i personally prefer duraseal myself, but thats just because thats what i like, and i know how it reacts with my finishes. but some guys like minwax too, duraseal is owned by minwax so its not too far off, even though they do have their differences. if you can get a color from minwax that you like then i dont see a problem there.

having the project done is sections instead of all at once shouldnt pose a problem, for those thinking that it could cause an issue with matching 100%, i say hogwash. mix up enough stain the first go around and sand the 2nd stage the exact same way and there shouldnt be a problem. remember new wood and 60 yr old wood will look slightly different with color, but not so differently where you will see an obvious difference.

If you were to have the floors done in sections as opposed to at once, whats the length of time between the two projects? if its less than a month, then going off of my recommendation above you wont have an issue with matching.

a stain and 2-3 coats of poly is sufficient for what you have going on in your household now. 4-5 screams too much, in my opinion. Heres a little insider info...They do not make a finish that protects against kids or dogs...they just dont. they are always coming out with new products that claim are the best, and some are better than others, but none of them will say outright they protect against dogs or kids.

keeping the dogs nails trimmed, and keeping the rough-housing to the outside and off the floor is the only way you will prevent the dogs from damaging the floor.

if its me, i would want it all done at once just so its done and over with. but hopefully i gave you enough to kind of think about a bit. Wishin you luck !

Thank you for your response! We want to get everything done at one time, but split the work between front of the house and back of the house so we can use a bedroom and bathroom during the work)split floor plan with different access points to bathrooms and yard for dogs). Thinking within 1-2 wk time frame.

What is your opinion about the materials used by floor guy #3? I have never heard of Basic Coatings Emulsion and Streetshoe XL, at least during my research phase. Because he is using those products, is that the reason for the 4-5 coats and going 2 weeks without the dogs? None of my other estimates had a 2 week time frame like that. And what about the toxic material part? Should I be concerned, or worse, scared into using him because his competitors use non VOC compliant? I was totally thrown off!

Thank you!

Basic coatings and Street Shoe XL are some big names with big price tags with BIG advantages. And to be clear, Streetshoe produces their own make of stains....and it is often best to use the stain that goes with the Finish.

Water based polyurethanes have fast cure times. That means you have full use of the home in 7-10 days. Oil based finished (the one's that STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN) can take 31 days before you have full use of the house (and that's in the summer when the doors are OPEN FOR 12 HOURS PER DAY).

So...refinishing hardwoods one section at a time is doable. You CANNOT use the floors that have been freshly worked....so you need another EXIT while this is being done. And once the first section is done and cured (2 weeks for water based StreetShoe = NORMAL) you then have to move everything onto the new finish and then do that last little bit and live with THAT for 2 weeks. Splitting the job ELONGATES the frustration of the job. Two weeks turns into 4-6 weeks of "being unsettled" as well as 4-6 weeks of controlling the animals on the floor.

Splitting the job won't matter for the COLOUR....it will matter for the SHEEN. Every time we mix these high-end finishes (they are often 2 component products with the "sheen" being held in the "hardener") we run the HUGE RISK (I mean you have a 99.9% chance the sheen will be DIFFERENT) of having two different sheen levels in the home.

The *BEST way to do this (most professional way...the fastest way...the least disruptive way) is to do this all at once. Yes...you will have to find a way to store all the property. Yes you will have to find a place to stay during the finishing and cure time...but it means a 2 week disruption rather than 4-6 weeks of half living half sitting in a corner hoping not to hurt the floor.

And 4-5 coats is a bit much. But I'm wondering if #3 is talking about applying a SEALANT (coat #1 after the stain) and then 3 coats of finish. This would equal 4 coats. I've heard of this. The normal process is 1 coat sealer + 2 coats finish...The more coats of sealer/finish the longer it takes to reach a full cure.

Don't worry about minwax/duraseal as they are the same company. Minwax = oil based stain colours whereas Duraseal has the SAME COLOURS in a water modified version (same colour chart with the same names).

Only you can decide the fate of the floors. The fastest, easiest, most efficient, most beneficial way of doing this = all at once.

Thank you so much for all the info you have provided! I feel like I am able to make a more informed decision. A faster cure time would be more ideal with the dogs and working around basement/hotel options. If the price is on point with the others, seems like I am getting more bang for my buck, and a higher end result with floor guy #3.

Thank you!