Software
Houzz Logo Print
mariana_farris

Newly refinished pine flooring staining easily

5 years ago

Hi all. I had my pine wood flooring professionally refinished. Contractor did not seal the floors, only used 3 coats of Bona Traffic Finish. It's been 1 week since I moved in to my house and whatever spills on the floor that are not cleaned within 2 hours are causing my floors to stain so easily. I'm so frustrated and hired a professional because I did not want to mess up my floors myself. I have read that a coat of sealant an two of poly would give me a better result. None of this was discussed prior to the job being done. Contractor is coming back tomorrow to see the floors, they look really bare wood and is giving me anxiety as I have to walk around the house with a dry mop in case there are spills I don't see happening. Does it need to be completely redone? TIA

Comments (3)

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Does not even look like one coat. Verify with the contractor..

  • 5 years ago

    He said he has done 3 coats of Bona Traffic professional grade. I saw them applying at least 2 coats and I threw away the bottles myself. He is coming tomorrow to see the floors again, but it truly looks like there is no protection to the floors.

  • 5 years ago

    You have standing grain. That tells me he didn't 'knock down' the grain between coats. Pine has LOTS of tannins in it. It is normal to use a PRIMER/SEALANT over white oak, pine, fir, etc. to stop the wood going a snick darker.


    My other concern is the *possibility you have adhesion failure. That is what happens when the finish does NOT grab onto the wood properly. We often see light 'white looking' patches on wood floors where the finish is LIFTING off of the wood. I can't tell if that is happening but it is something you will want to understand before you chat with refinisher.


    Here are SOME of the things you want to know about your job:

    1. How MANY GALLONS of product were applied over the 3 coats?

    2. How many SQUARE FEET of flooring was finished?

    3. How much time between coats?

    4. How long before YOU moved back into the space?

    5. How long before you did your FIRST WET cleaning (ie. slightly water-damp mop run over the wood)?


    What I'm looking for is:

    1. Bona Traffic has coverage of (roughly) 300-350sf PER GALLON on the FIRST COAT! That's it.

    2. A light sanding was done to KNOCK DOWN the grain

    3. Bona Traffic 400sf per GALLON for 2nd coat and for the third coat

    4. Only TWO COATS can be done PER DAY regardless of the 'dry time'

    5. Light sanding done before the last coat (you need at least ONE light sanding down...either after the first coat or before the third coat...some guys do it twice and they are worth their weight in gold....just sayin').

    6. 7-10 days FOR FULL CURE before the floors are used (especially wet or splash areas). Ideally the house would remain empty for these 10 days from the time the last coat was applied).

    7. First 'damp' cleaning is done 14 - 28 days AFTER the last coat was applied. NOTHING SOONER. Even though the full cure has happened, the finish is still soft and susceptible to water intrusion.


    To do the math for your finish amount, let's PRETEND you have 1000sf of flooring:

    First coat = 3 GALLONS of Bona Traffic (is it Traffic HD or is it the traditional TRAFFIC????)

    Light sanding

    Second Coat = 2.5 - 3 gallons of Traffic (nothing sooner than 6-8 hours after first coat)

    (light sanding done if the SANDING is NOT done after first coat)

    Third Coat = 2.5 gallons of traffic (nothing sooner than 6-8 hours after second coat or NEXT DAY)

    Total gallons: 8 gallons to be used over 1000sf of flooring. Assume $150/gallon = $1200 for polyurethane alone. Labour is on top of that.


    Total cost to sand and finish (install is different): $5 - $7/sf for Bona Traffic HD.


    There you go...that should give you a great place to start.


    Feel free to fill us in if you KNOW something did or did not happen.

Sponsored
Mary Shipley Interiors
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars34 Reviews
Columbus OH Premier Interior Designer 10x Best of Houzz