How many of these do you have? Can you do a room photo with the issues tagged with blue tape? (little fyi...you use the same photo to send to the installers...to show how much of a mess they made)

A lot. probably 30-40 percent of the boards have some degree of putty. It's not just a few. But yes, I will do that with the tape. It's a good idea.

What type of finish is on them? How old is the finish? Digging out that much wood filler is a PITA. It might be more practical to stain the filler then it is to dig out and fill with the appropriate epoxy.

The first coat of Bona finish. I saw the filler with the first coat of poly. The filler is bona, too, which is water-based. It's my understanding it won't take stain?

The poly is two days old

What has the installing company said?

That they will restain the smaller ones, and re-putty the larger ones. I do not trust them at all at this point to fix anything correctly. There were several other things that happened. I told them mesquite could not be nailed and they nailed it (mostly in the tongue). I told them that about the epoxy (and forwarded an email from the sawmill) and they appeared to agree to it, then installed the putty without discussing with me first. The sanding guy said the sander was too big because it would take off too much of the .5 inch mesquite, and they said 'well that just means they need to be extra careful when sanding.' I insisted they bring in a smaller sander. I don't know what happened, but the entire house-from top to bottom- is now filthy. walls, air vents, AC return, rooms without wood floors....

So it's many, many different things.

As Uptown suggests, an attempt (as in 1) to fix is part of the building law in most states/provinces of N. America. Once they muck up the 'fix' you then have every right to have the floor fixed by another professional...on the first installer's dime.

I would look at negotiating something on paper before you go further with these guys...What's done is done. If you wait one year or 1 week it won't matter. The floor is still 'wrong'.

The 'fix' should be attempted...but with a MASSIVE CAVEAT (which you get in writing). You can get them to FIX the floor to YOUR satisfaction with the epoxy filler required by the mill AND you get them to REPLACE THE WARRANTY from the mill with their own warranty (which they voided by the improper installation with nails, etc). If they are unable to 'fix' the floor they replace the entire floor and install with proper technique.

See which one they decide to go with. Again, do this deal ON PAPER with all negotiations done PRIOR to the 'fix'. And that if there are any squabbles AFTER the fix, you reserve the right to hire an NWFA Certified Flooring inspector to review the product and the installation. The money to be recouped by the homeowner should the floor continue to be problematic.

Remember: you always have the ability to bring in an NWFA Certified Wood flooring inspector to view this oopsa...and they will put it in writing for you....but it costs money to do that. Try negotiating first and then see how interested they are in continuing with your.

If you are *lucky they will give you your money back and you will be able to start fresh with new company.

Thank you, both. I have two companies coming to take a look and give some reccomendations.

Before doing anything drastic I would buy an assortment of Mohawk markers and use them to adjust the color. It will likely look better than if all these voids were filled with black epoxy. Perhaps that's what your finisher is going to do to some of the light filler.

No. Touch nothing before you get others to look at this job and negotiate some sort of resolution. You touch it, you have compromised their bad job.