What is specified in your contract?

That is the thing.. Our contract is very vague.. We only specified 3 1/4 inch oak flooring.. When we originally met with the builder we went in with the background that they build "luxury" homes and they had a good reputation for quality homes.. I am just not sure if when we got in there they saw that we weren't their normal type of client.. They have done some things which I consider to be "shady" and I am starting to feel as though they try to get things over on us when they can.. I mean don't get me wrong.. I think the floors look good.. But on the other hand I know nothing about hardwood.. I never even knew there were grades.. But when someone starts pointing things out you start to wonder if someone took advantage of you and gave you "crap" when you are paying a premium price.. I know at the end of hte day we are stuck with what we have since the contract does not specify any specific grade of wood but now curious what we actually have..

The only way to know is to ask the builder.

I specified mine at grade select and better, which few thousands more than common #1. They are normally do common #2. But yours seemed common 2.

A flooring specialist might tell you that the higher grades are "better" because they are more expensive. But, the more common grades of oak are very popular and even sought after (specified) in a lot of homes these days. I personally love the variations in the oak you see in the common grades (1 & 2). If it is indeed a solid hardwood, and not an engineered product, you should get way more than 10 years out of that floor, no matter the grade, barring some water damage or catastrophic event. I am one of those weird people that specified the common... it arrived last week and I love it! I think your floors look lovely. :)

We just had similar floors installed. We selected a character grade from sheoga (one of our flooring guy's favorite suppliers) and they came with black marks on some of the boards. I think those black marks were just from being transported or something, and the marks got sanded out before the floors were stained.

There is nothing "wrong" with the floors. With the "friend", maybe. You got exactly what your contract specified.

I would ask where he pulled that number from and based off of what.

More likely is where he pulled that number out of. ;)

The floor looks gorgeous and when sanded and stained it will be even prettier. I wonder why some people need to cause trouble.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that floor. I installed floors in my house that looked just like that a long time ago. When I sold the home 25 years later, they were still in great shape and did not even need refinishing. I think you are misunderstanding what the grading really means. What you need to know is that flooring grading mainly describes appearance and how much variation there can be in appearance, from very uniform to having some character. Yours looks like Select to me. Bear in mind that these different grades don't have much bearing on the inherent quality of the wood, just its appearance...and some people like more variation than others. The higher grades cost more because they are selecting out the pieces that don't have knots or do not have as much variegation in wood tone. What ends up in the Select and Common categories is not inferior wood. Even if this were a Common Oak floor, it would not mean that it would not last as long as a Clear or Select floor. Because you are not knowledgeable about wood and wood grading, you have been unduly influenced by a "friend" who is ill informed and wants to be a spoiler. You have a beautiful, quality floor that will last a long time and will look terrific once it's sanded and finished; those black marks are just slight sanding burns from the factory that will disappear once the floor is finished. And the variation in wood tone will be affected by what the stain color is: lighter stains may show more, darker tones less...but it will still look great, regardless. I suggest you not ask your friend for any more advice on subjects he is badly informed about.

You might want to look at the link below on oak flooring grades, with special attention to the part where it says: "Each will stand up to wear and tear for as long as one hundred years or more providing they receive the proper care along the way."

Oak Flooring Grades

The grade only refers to the colouring, knots and holes. If you're happy with the look, then it's fine.

I went with a lower grade hardwood because DH wanted it stained dark. With a dark stain, I figured the color variation and knots wouldn't be noticeable, so no point spending $$$$ for clear. When it was installed, pre stain, DH was disappointed. He didn't like the colouring. But now that it's finished, he loves it.

Your floors are nicer than your friend.

Do not listen to your friend. The longevity is often tied to the finish that is applied. The floors look good - not too many knots from what I can see. The finish is the most important.

The better grades also have longer pieces of wood where lower grades may have very short boards and a lot of them with a lot of knots etc. Your floors look fine, definatly not a low grade. My oak floor has variations of color and a few dark boards and it gives it character.

Keep the floors, but ditch the friend.

Its difficult to guess at the grade of wood from a photo before sanding and finishing but if you would rather guess than ask the builder, the length of the shorter boards is an indicator and the small dark cross-grain marks are most likely milling marks and should disappear when sanded. I see no reason to think this is a low grade of modern oak. What shortens the life of oak flooring is wear and water.

I'm another one who says keep the floors and ditch the "friend". Your floors have the potential to be lovely - when they are done. They are not yet done though. I'm so sorry that someone's careless and apparently uninformed remark is making you feel bad - as if building a house isn't stressful enough!