I've also posted this message on the refinishing board, sorry for the double post.

Some time ago I posted about problems with our newly refinished white oak floor. It looks the finisher made errors both during sanding and during finishing. They used Bona Traffic in semi-gloss. After they put 1 coat of shellac and 3 coats of Traffic in semi-gloss, there were some spills and lines, hair in finish etc. They put another coat of Traffic. Now it looks like we see even more of the same + the floor looks shinier, so everything is more visible. There is also more hair, the deeper indentations are more visible (you can see that the reflections are not "straight"). Please look at these pictures and tell me what you think.




















They offered us 4 options:

1. Local touch ups.
2. Put one extra coat of Traffic or Eon in satin to "hide" the problems.
3. Resand 2 most problmatic areas with bigger indentations and build them up to the level of the rest of the floor. Is it even possible to beland well enough?
4. Compensation.

In my opinion, nothing other than total redo will really help here.
I am not sure we can go though this again since our circumstances are totally different right now. In any case, it does not look like they would agree to redo the whole thing (1000 sq. ft). Which option should I choose?

They gave you 4 options.

Now give them one.

Totally redo the work to your satisfaction, or your going to hire another crew and charge them for any costs higher then their contract to satisfy you, plus anything you have paid them already.

I was kind of hoping you would tell me it it not that terrible, that it happens and so on and so forth.

Is what I have called chatter?

Should I even trust them to redo it? And I cannot imagine vacating the house for another week at this point. I have 2 young kids, and our lives have been disrupted enough.

Should I hire an inspector?

That is some wicked dishout. Somebody camped out on a buffer to make that.

I agree with Chuck. Badly sanded floor! Major dishout. It's ok to expect a little dishing from plain sawn oak, comes with the territory but your's is horrific! The finish isn't top flight but not terrible either. I've seen much worse. It's the sanding job that ruins this floor.

When I look at the pictures, it really seems terrible, but I think maybe the camera magnifies all the imperfections. On the other hand, if I had taken pictures before the floors were redone, they would have looked great, just a little worn. I guess I just do not want to start this battle with the finisher when I am not absolutely sure I am right here.

So what should I do? I am so tired of this, I just want it to end. I need to put my furniture back and start living normal life again. Should I demand all my money back? What if they insist on redoing? Should I let them?
Do I have a right to refuse? If I get money back, am I expected to hire someone else right away? Because I am not sure I can through another round at this point. I might have the floors redone next summer when the kids are away again.

Typically, this is the way it works. If you do not allow them to repair the floors, you must be able to prove that they are incapable of correcting the problems. If you do not allow them to repair the floors and do not pay them, they may lein your home. If you say "I can live with it and do not want anymore disruption in my life," then my suggestion is:
1) Pay them all the money that is owed but withold 10%
2) Enter into a new contract for them to repair/refinish the floors at a mutually agreed upon time in the future. Set a time limit; say, no more than 2 years.
3) At the completion of the repair/refinish, you will pay them the balance of the job (the 10% you with held).
4) there is no further cost to you over the original contract amount.

If you believe they are incapable of correcting the problem, you must be able to prove this in a court of law. Your opinion means nothing as you are not an expert. If you hire another contractor to make the repairs, you will be obliged to pay both the first guy and the second guy; unless a court dismisses the first contractor's bill. When in doubt, consult an attorney.

I have already given them a chance to fix the problem, and they chose to put another coat. They should have known that the sanding went bad and that they needed to redo everything instead of recoating. Instead, they blamed it all on wood. At that time it would not have been too inconvenient to me to have it completely redone, and I would have been happy to let them try to rectify the situation. Moreover, they did not even improve the finish with that last coat, so they have practically proven to me that they are not good at that either. They wasted their time and my time.

Am I still expected to let them do it again?

They don't know what they are doing. They did a piss poor job from the get go and then figured they could smooth out the chatter, stop marks, edger marks and what not by screening the dog dookie out of it. They could have cleaned up after themselves with a hardplate, but they obviously either do not own one, or they don't like to use it. It is much faster to simply learn how to sand a floor in the first place. That is about as bad a sanding job as I have ever seen.

It is not about what you or I think is fair or right. It is about the law. I suggest you consult an attorney. Personally, I know what they'll say but I cannot advise you on legalities. You will have to hear it yourself.

Following the suggestions of the experts on this board, we have requested a full refund, and to our complete surprise, they have agreed to send our 50% deposit back. Now I need to find someome else who would be able to fix the floors. I had one company look at the floors, but they sent someone who did not seem to understand much. He looked at the floors, went back to his van to bring a brochure describing various issue with wood floors, and ended up calling his boss for advice. In any case, they use mostly OMU saying that it is "much more durable" than water, so I will have to keep looking.

Generally, there are two options, a bigger company with several crews and a smaller company where the owner is the one who does the job.
The advantages of a bigger company is that if something goes wrong, there is a better chance to get response. The problem is you do not really know who will be doing the actual work, like in our case. They were very nice and responsive, but the execution was poor. I'd like to be able to talk to the person who will actually sand/refinish. Which way should I go?
In any case, it seems that water-based finishes are not as popular here in Massachusetts yet, so it is harder to find experienced people.

What would you recommend?

You guys see the stop mark from the drum at the door jam WOW // Some areas looks like the finish is puddled .. you are going to have to take a drum and 45 all the screwups out of the wood and then coat it .. Waterbase finish is not the problem .. any finish would look like that on that floor .. Good luck ..

Good night did someone ever wear out that floor. unacceptable from my armchair viewpoint.