Call your floor contractor and have him look at it and correct.....also check out floor refinishing with poly finish problems on houzz or you tube for more info....also I think there is a post on Houzz recently with a similar problem and some great feed back....good luck.

How have you protected the floors? Felt pads under your furniture? Cutting your dog’s nails short weekly? What type of humidification system does your home have for these dry winter conditions?

You have to take active measures to care for your floors. That includes protecting them from scratching. Pets scratch floors unless you keep their nails trimmed short. And it includes maintaining the proper indoor humidity. Dry wood shrinks and will telegraph the lines between the boards.

I have felt pads under furniture and get my dogs groomed regularly. I do not have a humidifier. We had existing wood floors previously and didn’t have an issue. Something so simple as pushing a box across the floor will scratch them. I’ve never seen floors scratch so easy

Did the floor guy push a box across the floor? If not, look at the person who did. You should never slide anything on a wood floor unless you're okay with scratches.

What type of finish was used? Some finishes are more scratch resistant than others but none can hold up to something being slid across it if there's a staple protruding or grit on the floor. I've observed people treating their newly refinished floors the same way they treated their older floors. The fresher the finish, the more likely it will scratch. Dark stain accentuates the scratches as does the smoothness on newly finished floors.

The light scratches can probably be disguised with a color marker like the ones made by Mohawk but try one on an inconspicuous area first.

The lines between the boards are from the finish stretching across a gap, probably as it the wood slightly. I see a few of these in your first picture but not in any of the others. If it's widespread it could be indicative of a larger issue.

They did a mix of satin and a touch of semigloss to add shine. A furniture delivery person pushed a box across our floor and the company is compensating us. I understand darker floors show a lot more but this is ridiculous. My floors look years old and we’ve only lived on them for a month. Aldo the floor person used #1 floors without my contractors knowledge. Does the quality of the floor matter?

Not really. The quality of the wood won't affect surface scratches in the finish. It's all in the quality of the finish, unless you use wood so soft than it indents easily, like White Pine or Fir.

That's so frustrating. I've mentioned to others that unless special care is taken, new floors get years worth of wear from contractors coming back to address punch-out items. I can't count how many times I've had to rework a brand new floor due to a technician rolling a refrigerator back and forth on a brand new floor.

If you have anyone coming back to do more work it's a good idea to buy a supply of booties. If they're going to be going back and forth, insist on a runner of RamBoard or at least rosin paper (and make sure there's no grit underneath). Mats outside and inside every entry point will cut down on grit and frequent vacuuming pays dividends.

Was that a mix of oil based polyurethane? Oil poly takes 30 days to cure fully but like oil paint, it can be rather soft when first applied.

Johnson Flooring is on it! The stain is SHOWING you scratches. If this was a natural finish (no stain) you wouldn't even know you had a scratch.

And a fresh finish is SUPER DELICATE for the first 30+ days!!!! And I mean super delicate. Yes, technically you can place furniture on it....but it will NOT take any form of beating for AT LEAST 30+ days. After that, it is completely cured and as tough as it will ever get.

The product name for the finish will tell us how "good" (or not) the finish is. And how many COATS of finish were applied. Believe it or not, there should be THREE coats total. The contractor might use 1 coat of sealant and then 2 coats of polyurethane for a total of 3 coats. Or they will simply go for 3 coats of finish. It is *possible that you only have 2 coats. It is *possible you have a low grade/cheap finish on here. Or you simply have a floor that was lived on while it was still in the delicate stage. Or you have a combination of all three.

The visible white scratches are due to the COLOUR. This is considered a medium-dark floor. Scratches will be HIGHLY visible on these floors. It is the nature of the beast.

As for the white lines on the short ends of the boards, it is due to the boards shrinking in dry winter air. The finish seems WELL BONDED (that's a good thing) and it is JUST the edges that are turning white. Excellent. Go ahead and turn UP your HUMIDITY CONTROL on your upgraded heating/cooling system. It should be a finger-tip control setting that allows you to increase the humidity levels in your home. If you don't think you have one, then you will need to get one. The wood needs it or it will continue to shrink. The white lines will eventually crack causing visible gapping. Righting now, this is easily reversed by turning up your Humidistat. If you don't have one I suggest you purchase one.

IMO the stain did not dry enough. What brand stain was used? The driers in some mfg's stain takes decades to dry, which causes adhesion issues when not completely dried. Especially, dark colors like dark walnut, which has a lot of pigments in it. Quick drying stains come in handy and helps prevent these issues. Look for stains that uses ethanol or naphtha for driers.

I know they used duraseal Jacobean. I asked for 3 coats of poly so I’m hoping that’s what I got. I’m not sure what brand they used. We were out of the house for almost a week while they did the floors.

Duraseal has two types of stain, regular penetrating 8 hour dry stain, with mineral spirit as drier. Mineral spirit dries slow and remains oily. So, 8 hours or overnight may not be enough, 72 hours isn't unheard of either. This is probably the stain type used on your project. Insufficient drying equals delamination and easily scratched floor.

Duraseal Quick coat, which has a 2 hour drying time, has ethanol (denatured alcohol) . Drying is much faster, so If allowed to dry overnight, there is a low to no risk of adhesion issues.

How many square feet was stained?

Unless you know what type of finish and brand and line, not much I can say about your predicament.

Denise, did you ever get this resolved? We recently had white oak floors installed and they scratch so easily. My husband calls them "delicate" and we are quite upset. This is our third house with hardwood floors and they've all had dark stain. We've never had floors scratch this easily.

I'm hoping you have some great insight for me!

@ ahilliard

Please start a new thread with photos and name of products.

We had the same problem with a dark stain over white oak. Contracter used Bona stain, and 3 coats of water based satin finish. Each dried at least 12 hours between coats. Our floors were very hard previously in the “golden oak” (natural) color but had yellowed and we didnt like the color. Now they scratch SO easily, as in drop a spoon and it scratches and dents the floor. We don’t wear shoes in the house either. Does not seem right.

All the scratches 1 month later seem random, not from furniture, which is all on felt pads. What went wrong here?? I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.

@ homeowner7789 please start a new thread with photos please.

I’m having the same problem with my satin finish
It’s a nightmare!

We recently had solid oak stairs put in. The carpenter used Bona after he stained it and said it would take several weeks to cure and to not wear shoes on the stairs, only soft slippers for a few weeks. It cured beautifully, is scratch proof and durable. We are quite happy with it❣️

Water base finishes needs time to cure to be durable. You have to becareful with it during the curing time. Always add extra time to the recommended cure time.