Wood floor refinish issues?

Ashley

2 years ago

Can someone who is more know than me tell me if this is bad quality or just me being picky?

seems bumpy and splotchy in places. white oak refinished with bona nordic seal and traffic HD.

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Comments (3)

PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
The problem with white floors, sanding needs to be perfect, otherwise, flaws easily standout.

The waves and dishout are sanding flaws. Machine needs tuning to fix the waves. Sanding process needs tweaking to avoid dishouts. Needs full redo with better equipment and sanding process.

The yellowing finishing issue is from insufficient seal. They missed a spot on the first coat, caught it on the second, then the poly pulled some tannins. You can spot fix it.
Ashley thanked G & S Floor Service
SJ McCarthy
2 years ago
^^^As above. If you want to fix the roller coaster ride they called a 'sanded' finish, they need to redo the whole thing...That is to come in, bring it down to raw wood and then do all their work OVER again. That means they lose ALL of their money...and then some.

The yellow splotches can be spot fixed, as G & S says. Again, this is going to have issues with matching GLOSS levels. And we've seen that cause homeowners to cry (nope...not kidding...seen it dozens of times on houzz and in live-action in-situ) and pull their hair out (that one is figurative...but I'm sure someone out there has actually pulled their own hair out because of that).

Here's the OTHER option: Get money back. Yes...Negotiate the RETURN of money into your pocket. In other words, withhold final payment until you have come to some sort of agreement.

To legally withhold final payment, you must first contact the COMPANY manager in WRITING (email or text = just fine) with your concerns AND with photos (the one's here are fine). Then ask to have a manager come out to the site to view it for herself.

Now you start your price negotiations. You will want a heavy discount (30%-40%) off the job....OR you will INSIST on a FULL REDO. Believe me, the company will look at their books and make the decision for you.

This ONLY works if you are WILLING to accept the floor 'as-is, where-is'. If you know you CANNOT FATHOM living with these floors a MINUTE LONGER, then push for the full redo.

Personally I'm someone who REALLY ENJOYS a healthy bank account...and am willing to give up perfection for a few thousand dollars in the bank. But that's me. You HAVE to be HAPPY with yourself, in your own home.
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I'm in the Chicago area and was quoted $2-3 a square foot, but it's for a larger job. And that's not including any repair - just refinishing. A relative got a cheaper price and the result isn't great. Also, investigate what kind of finish you want. There's a big debate about finishes and what's the best. Some floor folks only will use water based finishes. We have a large dog and our GC recommended Synteko finish for our upstairs last year. It's a stinky chemical and you'll need to clear out of the house for a few days, but it's tough as nails and I wouldn't consider using anything else. My pooch was responsible for destroying a friend's wood floors in one afternoon, so this is important to us. We also have oak. Good luck!
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the ozone machine may work, but i have my doubts. as pet stains that are persistent usually are the ones where the damage has gone deep into the floor or even the subfloor. Sometimes the sanding and refinishing will take care of it. Sometimes it doesnt. My suggestion is check the prices of the air purifier and if its not going to break the bank try it, it cant hurt. But if my suspicion is correct, then the only way to remedy it would be to remove the effect floor boards and install new. a good pro will have no issue doing the patch work, the sanding and blending of the stain to match requires a really good pro. but worst case you resand that room, and by the sounds of it, its not that big, so not a Huge ordeal.
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When you say contractor, do you mean a GENERAL contractor or an independent wood flooring contractor? And as Johnson Flooring Co. points out, because the dishing is UNDERNEATH the finish, you would have to sand all the way down to the problem (which is the wood) to fix this. I would find out how "professional" the person doing your floors is. If this is a general contractor telling one of his 'boys' (or girls) to hop on the sander and "getter done" then this is the level of work you can expect. If this is from a reputable hardwood flooring company that ONLY DOES hardwood, then they have plenty of 'splainin' to do. Either way, you need a full sand/refinish to get rid of the dishing. Only you can decide if this is worth it to have it redone. Some people are very happy with money in the bank after a renovation. Others are not. Only you can decide which one you can live with.
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A two story home should take 3-5 days (depending). The floors in the home look to be red oak. They will have a natural tendency to have peach/salmon tones when 'raw'. The look you are after is 'raw'. Do not use the word 'natural'. It is confusing because in the wood world 'natural' is the colour of wood with oil based poly on it = orange colouring. By using the words "raw look" you will make it clear that you want a wood floor that looks sanded down with nothing on it. Now for the finishes: DuraSeal = low-grade (ie cheap) finish that is rated as professional...but just barely. Bona is a true professional grade brand. It ranges in price (low price = Mega = 1 part cheaper product = turns yellow/orange). The highest price finish = Bona Traffic HD. The HD is the TOUGHEST finish on the market. It comes in 'commercial extra matte'. It gives the look of raw. The oil based products = HUGE odour issues. Which means you will need more than a few days before you move in. The odour is enough to cause migraines and nose bleeds. And it takes as much as 30 days to cure....which can cause BIG delays when moving in. Water based products (the real water based...not waterborne) are clear and have very low odour. The big guns, like Bona Traffic HD or Loba 2K Supra AT have odours that dissipate inside of a day. They take 5-7 days to cure...which means you can move in 7 days after the floors have been finished. You are looking for a raw look finish. You are looking for professionals who KNOW how to work with the expensive 2 part products like Bona HD Traffic. You are looking for refinishers who are willing to spend money on the high end finishes (which means you are willing to spend money on the high end finishes). And it traditionally takes 1 day to sand down everything, tack cloth it and then let it dry. It takes 2 days to properly coat the floors in a total of 3 coats (two coats per day = maximum amount). I think you can kick the 1 day dude to the curb. A single day is ONLY possible if he gives 2 coats = going cheap. Do you LIKE the heavy orange tones??? If you do NOT like ORANGE then you want to stay away from oil based finishes. Remember: 'O' is for "Orange" and "Oil based".
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Ashley
Original Author
2 years ago
Just an update and some "before" info. This contractor saved our hide by coming and refinishing wood floor with a week's notice, that a different guy installed! The original installer cancelled on us TWICE both the day before refinishing. After living with the floors for a few days; I can only see those bumps for about 5 mins of the day when the sun hits them the right way. I decided to live with them and the weird color splotches, because there is so much color variation in the wood they aren't too noticeable (and, not pictured- we discovered that an old part of our floor was repaired before we purchased the home with red oak!!! So in that room we have a 4 board run that is pinkish.) I guess it just gives the place more character. The contractor charged a fair price, and has offered basically 10% off for our upcoming project of refinishing the stairs next month in the same white oak.

Wood floor refinish issues?

Comments (3)

G & S Floor Service

SJ McCarthy

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Ashley
Original Author

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Wood floor refinish issues?

Comments (3)

G & S Floor Service

SJ McCarthy

Related Discussions

AshleyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Ashley
Original Author