First:

What is the board width?

What is that......oak, or hickory?

What was the humidity in the house, then and now?

What sort of finish did they use, following stain?

Did the flooring sit in the house for at least four days prior to any install?

Is there a basement?

Answer all please

White Oak, 5 inch width, minnwax satining and poly top coat. Matte finish. The floors were in the house for at least a month but no temp control. The central ac/heating was turn on days after the floors were already done. Yes, we do have a basement which is temp control. In terms of humidity levels not sure how to check that.

I did check my theromsat and the humity level are 32%

We built our house...

If, by chance, you are not the actual homebuilder/general contractor, you should have noted the defects on the pre-delivery inspection, so you could make the case to TARION under their Construction Performance Guidelines. (See particularly 12.20-12.25.)

If not, you can always file a Small Claims Court action. Pictures taken a few inches from the floor surface won't convince the Warranty Programme. Maybe a judge will be more understanding.

Um you do realize that oak does not stain evenly? And that's more prominent with a dark color.

Um no I didnt know. I am not a professional in this field. Its not just the stain being uneven but the cirular dark marks on the floor and the unevens of the planks itself. See photos above

We all saw the photos. It's common to have stain variation.. The board grain open/closed/knots all take stain differently.

The cupping of 5 " boards. Uneven temperature, inconsistent humidity. All the flooring in its boxes,NOT preconditioned within the home long enough, at a consistent humidity and temperature? That will do it, and the wider width the board? The more noticeable cupping shall be. Wider width boards are simply less stable. More susceptible to movement. Cracks between? Same thing, and a variable not considered drastic unless exceeding the thickness of a dime.

They did one "do over". I doubt you will get another from the builder.

the fact that they used Minwax stains tells me all I need to know about their level of quality and experience. No floor people worth their salt would ever use that stain.

The builder chose the bottom of the barrel and pocketed the rest of the money.

oak takes a stain beautifully WHEN it's prepped properly and the right products used. there is no reason to have blotchiness and swirl marks (jumping up in grits too fast) with a good quality white oak.

Minwax is crap. (it's fine for basic wood staining andsome furniture, but not floors) That stain is only going to highlight the poor prepwork and give you an uneven finish. (think of cheap drugstore foundation for 5.99, compared to Chanel or Armani. And, unless you're 17, if you don't exfoliate, moisturize and apply a good primer, no foundation is going to look even or wear nicely . Finishing wood floors is exactly the same premise)

I have no idea how it was prepped or finished. Why not call in an ACTUAL professional wood floor refinishing company (or 2 or 3) and find out if they can resand and refinish?

Also know, darker stains are going to show every scratch and dust mote. I'd go lighter.

look for DuraSeal/Bona or Rubio if you want to pay for an excellent looking floors.

examples of the 3 mentioned:

These natural looking floors (these are red oak, whie oak won't look as pink) will not show any of those problems you're talking about.

I contracter still has loose ends to finish, he is well aware of our conplaints about the floors. The reasoning for the redo was on their end because they had puddling stains in the hallways. Nothing to do with our complains. So white milky cloudness is normal.

"The most common causes of a hazy or cloudy film on hardwood floors after cleaning are a buildup of floor cleaner, wax buildup, trapped moisture, and bad floor cleaners. All these can make wood floors appear to have a milky, white substance on top of the surface even after cleaning."

this is how it looked from day one which I thought it was dust but I have used everything and it still looks the same.

Possibly FULL of humidity.......prior to finishing. Nobody here knows.

For a while? I'd use nothing but very hot water minimally as possible and a micro fiber, ( and if you have the energy for a hands and knees clean? I'd use a Norwex for this, well wrung out."

Or spring bigger bucks for their mop. : )

I'd say you've not much to lose, at this point.

https://shopus.norwex.biz/en_US/customer/shop/product-detail/1209

Jan, are you saying that humidity management and/or time will allow the boards to fill in gaps and tay flat? That would be encouraging.

Thanks everyone!

Lots of good advice here.

Humidity really should be 45-55% or so year round. The best way to handle humidity is with a tight house. I would consider investigating air leaks. 32% is pretty bad and will cause static, dry skin, dry mucous membranes with susceptibility to viruses etc. Not to mention energy waste.

In my area of the country, you don't typically dark stain oak. It was done for awhile but has moved away. Other woods fine - my last house was walnut. It certainly showed a lot of dust and any imperfection. I don't recommend it. New house - practically white floors. Lesson learned.

The other "lesson" is that quarter round should be stained. If you do it white on a dark floor, you will be tortured with the obvious imperfections. You might be happier if that quaterround were stained (assuming it is oak but I am guessing it isn't).

It's hard to determine from your photos whether you have any cupping or crowning issues. I don't see any. While control of humidity is important to maintain the stability of hardwood flooring, I wouldn't implement any supplemental humidification unless the shrinkage bothers you. I live with periods of 30% +/- relative humidity, but they tend to last only a week or so. The variation in the stain is typical for reasons other posters have mentioned. I have 3" dark stained oak floors in my home. We opted for factory pre-finished so we could cull any pieces with significant variation prior to installation.

IMO not having the acclimation done right was the beginning of these issues. You now have to at least adjust the humidity and you will need to figure that out yourself. The rest IMO should have been dealt with when it happened now who knows what you have tried on the floor.. Humidity makes wood expand and contract so start there .

