The poly should have been sanded off first. You should be able to sand only that area and stain.

Is it that simple? I'm wondering why he didn't do that if that's all that needed to be done.

Oh, how I HATE renovations. I'm so over mine at this point.

I just spoke to contractor - the issue isn't the poly (that was sanded off), it's with the sealer he put on before the poly. Even sanding it has not taken it off enough for those sections to absorb the stain like the rest of the floor.

I'm super concerned, it just doesn't look good at all. Somehow I have NO LUCK with floors (see my posts from March in the bathroom forum about my marble floor installation!!)

Was the sealer put on the rest of the floor when he stained it? Then the whole floor would have had same treatment and 'should' look the same?

I can only think of the solution of sanding the whole thing down and refinishing, unfortunately! I hope I'm wrong!

No, that's the issue. The sealer and poly was only on one section (under the appliances, and it was applied so that it comes onto a part in front of the appliances. Then he sanded the whole floor and applied oil stain. The areas where the sealer was applied did not absorb the stain in the same way as the rest of the floor and it's noticeable.

Here are some pictures:

I am guessing here, but I believe that to know what to do you need to know what is in the sealer and what removes it. If I were the contractor I would call the company that makes the sealer and explain the issue. But it is likely everything will need to be sanded down to raw wood. If it is a topical sealer that should it. If not topical (it is a sealer that is absorbed by the wood), he may need to use the sealer everywhere so everything absorbs evenly.

Jusy so you know, 2 coats of water based poly is not enough. They should do 3 or more.

claud

So sorry about your flooring issue

I am assuming "our contractor" is a GC - I would recommend he now get an expert on the job - a flooring sub, if he is not willing then you should & take that off his bottom line.

I would request the GC leave sealer, poly, stain out in the work area with written step by step explanation of what he did & where with the materials. Then when the flooring person comes they can determine the best method in making this right. If you have some scraps of the hardwood that may help with trial/error - applying same as the GC then what will take it down.

Your GC is ultimately responsible here - You may need to move the appliances back out of their location to get this done right. Make sure they move them onto a piece of plywood - those lil appliance wheels will dent your new hw that can not be removed (ask how I know this!)

Good luck

This is a job for ... floor stencils! Make a large faux marquetry square design based on the depth of the error areas and get nutty creative! In a few years you can sand it all off and start over.

or,,,,what about a long Gel Matt?

OMG, florantha, I love your thinking!!! I don't think I can do a stencil, but I was thinking about a gel mat in front of the stove.

Ah, I'm stressed out but whatever. Nothing ever comes out perfect, right? I guess at some point you've gotta give it up to the universe and just let what happens, happen!