"I still think $2500 is insane for a small house. He initially asked $2700. For 3 days of work, that's $900 a day!! When I taught school, my top salary after 30 years of teaching was around $350 a day. I just see something wrong with this picture...." What is wrong is that you are not including the value of your benefits and tools/equipment costs (teachers do not usually have to supply classrooms). The floor guy would like to retire at some point, and needs to make enough to repair and replace his tools (and even the truck he requires). If you think the price is high you can always try and do the work yourself. Rental yards often have drum sanders and edging sanders by the day. Don't forget some wood scrappers for the very inside of the corners (and a set of knee pads). You can buy all the applicators for stain and finish also. A really good vacuum is needed also. Dust collection is never 100%, and you need to clean up after sanding and before finishing. If there are any strips of flooring that need replacement throw in some chisels, hammers, saws, etc. I have all the stuff but a drum sander, and I occasionally rent one for smaller jobs. It is not cost effective for my regular floor guy to spend a few hours over multiple days on a small job. He does my big jobs and is a real bargain then.

SJ McCarthy, I do have photos of the cracking and rising floor boards. And of the spotty finish, streaks, and drips. The boards have sat untouched and unfinished in our AC home for the last nine months, and within days of the oil and water applications the cracking and rising occurred. It’s been less than ten days since the floor has been finished. The guy who did the work was the owner of a highly rated flooring refinishing company in my area. We agreed to use a water-based finish which is on my contract as Poloplaz 1k water-based floor finish with a matte sheen. When he arrive he talked me into using an oil-based product instead, stating that it would keep the natural color as it is, but also preserve the wood. I apologize for repeating myself here -- I was so fearful of the oil yellowing the white oak which I stated many times to him, but he assured me if it did yellow it wouldn’t be for fifteen to twenty years. He said he would be using a clear, natural, expensive oil-based polyurethane finish that was newly opened. I'm not sure of the brand but I do have a photo of the yellow oil drip down the side of one of the white panels around the stairs. The next day after the oil application he added the matte flat water-based finish and I absolutely know what product he used because after the second coat was applied I followed him out to his truck voicing my concerns about the color/finish of the floor and he showed me the container… Bona Traffic HD extra matte. That’s when he blamed the product for the streaky look of the finish. He said he doesn’t like using this Bona product for quality reasons but because I insisted on a matte finish he didn’t have a choice. He said he could use a different product but it would leave a shine and not have the matte look I wanted. Thankfully the guy did not apply the 'natural poly' over the factory finished Shaw floors. My contract with him states that he would apply it over the entire dining area, and I was charged for it, but at the last minute the decision to not do it was made. The guy is not affiliated with my general contractor because I wanted to hire a flooring ‘professional’ who truly understood hardwood floor finishes. I was incredibly anxious and very select about what I wanted in the finish and it took me a while to find and then trust someone. Unfortunately I paid him in full. Contractors, here at least, are allowed to have a lien against your home if you withhold payment and because I'm not familiar with what that truly means legally for me, as the homeowner, I paid. Thank you for your information regarding an inspector from NWFA -- it's a great idea and I will most certainly make a few phone calls. Recent research has informed me that an oil-based polyurethane needs to cure for at least two weeks to 60 days before adding a water-based finish, do you know if that statement is true? And if so then the pro not waiting for the curing time before applying the water-based finish likely and knowingly voided the warranty on the Bona product -- he's been in business a long time so he would know. Also, is a natural polyurethane the same as an oil-based polyurethane? I'm just making sure I understand everything before speaking with an inspector. Thank you so very much for your advice and time, SJ McCarthy, I really appreciate all of your help.

OK...if the current oak is solid (3/4") you have a 20 year old floor that can live another 60 years. If you pull it you have wasted 60 years worth of flooring. That's a bit of a shame. To refinish oak/wood floors = $5-$7/sf. That's it. That's all. That includes labour and materials. Now, to remove it = $2/sf. And you still have NOTHING. To replace it = $7 - $12/sf for material + $4-$5 for labour = $11 - $17/sf. Hmmmmm. That $7/sf sounds pretty good right now, doesn't it. Right. Here's the best case scenario for wood everywhere. 1. Get species match (not all oak is white...just sayin'). 2. Get plank width/cut/grade match (yah...they are all different) 3. Get a wood flooring pro (someone who ONLY does wood floors...not some person with a hammer) to come in a do all the removal of all your other materials ($1-$2/sf...depending) 4. Have him/her lace in all the new wood into the existing wood (do the 1/2 bath and kitchen...no issues there) 5. Have everything sanded and finished all at once. When a wood flooring pro is offered a big, juicy, well paying job, they often give a small discount on the refinishing bit for the old hardwood. In other words, they are already there for a big job...what's it to them to sand an extra 400sf of old stuff? Not much. All their tools are already on site. They are making their income on the BIG stuff (install/demolition) what's a $1/sf on the old stuff between friends? See where I'm going with this? You can save a snick of money on the old floors by adding in a BIGGER job for the wood flooring PRO...something s/he can really sink their teeth into for several days worth of work.

The areas that are darker were because they didn’t sand those areas during the redo, they only buffed them for the final coat of poly, from what I understand. We sent photos to the PM (before they stained!) of them leaving those areas instead of sanding the entire floor and he assured us it would blend “seamlessly”. I really hate this because the crew did work hard, but the crew leader is the one that told them to not sand everything. He will not be getting paid now which will probably mean the workers won’t get paid which truly sucks IMO. The PM finally responded saying they’ll be there Monday morning to fix it. We replied saying it needs to be a different crew, the best they have and to have his manager contact us as they began the floor refinishing a month ago and now we are having to pay an extra month of mortgage and utilities in our current home. Regarding the current state of the floors, it appears they need a complete sand and finish correct? I’m not sure I trust anyone they send out to only fix those areas. They also sanded so deep in a hallway it’s about an 1/8” difference from where they had left the previous finish. (3rd photo) Thank you all for your advice.