It will be interesting to hear what others have to say. Those aren't scratches but chips at the end of the boards. I would think that is either a quality problem with the boards or an install issue. Did you see the product out of the box?

Sorry just reread and saw that you said install issue. I would be concerned that the ends chipped that easily during install. That would not be acceptable to me. Sorry for future delays.

so sorry. hoping you hear from some experts.

Take a picture of the leftovers. That’s an installer issue.

I had the exact same problem with a prefinished white oak too. It was at the end of a long build and I was too worn down to care. The good news is life did a fine job of smoothing the rough bits and edges down and years later I think it looks fine. However I will never again use prefinished for just this reason.

Can you take a picture of your floor that represents what the floor looks like from standing eye level?

However I will never again use prefinished for just this reason.

My prefinished is perfect so it's not the flooring, it's the installer.

The GC is incompetent. He has never checked for quality on anything. I have been the only one discovering problems and there so many it's starting to get depressing. I will check the extras today but I'm quite certain it's an install issue not a manufacturing issue.

:(

Can you see it when you walk across it? If not, move on. Unless the edges are rough and catch on your socks, move on. You have already been delayed. You want to move into the house. Pick your battles. If you can't really see it and it doesn't give you splinters, pick another hill on which to die.

It’s a functional issue if the finish is chipped and allows moisture and dirt into the wood below. That makes for a short term floor, where the chips begin to expand. And then more moisture and dirt and more damage.

It isn’t acceptable in any installation. If it shows up on the planks in the box, then it was a manufacturer defect that should have been rejected by the installer and not installed. If it’s impact damage from a damaged block or wedge during install, that too is an installer issue.

It doesn’t matter the source of the issue. It’s in the installer’s shoulders. And thus on the GC’s shoulders. Most likely, he didn’t hire a true flooring contractor as his sub. Many GC’s tend to like to wring out all the pennies by hiring cheap barely skilled labor instead of proper skilled subs.

@mark. Here are a few photos "from eye level."

The ‘damage’ is far too consistent and the glaze appears to be in the ‘chips’. I think this is a manufacturing issue. Unfortunately it will say on the box words to the effect of ‘installation is acceptance’.

Looks like tear-out from when the boards were cut.

As I and Hallett have pointed out, this is on the GC. The "installation is acceptance" is the BIG problem.

Here is ONE WAY to get in AND get what is your due: Ask for the money back for the flooring. Yep. Tell the GC you will 'accept' this unacceptable floor by accepting the return of YOUR funds.

The GC KNOWS this is going to cost TOO MUCH to want to fix. The cost of labour = his cost. Cost of removal/disposal of the existing floor = his. Cost of purchasing replacement product = his cost. If you take the money, it saves everyone time and money. The GC knows it...and now you know it. GCs (as you have discovered) often take the easy way out.

To move this along and to get you back into your home, you can offer a solution. You can tell them you will accept the money back that was allotted for the floor. I know this is NOT what you wanted, but it does EVERYTHING you need it to do. It gets you in the house, it gets you MONEY in your pocket AND it gets a 'new floor' whenever you tire of this one.

As unfair as it is to have an imperfect floor in a new house, it is a HUGE BONUS to have several THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in your bank account at the end of a build. And I mean MANY THOUSANDS of dollars. A floor like that should cost $10 - $15/sf (including install...which you will want back). The math gets quite easy from there.

Just something to think about.

Will be interested in what any flooring pros have to say, what was the cause, who the manufacturer is etc.

WELL...I'm waiting for confirmation from the distributor, but I think that "butchered" edge is a design feature of the wood. When I found my way to the manufacturer's website, I see that this wood has a "distressed edge" described as "a distinctive edge that contributes to the vintage look and adds floor character." Character indeed! @HALLETT & Co. I'm very impressed with your astute eye to know this was a manufacturing "issue"! https://www.timbertop.eu/product/rocky-mountains/

The good news is that if it’s a feature of the product, presumably they have done it in such a way that it doesn’t weaken the finish, so I wouldn’t worry nearly as much about it. It also means, however, that the GC is unlikely to be willing to do anything about it, since it was a known characteristic of the product you chose, and any issue is aesthetic, not functional.

But I wouldn’t think it would delay your move, which is a big win.

It appears to be a cerused product. This is where the the underlying white tones are created. The process requires wire brushing before it starts the coloring process. The result can't be avoided. The ends are not defective, although I can see where one piece should have been flagged and cut out.

All prefinished wire brushed hardwoods will have this on the butt joints due to the direction planks are fed into the finish lines. However, they will not be noticeable on natural or stained products unless you're looking for problems while crawling on the floor.