, white oak floors. If you choose a light wood like white oak and stain it dark every scratch will show. Being unstained-scratches are hardly noticeable. I'm sure people are getting tired of my comparison but it's like scratching red nail polish vs clear. For general cleaning we just use water with a tsp of vinegar (helps dry it faster). We use a special twist mop that really takes every possible drop of water off the mop. About once ever 3 months we use a "natural wood" cleaner called Woca. I'm not trying to sell that brand, it's just what we were told to use by the manufacturer. Whatever you do, make sure you use only what is recommended for your individual floor by your floor manufacturer. Our distributor used another cleaner brand on the exact floor we have which they've displayed in their showroom. I saw it 2 weeks ago and the new cleaner turned their floor a hideous GRAY!!! And I mean really...really GRAY!!! They're keeping it that way to show people what can happen. Our Floor.....

I think you also need to consider what you're asking the flooring specialists (sales, installation, whatever...) to do. Are you asking them to recommend/sell/install the flooring with a warranty or assurance you can come back to them if the wood moves? I assume the original flooring guy that said he wouldn't install planks wider than 4.5" meant he wouldn't install them and back them with any kind assurance. Maybe he wouldn't install them under any circumstances because he's worried you'll drag his name through the mud if they cup/warp. Even if they inspect your site, how do they know you'll take the proper steps to control the humidity levels in both summer and winter? How do they know how "sensitive" you are to the inevitable gaps and minor cupping. This was much the same discussion we had with our granite counter top dealer. If you want a perfect, uniform look, go with an engineered product. Natural stone has imperfections. Embrace it or pick something less natural. Same with wood flooring. The wider the plank, the more susceptible to movement in all directions. It's easy to get someone on a message board to say they'll be fine with 10" wide planks. They likely understand the installation and maintenance requirements and, most importantly, don't have to worry about you suing them later if you're unhappy with your choice.

This floor was put in by an actual flooring company. It is the company that is contracted with this GC to do all his flooring. When He told me that I should use them because I'd get the best price, yada, yada, yada, he also said because "their installer/finishers were second to none". Now I want to ask if he knows this from his experience with them or because they told him that their installers/finishers were second to none! I was billed for "dustless" sanding & the GC has said the word dustless but neither the GC or the flooring company approached us to discuss how actually dusty the dustless is. I'm beginning to understand that you can ask as many questions as you want but if you don't ask the right questions, because of your lack of knowledge you won't end up with the information you need. Am I understanding both of you all's recommended course of action? I insist they go back and sand the floors-back to no stain? I do not ask the holes to be puttied except maybe the one in the photo below or similar, this one being dime size? I feel like this knot will lift out eventually. Then I make sure to start they are sanded properly, then stained, sealed or sealed, stained? Then poly'ed with sanding between coats. Total 3 coats. The boards with the deep gauges? The first pic really is quite deep & in a spot that will not be covered with a rug. It would be very difficult for sanding to get rid of the 2 places in the wood in the first 2 photos. Do I insist they be replaced? When you say problems with the short ends do you mean the cracks that show opening up from the show ends? Is the area in the center of the last photo lippage? The 1/2" linear sort of dome-shaped rise in the wood? As far as the humidity ect. We had small leaf acacia engineered hardwood installed in the bonus room last month by same flooring company. When the wood was delivered they did not want to bring it upstairs. I told them it was to be installed upstairs & delivering the wood early so it could acclimate make zero sense if it was not put in the room where it was to be installed. The wood was vertical stacked & left downstairs in unopened boxes. I emailed the owner/acts as install supervisor to voice my concerns about lack of proper acclimation ect. He said we would check the meter readings together before the install, although he did snidely ask me if I had a meter. Anyway, morning of readings were fine, inline with what I had researched as well as what he told me. The downstairs wood acclimated for at least 3 weeks, was not in boxes but was vertical stacked. We heated & cooled downstairs as normal during this time. Nobody offered to share any meter readings the morning of this install & I missed the owner when he was here at the start before he left. Sophie, do you still feel the issues here are from possible humidity/moisture or more likely poor preparation (sanding) & lack of dust control/cleanup before applying the poly finish? You know if you "dustless" sand & leave all the dust on the walls next to the floor being finished, pretty unrealistic to not think it 's going to float down onto the floor all day. Thank you so much for your input Cancork Floors & Sophie.

I think you can have solid...just work with a narrower plank. The cut is also important. Some cuts are much more stable than others. Rift sawn lumber is more dimensionally stable (and more expensive) than other cuts. I would personally look for a narrow plank (more stable + cheaper installation costs) in a Rift Sawn presentation (most dimensionally stable + more expensive). I would guess you would end up spending about the same amount this way. Yet you get a more stable wood with fewer problems in a home without the added stability of humidity control. Of course you can move to engineered to avoid SOME of these concerns...but even engineered has limits re: humidity control (or lack there of).