"I've heard that not having a sealer makes it very likely that the floors will peel."

Where did you hear that? I've never heard it. There's reasons to apply sealer. That's not one I've heard.

Duraseal stain acts as a sealer. Not sure what "Bona's natural sealer" is but if you look up the directions for Traffic you'll see that a sealer is only needed over a natural floor.

It does not look like your floor is water popped.

Thanks for the feedback. Our floor refinisher literally told us that he always uses a sealer and that if you use a Duraseal stain with a Bona finish, you need to use a sealer to ensure it doesn't peel. I think he just didn't want to spend any extra time on our floors, because he initially put the sealer in the closets and then decided not to use it and just put the Bona Traffic on top of the wood.

I don't think he water popped it either, even though he said he did. As well, I paid extra to get Bona Traffic HD and he said that's what he applied, but there's two containers on Bona Mega One he left in my house and one is empty, so it's hard to trust anything he says.

Is there anyway to figure out what finish was actually applied to the floors?

The scratches you see in the floor are from poor sanding- a rough grit was used to cut the edges but was not properly finished with smoother grits, the stain highlighted those scratches. He did waterpop the floors- those round dark spots are where his sweat dripped and water popped it causing the grain to open and accept more stain (OK that's a little sarcasm, but it is what caused those dark spots imho). And your first picture with the chip? Ugh. The bona seems to be the least of your problems

Thank you for the feedback. The scratches are mostly around the closets, so I guess he just didn't care to finish it properly. Is there anything I can do about the chips and dark spots at this point? The floors are too old and thin to be refinished again, so I don't know options I have. The chip in the first picture must have happened after the stain right, because otherwise it would have picked up the stain colour?

This is my first home and first time having floors refinished and I went with one of the top reviewed companies in my area, it's so frustrating to have it be done so poorly and to have them lie to me about the work that was done. I feel like having the floor ripped out at this point it makes me so sad to look at it.

There's even more cracks and holes and the parts where he filled in the cracks look terrible too.

I am not an expert in Bona at all... but this does not look finished. Also, isn't he supposed to use bona stains (not duraseal?)

It doesn't feel finished at all either. My socks were catching on the floor and it feels like you'll get a splinter if you rub against it. I think his application of bona was wrong as well. From the videos I've seen on bona, you're supposed to pour it on the floor and then roll it along, but he only lightly dipped his roller in a paint tray before rolling it on. It was dry and he was walking on it within 20 min, which does not seem right at all.

From what I've read, you can use Duraseal stain with bona products, so long as you use a sealer in-between, otherwise the two products can react poorly with each other.

Did your contractor properly sand the floor before applying the what he claims is the seal? If he is trying to correct the look of the overall stain, buffing may work, but only in certain areas. It looks like those spots on the floor would need to be corrected with resanding, which the contractor should cover given the fact that those spots were placed there by his workers. Have you thought of reporting the contractor?

I assume he sanded properly, but I was not in the house at the time so I can't be sure. The problem is the floors are old and thin - this was the last time they could be refinished, so I don't think it is possible to re-sand in order to correct them at this point.

I've followed up with the contractor but he won't admit that anything is wrong. I don't know what else I can do now.

Over a competitors stain, it is best to apply a one part water base finish such as Bona Mega as a sealer, prior to applying Traffic HD to prevent peeling. If, your contractor used Bona stain. He can apply Traffic HD over it directly. Applying Bona's sealer over a competitors stain can cause peeling.

Your floor does not look like it is complete, yet. Ask what the next step is and how many coats are left to apply.

It is normal to have a rough surface if, the floor has been water popped. Also, a water base finish will cause grain raise. This is normal and it will get smooth down by sanding the finish.

Your wear layer does not look thin. I do not see any signs of fasteners coming through the wear layer. Additional sanding should not be a issue. You can confirm it by sticking a business card in a gap, make a bend and measure the bend. Minimum wear layer is 3/32.

You should ask a Bona rep for more info, if, you still have concerns.

The contractor advised that we would not be able to re-sand the floors after this. Nails are already visible in certain areas and there are cracks between the boards.

Judging by the stain colour, it doesn't look.like it was actually water popped. Should the floor still have a rough texture even if it wasn't? The contractor applied Bona traffic directly over the Duraseal stain, though he initially said he would put a sealer in between. The finish is supposed to be satin but it doesn't quite look that way so far. He came to put the final coat on today, and was supposed to use Bona Traffic HD but just used the regular Bona Traffic instead, so we'll see what it looks like tomorrow.

Yes, the floor can still have grain raised even when not water popped. Just not a severe as compared to if, it was water popped. Regarding the number of coatings and type of finish being applied. You will need to review your quote and see what it states in writing, before disputing. Hopefully, you are not going by a verbal contract.

Thanks, that's good to know. Our quote stated that there would be stain, sealer and two coats of Bona Traffic HD, but our contractor is not following this, and keeps trying to tell us it's okay and that everything is going according to plan. He's done so many weird things, I really don't understand - he applied sealer on top of the stain, but only in the closets for some reason, so now the closets are darker than the rest of the floors and there's little circles of discoloration from where the sealer dripped onto the main floors. On the first day, he applied a mix of Bona Mega and Boba Traffic and tried to tell us everything was Bona Traffic HD, until we found the empty bottle of Mega. Then on the second day he said he applied Traffic HD, but we found an empty container of regular Bona Traffic. It's just been so frustrating and horrible being lied to again and again, I don't know what to do at this point.

Stop the job and workout a new agreement.

Contractor will need to repair the descrepancy in the stain and finish. As far as the traffic hd goes, They need to fullfill the contract or credit you.

Thanks for the advice. The contractor says that they can not repair the discrepancy in the stain colour, because they would have to sand it down completely and the floors are too thin to do that. They told us before they started that this would be the last time we could sand and refinish the floors - is that legitimate?

They are willing to come back today and put a coat of traffic HD on, but who can believe that's what they'll actually do at this point?

You are getting a real hodgepodge of products applied haphazardly. I would stop any work and regroup, now before they foul it up any further. You cannot just keep throwing different products on top of each other and expecting the finish to be acceptable.

Thanks, I completely agree. It's just frustrating because they keep lying about what is being applied to the floors. And because the floors are too old and thin to be refinished again, if I stop the work, what are my options now? I've already paid half the fee, do I just cut my losses, fire them and put down new floors?

None of us can answer that for you- we can’t really see the floor or how much wear layer you have left.

Who was the contractor? We had a similar BAD experience with Floor Coverings International. The floors were in great condition we just wanted a different color stain. Wish I had just left them as they were. The floor never looked like it was sealed. We “lived” in our backyard in our camper to stay out of the way while they were working and trusted they’d do what needed to be done. First mistake. They sanded and stained. We saw these steps. Didn’t see any use a sealant if any type whatsoever. When it was done, I even called our salesman back saying they didn’t look finished/sealed. Less than a year later and the floors look TERRIBLE. We called them again last week to say something wasn’t right hoping they’d take the path of integrity and make it right. But NOPE. We are out 5 grand and have floors ways worse than they were before. I guess our only recourse is an attorney at this point. DO NOT USE FLOOR COVERIBGS INTERNATIONAL for refinishing your floors.