The OP stated that there was no temperature control at the time of installation, but what evidence do you have the floors were not the proper moisture content at installation?

As to cupping, and does it ever "adjust"

Well. Yes. I had a client, insisted on her own painter. Lots of reno, the house was empty, the flooring in place. July....humid. He literally sealed the house in plastic. Even light switches. The AC was off for days. He put gallon on gallon of paint in there ) latex = water.......yes more moisture!!!. The result ? Major league cupping, of 3.5 boards made worse by a really damp basement.

Answer.....major commercial style DE humidifiers. Two in the basement. Did it go? Yes, almost totally main floor. Second floor............pretty close.

The op is stuck correcting hers, on her own. Or with a flooring specialist UN related in any way to the builder. Might need the HVAC guy too : )

It's darn near impossible to determine, months after the original installation, whether cupping or crowning problems are related to the installation--which is under the builder's control--or the lack of relative humidity controls afterwards--which is not. You'd need moisture data for both the flooring and subfloor at the time of installation to compare with the manufacturer's installation instructions. That said, I recommend my clients limit solid T&G hardwood flooring width to 3" and select engineered products if they want something wider.

No. It's real wood. It acts like this. The stain color is the same. The density of the boards is different and excepts stain different. It could have been fixed before the topcoat. But it was applied as different boards, commercial style.

You have a beautiful floor. The flooring should have been in a moisture controlled home minimal 2-3 weeks before installing to equalize relative humidity. But it may not have mattered, wood moves. Narrow boards that will not have the internal forces to move as much is the only answer.

In my opinion, the company selling 5" wide floor boards should have a sticker saying it will move.

I may be the only one, but I honestly think your floors look very pretty. The scratches are the “patina” that wood floors gain over time, that’s just a given.

Agree. They don't look bad to me.

"The flooring should have been in a moisture controlled home minimal 2-3 weeks before installing to equalize relative humidity."

There is a lot of misinformation and incorrect nomenclature regarding acclimation of hardwood flooring here on houzz.com. You don't equalize relative humidity; that's a measure of how much moisture is in the air relative to the maximum it can hold at that temperature. The indoor relative humidity should be stable, and within the recommended range for hardwood flooring (35% to 50% +/-). The goal of acclimation is to ensure the moisture content of the subfloor and the moisture content of the hardwood flooring are less than or equal to the manufacturer's allowable difference prior to installation (typically 2 percentage points.) If the moisture content of the hardwood at delivery and moisture content of the subfloor are within the allowable differential you would not need weeks of acclimation-- you'd need a few days at most. Time is not a good guide.

I think if anyone finds themself in the condition where their eyes are the same distance to the floor surface as the camera lens was that took the images, they will most likely not be in any condition to evaluate the workmanship of the floor finishers.

The answer may be some nice Persian rugs.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Ross. The flooring should have been in the home it is installed in at least 2 weeks prior. And the heat should be on so the wood can equalize itself to the homes interior relative humidity.

All things will be equal. Relative humidity accures in the house's ambient temperatures and humidities. An dthe moisture in the flooring will also equalize. Relative humidity in lumber is read with a moisture meter.

The wood already has a finish on it. This will effect the equalization of the moisture.

The type of ffloor also matters. In floor heating will effect the moisture and movement. Less moisture equals less movement.

I may not design homes for folks professionally. I have built solis wood custom high-end quality furniture and cabinets for many years. Studied wood for many years

Pictures taken a few inches from the floor surface won't convince the Warranty Programme.

Look close enough and you'll see that even this attractive face is swarming with thousands of

these cuties (demodex folliculurum) who are born, live, mate and die on her face. (Yours too!)

Don't ya just love the internet ? : )

"Relative humidity in lumber is read with a moisture meter." No, it's not. Moisture content of wood is measured with a moisture meter. I own two pin-type moisture meters and they are exercised regularly. Relative humidity is measured with a thermo-hygrometer or a (old school) wet-and-dry-bulb thermometer. Relative humidity is the ratio of how much moisture is in air compared with what it can hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage.

Wood has an equilibrium moisture content that is a function of temperature and relative humidity of the environment. The equilibrium conditions can be obtained from sorption isotherms for the particular wood species. Equilibrium conditions are rarely the case in homes because indoor relative humidity is subject to change due to both outdoor and indoor conditions. Acclimation of hardwood is intended to minimize the difference in moisture content of the flooring and subfloor to minimize the driving force for moisture transfer between the two. The moisture content of the subfloor should be stabilized. Typically that requires the HVAC system to be in operation for a week or more. But you might find the moisture content of hardwood flooring to be within the manufacturer's guidelines right off the delivery truck depending on conditions at the mill.

If you'd like to consult an industry source for information, here's a link to a brief overview from the National Wood Flooring Association:

https://hardwoodfloorsmag.com/2018/07/02/acclimation/#:~:text=When%20your%20temperature%20and%20relative,always%20defer%20to%20the%20manufacturer

I don't think you have a case at all. I don't think the floors look bad at all. I do not see cupping, uneven planks or bad staining. I see a gap but that is due to low humidity in your house. Wood will contract and expand with humidity levels. I see it with my own wood floors. We use dehumidifier in the spring and summer and humidifier in the winter to keep humidity at a good level. You chose a dark stain and yes it will show dust. Wood floors will also scratch.