They need to pull the plank and drop a new one in. Whomsoever damaged it, pays for it. This is not an acceptable patch.

This works with natural coloured wood, but deep coloured floors = need a new plank. Any flooring installer worth his salt can drop in a new plank without much effort.

Thanks for the info.! Appreciate it!

Well, judging by the screen/swirl mark around the gray "filler" that was used... the floor was sanded in place. That detail as well as the fact that it's a VERY dark color (Ebony?), make "dropping in a new plank" problematic at best.

There's a lot riding on what products were used for stain/finish as well as the capabilities of the person attempting a finish repair on the floor. Quite honestly, IMHO, whoever did the original work probably can't pull it off. (sorry if that sounds snarky).

This is one of the drawbacks to site finished floors... as opposed to a prefinished choice.

So be careful... you may start out with an boo-boo that's 2" in diameter, and end up with one that's 2 feet.

Yes - Ebony stain. A tough call... So disappointing on brand new floors. If I don't get it fixed... It'll be a constant reminder everytime I open my front door. I do appreciate all your advice. At least I know how to approach the contractor/floor guy.

Board repairs on a site finished floor can be done by a very well trained pro. It is tedious to say the least. I would replace board I'd dig out that filler and do an oak filler and once that dries stain filler only then touch it with finish. Again on the VERY WELL TRAINED WILL BE ABLE TO PEEFORM THIS REPAIR without an excuse. Good luck!

My only other advise after looking at the pics supplied by homeowner is this.....
By a pros standards that stain job doesn't look even which I assume is why the floor sander cannot fix up that board.
Perhaps best is you get what u pay for ? I've said this on many,many other threads-put your budget on par with your expectations!!!!!!! Seems to me that you paid the bargain price and you got the bargain fix?? I'm elaborating from what I can see in the pics. Food for thought..... If you let the homeless guy shovel your sidewalks or clean your car windshield do u expect royal quality? This comment is non binding or fully true but completely based on clients information. Hope this helps!! Hire ONLY NWFA certified installers and this problem would easily be remedied. Then again what do I know........ (Sad face inserted).....

@Ultimate...

Hey Ol' Buddy, let's slow our roll for a second.

With all due respect; It's not reasonable to "assume" the original poster was allowing a (bargain) price to influence their decision... there are PLENTY of self proclaimed "experts" in the industry who perform work which is passable at best, yet are able to convince the customer they are "artisans". I'm sure you know a few.

And unfortunately, some of them hold the certification you like to promote, so that's not a guarantee of quality results IMHO.

For that matter, the poster hasn't even suggested who performed the original work... it was yours truly who simply hinted that whoever did, was less than likely able to fix the dent/defect.

For all we know, the work may have been performed by a friend or family member, but let's face it... there are MANY "professionals" (with/without certifications) that are capable of getting away with finish work on VERY light colors or natural... but are completely beyond their depth with medium to dark colors. Ebony is a true test...

Full disclosure... I haven't been affiliated with the National Wood Flooring Assoc. (NWFA) since the early nineties... for a number of reasons... the primary being that they became the INTER-national Wood Flooring Assoc., without bothering to change their name when they switched focus/loyalties.

That's here nor there, but my point is that a certification by no means qualifies or DISQUALIFIES anyone for performing quality work.

I'll put my capabilities against anyone's, regardless of how many associations they affiliate with.

@select
Yes this can be true about the certifications-however- if you make any contacts within our industry ... like Tom Ourada(wood floor of the year),Kjell Nymark,Wayne Lee,Avi Hadad,etc the common thread that binds IS their certification. Anyone who is operating at a true craftsmanship level has taken training. Having said that why is it that this " old guard" installers/finishers won't take training? How do you find out about all the latest techniques/tools? Joining up with the National Wood Flooring Assc can only further your skill set. And yes there will always be "duds" but that goes for anything in life really.Dont be shy Dave show up for a course or two. I'm sure you will not only make good contacts but learn a thing or two. I believe you can teach an old dog new tricks( har har har sorry couldn't help myself). Don't knock it till you try it!!!!

If you are not happy with what the floor people or who ever damaged the floor are going to do, find a faux painter who is REALLY good at doing faux bois to make the repair. The door you see to the right is faux bois not wood stain. It can be done.

Furniture repair guys are really good at this type of repair if you wanted to go that route. As my esteemed colleague @select has mentioned not so easy to repair a blemish on an ebony stained floor.....

Not sure if I am being thick here or not BUT couldn't that plank be pulled out and replaced?

@Margo..

You? Thick??? what are the chances? haha

The problem isn't in replacing the board(s)... the difficulty comes in BLENDING the repaired pieces into the existing floor, which was sanded & finished "in place"... I'm confident I could do it... maybe even @Ultimate could get close (haha)...

Were it a PREFINISHED product (our preference & specialty), there wouldn't be more than an hour or two at most in labor to remove & replace.

And nobody would ever know the difference. (provided the person performing the repair was capable, and there was an extra board or two left over from the original install).

OK- so if they had new oak floors installed and then stained, why not take a left over piece of that new oak floor, sand it, and stain it the same color they used to stain the floor??? OR am I being thick again??

I performed a similar repair a few months back. I removed damaged the board. I ran the new board thru a planer and refinished it( I'm sure @Select will be all over me for this) and installed newly prefinished board. No overwood. Perfect match. Of course who the hell has a portable thickness planer in the trailer?? Lol guilty.

@Ultimate...

Hey Dude, that's what makes the difference between a full blown "woodworker" and some "hack" pretending to be one.

When you're the real deal, you can pull a rabbit out of your hat at will, and make things happen! :-)

Ebony stain

It is true...

Throw a rug over it...bye bye dent! This is horrible. I believe the guys above are correct. It's a tough fix but if it's an entry way, maybe you'll have a rug there anyway? I had a similar situation in my home where the flooring guys scratched the floor I wasn't planning to replace and had to sand it and refinish, only somehow, somewhere along the line someone put another scratch in it after.... it's still there somewhere under my rug... Out of sight, out of mind... Maybe ask for a partial refund of money in exchange for living with the damage under the rug, if they're not confident in their repair skills that is..