I'm not sure but I think it would be due to the grade of the wood. I prefer oak that is "clear" or "select".

All but the last can easily be puttied.

FYI, don't consider doing anything risky on a floor that otherwise looks excellent.

@johnson flooring Co, I agree I love the stain, but unhappy with about 20 holes that need to be filled. What do you think I should do about the last photo? It looks like the wood was damaged?

@Johnson flooring co I agree I love the stain on the floors, but unhappy with about 20 holes. What do you think I should do with the last photo or these?

Can this be putty filled?

Like this

Sorry app wasn’t connecting and then posted all of these.

You have some very small knots and some deeper/heavier grain that did not get all the stain/polyurethane it wanted. Ideally the filler would have been applied BEFORE the stain. Right now it's a bit late for a fix that sits underneath the finish.

How many coats of FINISH were put down. I'm wondering if another coat would fix this up. Tell us which finish (polyurethane) was used and how many coats. Personally I think another light buff and then a recoat would do wonders.

@SJ MCCARTHY They used Bona classic and used two top coats. I don’t know why they didn’t fill it in when they were staining or after sanding.
Thank you. I don’t know what happened here? Do you think that’s hard to fix or want sanded enough?

Have the floor guys putty the easy ones, leave the other alone. The first time you get a ding or scratch, it will be worse than that little corner chip. It's easy to make things like this look bad when you're not evaluating them from a height of 50", which is what the NWFA recommends for inspection. Over the years you will have filler fall in cracks or get vacuumed up and new cracks can be filled just as I'm recommending now. One of my favorites is Woodwise prefinish filler. You'll need to mix a couple to match your color.

The latest two look to be fracturing, likely caused by either water popping or using waterborne finish. Wood will often have minuscule splits. When water gets in them they can fracture further. It's a real pain. It usually happens when the floor is in the finishing stage and doing the wrong thing can ruin the whole job.

Perhaps a local company could do a touchup usually done on furniture using hot wax or shellac sticks. Sometimes it's necessary to use an X-Acto knife or a utility knife to cut out the fractured part, then will with hot wax. Here's what I'm referring to, though it can be done on finished floors too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8byr--F7YU

Unless there's areas that look less finished than what you've posted, I would HIGHLY recommend not adding another coat. You're just inviting other things to go wrong, that could easily eclipse the minor problems you have now.

It’s real wood. It’s a floor. Underfoot. It isn’t a 19K high gloss lacquer chest that’s the center of attention in your entry. What you are pointing to——that can’t even be SEEN—- is called natural material CHARACTER.

So relax and have some bourbon! If it still bothers you, drink more bourbon. Repeat prescription until it no longer bothers you.

We had similar issues with #1 Red Oak that we installed in our last house. It bothered me at first but then I just let it go. Over time, I didn't notice it and the kids put lots of other dents in the floors so the holes and chips blended nicely with the patina ;)

I think the floor looks beautiful despite a few minor imperfections. Daily wear is going to add more to those. It may open another can of worms trying to touch up areas on the floor.

Agree. Your floors are gorgeous. Sit back and enjoy.

Our floor guy filled all holes with filler to match the color of oak, problem is the knots and streaks are darker and the light putty is noticeable in a few spots. So I prefer what you have.

Its so easy to obsess over things when they’re new. But remember why most people choose wood in the first place: because it’s an authentic material. And that includes imperfections.