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Flooring Woodworking Design Dilemma

Your feedback on flooring job.. dark RMC stain on pine

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hello all,

This is my first post and thankful there is a community like this.

I’m working with a flooring company that came in pretty low on a bid refinish the floors on my 130 year old farmhouse. It was their second time using Rubio monocoat.

Some of the rooms are gorgeous and I love how the character of the woof gets accentuated. Others seem a little splotchy and I don’t think they took their time ensuring a smooth sand finish along the baseboards or really wiped as much oil off as they should.

It’s my first time refinishing a floor on a house and working with RMC, so I’m curious what I should tell them to fix versus what to chalk up as character on an old house.

Thanks!

See the photos below:

Featured Answer

Chris Smith
Original Author

3 years ago

Rubio is a hard wax oil so it’s pretty easy to touch up. I spoke with them today and they’re going to do some repairs.

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Comments (8)

SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
You have a mixture of issues. Issue #1 = Pine does not like to take a stain. It just doesn't like to. It is always a crap shoot when attempting to add a colour to pine or fir. Maple is another wood that is tricky to stain. That's the OVER ARCHING issue.

Issue #2 = Old wood has character. It has lived a life already...it is now being asked to live another lifetime. It will be MUCH drier than any other wood anyone has seen. So it takes a special touch (ie. skill = cost) to get an old floor look AMAZING.

Issue #3 = Only the SECOND floor the company has worked with Rubio. Rubio is a VERY special product that requires a VERY SPECIAL skill and a VERY GOOD training history with it. You have a low(er) cost company with VERY LITTLE history with Rubio. Rubio needs PERFECT sanding technique. That's why it costs the same to refinish in Rubio than it does to refinish with a high-end poly. The SANDING is painstaking in its detail. You need a VERY skilled crew to work the sanding to the point where the wood is ready for Rubio. And OLD dry wood that DOES NOT like to take a stain = very tough ask.

A Rubio refinish *SHOULD take the same 3-7 days (or more) as a regular polyurethane refinish. How long did the company spend in your house working on your floors? How many square feet did you have to refinish?
millworkman
3 years ago
What is RMC? For 130 years old I would expect a little character and those floors have that. I think they look good.
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Chris Smith
Original Author
3 years ago
@millworkman I added some additional more detailed photos to the post above. I'm wondering whether I should push on the contractor to smooth out the areas where the sanding grit pattern / scuff marks are or just chalk it up as character. Thanks!
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HALLETT & Co.
3 years ago
The only one that looks like installer error is the last one, the rest look like old floors. Obviously there may be other areas but it isn’t always possible to convey with photos. I’ve not used Rubio but I assume they could sand and touch up the edges?
Timothy Winzell
3 years ago
That's great that they're coming back. There are a few areas they should be able to fix but overall it looks quite decent for an old floor. Rubio works best when used on newer, more perfect floors. There's probably a bit more cross scratching than I'd like to see but if one has sanded Pine before they know that it's hard to get these out completely. The finer grits of sandpaper used to remove them gum up easily so you have to use a different progression of grits, which can and up leaving scratches. This is especially pertinent when using Rubio oil because it highlights flaws in the sanding.
Chris Smith thanked Timothy Winzell
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G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
It's all uneven final sanding causing the blotches. The easiest fix is to redo the entire floor. They need to spend more time on the final sand (120 grit) and water pop before applying Rubio. They need to properly clock the buffer so it feathers out and removes all the scratches. Tell them they need to prep for a stain surface.
Chris Smith thanked G & S Floor Service
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
The large patches that are darker look to be from area rugs. They are large and rectangular and would fit with a room-sized rug.

I'm glad to hear they are coming back. These floors will always have character but a little bit more attention could have saved them a return visit.

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