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kiwiinla

Is my contractor cutting corners

2 years ago

We hired a contractor to refinish our solid maple floors in our living/kitchen area, 600-700 sq/ft. He came with great recommendations and reviews.

Day one owner and two crew sanded and sealed the floors and we were told to stay off until they returned the next day.

Day two the owner returned to do the first coat. we asked why the small holes hadn’t been filled. His response was that they did fill the holes yesterday but the filler must have fallen out during the sanding and that he would take care of it, so we left him to it. He finished the first coat and left. He returned a few hours later to do the second coat and we saw that the holes hasn’t been filled only to be told he didn’t have any filler the right color and that i could fill it after it was finished. i tried to aurgue that doesn’t sound right and that the filler should be under the finish only to be shut down by him and that is the way its done. He buffed it and did the second coat, left and told us to leave it for 24 hours.

Day three we went up to see the finish. We could see a bit of orange peel effect it the finish. the holes never filled but now looked like white filler in some of the holes. messaed him that we were disappointedpointed.

Day four he returned to recoat with a t bar applicator. Again leave it for 24hours. He also sent the final invoice.




Day five we went look at it. We could see what looked like a buffed floor with no finish on it in the kitchen. His hair was the finish in a couple on spots. notified him again and he wants to come and do another coat the next day.

NWFA contractor

windows and doors all closed, no AC or fans going. Gloomy and damp on day two. Overcast on day four.

Finish product Loba 2k supra satin (He pushed hard to do the matte)

Is okay to use filler on finished product? All the directions I’ve read state to only use filler on bare wood. Holes are from joist locating and snap off fastening screws 1/16-1/8th.

Not sure I can deal with another sub par finish or keep living out of our bedroom and garage. Should I contact a NWFA inspector? Not sure how to proceed.

Comments (8)

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    This contractor has failed to accurately assess the fussiness and sophistication level of his customer. That's never good.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Are these photos of the finish product?


  • 2 years ago

    Yes photos are the finished product

  • PRO
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Almost no one fills maple. Those are character marks, and part of why you deliberately choose maple. It's not like they are giant knot holes. If you want a smooth plastic looking floor, get plastic.

  • 2 years ago

    There are two types of filler used when finishing wood floors. Floors are trowel filled between sanding operations if needed and between coats as needed. This sounds like what your contractor was doing. Because filler doesn't stick well to Maple (and can come of from the vibration from sanding machines), it's customary to putty prior to the final coat. If some filler in holes is too light I'd recommend having it touched up with a Mohawk marker rather than trying to dig it out and re-putty. Obviously one can putty holes and gaps that naturally develop in floor without having to apply a coat of urethane over top. One would be foolish to apply urethane yearly over floors that develop seasonal gaps that require regular filling.

    I suspect that one of your finish coats might have been rolled, resulting in a surface texture. This is the prescribed method for many finishes now, with predictable results. I'm not sure how far along the process was in your pictures. The first and second look unacceptable while the third looks good. Your finisher likely recommended matte for two reasons. One is due to its popularity, while the second is due to the difficulty in getting Maple to look decent.

    No site finished floor is ever going to be perfect, so while you have some legitimate concerns, it sounds like you may also have unrealistic expectations ("His hair was the finish in a couple on spots"). My philosophy it to shoot for 100% and settle for 95%, but it's fair to note that once it's used, a 100% or 95% result is going to go downhill. Maple is very smooth and it shows every imperfection. Every floor is going to have small flaws like dust or hair in the finish, a holiday that needs to be retouched, a drip of finish and so on. I've had customers insist on recoating floors that were 90% to 95% perfect, with minor flaws in insignificant spots, only to have something worse happen. Examples of worse things are screening swirls, excessive trash or hair in the finish (especially in highly visible areas), having someone walk in the wet finish, streaks, large holidays, puddles etc. Don't drive yourself and others crazy by being unrealistic and consider that with each successive coat, you get closer to a point where the floor has so much finish that it looks like plastic and the whole process has to be started over, with the same challenges you have now.

    Good luck!

    Jim thanked Timothy Winzell
  • 2 years ago

    Thank you. The contractor returned and did a great job refinishing the floor. I do realize my expections were set too high, he sold it well. I will always notice the holes he failed to fill as the dimples in the finish are easy for me to see. Is there a way to put drop of finish into the dimples or will I end up making it look worse?

  • 2 years ago

    You might make is worse. You could try doing one in an inconspicuous area to gauge probability of success. Another option would be to find a furniture repair specialist with burn-in shellac sticks. One of my guys has fixed some things I thought would be a real issue, in a matter of minutes.