Nail spots visible on floors

4 years ago

I recently had our carpet removed and hardwood installed in our living room, connecting to hardwood we already have in our breakfast area. The wood used was nailed in place. I expressed my concern about the spots prior to staining, but was told they would be covered. After staining, the nail spots are visible and bother me (it spans about 9ft long). I brought this up to the company that did the work. They said they cannot re do the floors and have offered me a discount. I am honestly over the back and forth. What is a reasonable discount?

(1st photo, up close, 2nd photo, the length of the area)

Featured Answer

Lyndee Lee

4 years ago

Is this where new material was laced into the existing flooring? I understand why you don't like it but I don't know if there was any better option to secure the boards. When new boards are slid into the spaces between existing boards, the tongue isn't accessible for blind nailing. No flooring installer enjoys face nailing boards but accepts that it is required in some situations.

Every project is a balancing act between best possible appearance and practical methods of installation and the decisions about how much to spend on what aspect of the project. You coud have avoided those nails in the center if the room by ripping everything out and doing the entire space. Then you woud ony have face nailed boards at the edge of the room where the gun doesn't fit. However, that approach would have required lots more money to avoid some little spots you won't even notice after you start using the space. As long as you don't point those nails out to your visitors, no one will notice them and even if they did, they wouldn't care.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

PRO
BobH
4 years ago
I can’t believe they surface nailed a T&G hardwood floor! I’d demand a 100% discount and get someone to rip it out and do it right.
Related Professionals
Tampa General Contractors · Anchorage General Contractors · Taunton Basement Remodeling · Edmonton Basement Remodeling · Champaign Bathroom Remodelers · Harrisburg Bathroom Remodelers · Great Bend Flooring Contractors · Salina Flooring Contractors · Amherst Flooring Contractors · Wheeling Flooring Contractors · Tacoma Flooring Contractors · Davenport Tile and Stone Contractors · Kalispell Tile and Stone Contractors · Rock Hill Kitchen Remodelers · Lima Kitchen Remodelers
Lyndee Lee
4 years ago
Hopefully one of the flooring pros will offer their advice, but I am not seeing major issues. I wouldn't expect more than a token discount.
User
4 years ago
I agree Lyndee. I'm not a flooring expert either, just an idiot home owner. LOL. But I had new hardwoods laced into an existing floor and so I had the same issue. It looks like a pretty darn good install to me too.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
4 years ago
The installation is acceptable. The job looks good. The contractor is nice enough to offer a discount. They will probably black list you afterwards.
PRO
BobH
4 years ago
The only place they would have had to face nail is at a new board between 2 existing boards. I see face nails in places where they did not need any. There are only a couple spots in your pics where I could expect a face nail. They did nothing to minimize it as they should have plus they used huge nails and did a poor job hiding the nail holes with matching putty.
Elsie V
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you all for responding. I just wanted to make sure they weren’t trying to pull one over on me! I did accept the discount, which they offered without me asking, just so you know. Luckily, I have not been blacklisted… yet lol