In building/construction law, the rule of thumb is: The original contractor must be allowed ONE attempt to "fix" a problem. After that, the homeowner is then allowed to bring in another contract (at the original's expense) to "fix" the problem. You have to check your state/provincial laws to confirm this approach.

Assuming this is the case, the contractor has officially used up his/her SINGLE kick at the "redo" can. Now you are free to go elsewhere. I would not pay them anymore money at this point. If they want the TOTAL amount, they will have to give you a PROPERLY FINISHED floor. This is not properly finished. This is a redo. That's a full sand/refinish.

The amount of times a floor can be resanded (completely) will be determined by the original thickness of the wood itself. To complete a resanding, there must be a MINIMUM of 3mm of wood ABOVE the tongue. Normally the "wood" can offer 60-80 years worth of service...depending on plenty of factors.

A hardwood floor from the 80's probably experienced ONE sand/refinish event before you started your project. A hardwood finish lasts around 25 years. Some can push 30 years but then it looks like HELL. If you do the math, the 1980's build probably had ONE refinish sometime in the early 2000's. Your project is *probably the second event.

The "second" time these guys sanded, probably wasn't a full event. They merely removed the stain (a light sanding event) and then tried to start over. I would guess this caused 1.5 sanding events...not 2.

It is easy enough to figure out. Simply find a flooring vent and pop the vent off. Look at the cross section of the wood floor. Measure the amount of wood left ABOVE the tongue. So long as it is MORE than 3mm, you can go again with a FULL sand/refinish.

I would reach out to the flooring company that recommended these guys and let them know that the work was subpar and that you would suggest "removing" this company from their recommendation list. That's all you can do with the flooring company.

The next contractor you want to work with will be an NWFA Certified Wood Sanding/Refinisher. You can find a list of local professionals from the NWFA website: www.nwfa.org

If you want stuff that "stands up in court" you would ALSO contact an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring INSPECTOR (at your expense...which could then be charged back to the original company in small claims court). The same website will offer the professional nearest you. If you want to go this route, make sure the floor is inspected BEFORE the refinish occurs.

Once you have contacted the NWFA professional(s) of your choice, you then need to INFORM the original company (in writing) that:

1. The Floor is not properly finished as per industry standards

2. Another flooring professional/inspector has been engaged to help correct THEIR mistake

3. The final payment is "not owing" because the job was not completed to INDUSTRY STANDARDS

4. You reserve the right to recoup financial losses due to their poor workmanship (you may or may not want to add this...it depends on how nasty you want this to get).

And leave it at that. Do NOT share the "full report" with the flooring company until ONE of TWO things occur: 1. They PAY you for the report (ie. they pay your out-of-pocket costs for the report); or 2. The courts direct you to disclose documents for your day in court.

S/He who pays for the report, OWNS the report. You can "quote" from it, but you have no obligation to share the report in it's entirety.

Good luck.

Most of the time I see posts here where someone is apoplectic about a floor that's probably better than 90% perfect, and I try to be the voice of reason. Unfortunately this isn't one of those times. That's a truly horrible result.

I have seen claims of subfloor issues causing waves in a floor but the usual culprit is a machine issue. There's two different types of flaws like this, wave and chatter. I suspect the floor got waves the first time they sanded, which were amplified on the resand.

In my opinion the original finisher probably isn't qualified (and doesn't have sufficiently high standards), should refund any money you gave him, and you should find someone more qualified. An expert will cut the floor on an angle to remove the waves, then do straight cuts with increasingly finer grits. Ideally they would use a machine like a Trio sander after the big machine and edger work are done, or hardplate it with a buffer using sandpaper, then screen the floor.

You can look into legal remedies but consider what it may cost you out of pocket, and your ability to collect on a judgement if you prevail.

Out of tune equipment, definite rework.