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.

The look you want does not come from "White" oak...it comes from European Oak. Start with the high-end laminate makers or European imported laminates (Pergo, Harbinger, etc). These guys ALL HAVE a version of "European Oak" laminate. I'm going to guess your search ended because of the "white" oak part. Switch the search to European Oak and you should find THOUSANDS of options. Good luck. This is pretty easy to find once you have the right search term.

@falusiaa I know this thread is a few years old now but did you end up getting your floors reinstalled? We're looking at having this exact same floor installed in our home- Maxwell unfinished engineered white oak in select grade. Have you been happy with it? Did you apply a stain or go with the natural finish? Like you, we are opting for a bit more modern and don't want the knots and character defects that make it a little more rustic. Thanks!

Just to be clear- the bevels come from hardwoods being prefinished, not engineered. You can get solid hardwoods as well as engineered hardwoods prefinished (which will have bevels). Although less common, you can also get engineered floors site finished. These won't have bevels and will be indistinguishable from solid woods floors on looks alone. A small general summary below, which may help your daughter. I'm sure there are exceptions to these statements but by and large this is what you're looking at. Pre-finished vs Site-finished Pre-finished: Bevels. A more durable finish. Fewer color/stain options. Site-finished: No bevels. A less durable finish (doesn't mean it's not a good or good enough finish, it's just not as hard as factory finishes). Virtually unlimited ability to mix stains and find the perfect color. Solid vs Engineered Solid: Usually ¾" solid wood. More prone to problems (cupping and gaping) with changes in humidity. Can sand and refinish many times. Can only be installed over a subfloor and not over a concrete foundation, making them not an option in some situations. Engineered: Has a solid wood "wear layer" that will look indistinguishable from solid wood floors. The thickness of this wear layer, which can vary significantly depending on which engineered floor you choose, determines the number of times the floors can be sanded and refinished (anywhere from zero to maybe 3 times, always fewer times than solid floors). More stable which means less susceptible to problems like cupping or gaping, although still possible. Can be installed over concrete and in other situations where solid hardwoods are not appropriate. Hope this helps!