I wonder if a meticulous touch up of the dots would work? Get this from home depot and do a section to see if you are satisfied. Take it down a notch and see if you can just find a solution that lasts years... that he pays for.

Starter boards will get faced nail to prevent the boards from shifting out of place. End boards also gets faced nail since, you lose the ability to blind nail up against walls. It just needs a better color matched filler.

As G&S points out this is just around the edges. Not a big deal. The finish looks good and the boards look tight. I think you are too focused because it’s brand new.

Keep in mind that a perfectly-matched filler now may no longer match perfectly in a couple years as the color of the wood floor/finish may change with time.

Hopefully the overall beauty of your chevron floors will far outweigh the less-perfect filler spots.

They could of tried to use wood dust mixed with wood glue, that might look more natural but still probably be visible. Fortunately those holes are really tiny so they don't stand out too much.

Doesn't get any better. You need an artist to get to your expectation that would require a different color putty for each hole to match the variable colors of natural wood. May have been easier if it were stained a more consistent darker color.

Compare to a similar nail down chevron floor, not a current glue down tongue & groove plank.

And yes, the standards are 5' away w natural vision, not a magnified close up.

That is a beautiful floor. You are welcome to get a stain pen kit and get on your hands and knees to custom color each little spec of filler! That is not a reasonable expectation for any installer without a huge upcharge though. Perhaps a glue down vinyl would have met your expectations for uniformity. A natural substance will have much more variability in appearance.

I'm glad that you are psychic and can see through the screen to the OP's home thousands of miles away, and then and stand 6' from the floor.

"Easily noticeable from 6' away."

Not with these eyes.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the close up photos but the putty is VERY VISIBLE FROM STANDING UP position. Camera is not doing the best job but its bad believe me. And they are everywhere - up and down every single board. These were Tongue and Groove special order white oak, no need for this many nails: not well placed or hidden. Each plank has up to 3 to 4 nails on either side. The putty looks like specs of white paint from afar. Some nails have putty, then others areas the guy did no putty - why?? The nails looks less obvious than the putty honestly and id prefer that. There’s no consistency which makes the job look worse.

Are you saying over time the putty will blend? can it be removed? he already resanded and stained but its didn’t change the look.

You still are not showing any pictures from an industry standard judgmement distance, not a close up. That last pic shows the filler is barely even visible at a foot or two above it. But you need to be standing, and shoot that picture of the floor from a distance. Without using the close up lens.

Has this flooring been applied on an existing subfloor?

What is the subfloor made-up of? Plywood? OSB? 1x planks? Any type of membrane? existing finished flooring?

Was the chevron wood floor glued to the subfloor?

DeWayne, i am taking the photo from a standing position in the last upload. But heres further…

We had new plywood put down. Then they used glue and the horrendous abundance of nails.

You don't point the camera straight down. Point it at a spot 6' from you.

The latest photo show that this looks really good from a distance. You're focusing on the details now because it's new, but I bet you won't notice it in a month. I would just let this go and be happy with the beautiful floors

If you guys could see in person I do not think youd have the same opinion that they look great.

Actually click on the photo. It’s low resolution just in the thread. I honestly wouldnt have done this pattern if i know i was going to have dots eveywhere. Will they minimize in time?

If any of your guests are offended by the way the chevron wood floor is installed, give them another drink and they will be fine.

I think the wood floor and furniture markers is a good idea and would even satisfy the home owner to a point that in a short period of time would enjoy the beauty of a white oak chevron floor and live happily ever after.

Nail set and a wax kit with a variety of colors and these would be inconspicuous in an hour or two. From inches away.

I think Joseph Corlett is right. Take your time and go over the nails with coloured wax and the spots would look much better.

Unless you have placed your phone camera above you head, those pictures are 4 feet away from the floor.

Stand 6 feet away from a spot on the floor as recommended above and shoot a picture as people would view your floor when entering the room.

NO ONE LOOKS STRAIGHT DOWN AT THE FLOOR EXCEPT YOU.

I’m sorry you’re so disappointed with your floors . Only you can decide if you can live with them or not . No one here can help you on the internet. You need to ask to have them redone and/or ask a lawyer about suing . It’s doubtful that the contractor will redo or refund and only you can decide if the expense and stress of a lawsuit is worth it to you . Personally, I’d let it go and live with them . They don’t look bad to me but I’m there .

Why did you choose this pattern if you didn't want face nails? You're not being reasonable.

" These were Tongue and Groove special order white oak, no need for this many nails: not well placed or hidden. "

Your not understanding wood flooring and the installation process required. The only complaint you should have is the color of the filler, it should be a better match. Putty sick like Joseph said and your good.

If the floor has been finished already (topcoated), then how would a stain pen or putty stick work?

Not botched at all. Very nicely done! I'm sorry that your expectations are not aligned with the natural reality of the pattern that you chose.

Britt I see what you’re saying about all the white dots and it saddens me to read the comments here. Apparently the world has changed and as someone stated above since we are “not Kardashaian’s“ we should all just get used to inferior work. There is very little pride in workmanship anymore and when things go wrong it’s the homeowners fault for not being more educated in the field of the profession/trade of the person they hired.

i would ask the person to come back and go over the nail holes with filler that matches each piece of wood better but if the floor is finished not sure it will last. Best of luck to you

Honestly, just get the color sticks (I got mine as a big box store for less than $10) - and dot it on the putty spots individually so that they match the grain color of the surrounding wood. There is no way that a contractor would match every little nail dot without a huge upcharge. It should take you very little time.

Color sticks wouldnt last with everyday use. they arent a long term solution.

But then the putty will come off on the feet of everyone that walks by and get tracked onto and ruin the recommended area rugs.

...unless the floors have not yet been finished. If they have not been finished, spend time with a stain pen, possibly after consulting with the floor installer to be sure the product you use is compatible with what the installer will be finishing with. You should not have to do this yourself in an ideal world. The installer should match the fills better. But apparently they have tried and failed so now it's on you.

I find the scratches more concerning.

Britt - my color stick corrections have lasted for the past 5 years with tons of everyday use.

Yeah. the scratches were from appliance installation. Since installer has to come back to correct sealer streaks he may have to use a more heavy duty sander…

still they don’t offend me as much as putty specks everywhere.

What you have is a standard installation method. Face nail where needed and blind nail whenever possible. For a nailless installation, meaning no visible face nails. There would be a upcharge, adhesives and extra labor needs to be accounted for. This needs to be communicated to the contractor and the contractor should have advise you of this option.

It is common to have face nails on site-finished floors. Nailless installation usually only applies to pre-finished flooring. A reason why Pre-finished flooring cost more to install compared to site-finished flooring.

They did not need to put that many face nails in. Face nails should be 12" or more apart. And you only need a nail about 3/4" or 1" in from the groove side for the width of your flooring. The tongue and groove side can be blind nail.

Britt: I assure you the wax sticks properly applied are permanent. The wax has a nice gloss.

It doesn't matter how many nails were needed. It doesn't matter if you can easily see the nailset. hole filler from 6 feet away or not. This is the same level of competency as is necessary when seaming countertop material. The products are available to do the job right. A pro knows what works to avoid disappointed clients and get good referrals for future work.

Anyone who deals with color matching at the pro level has the skill to easily do this job correctly with zero extra effort. The guys a lazy idiot. I wouldn't trust him on my crew.

I believe there’s a method of nailing in the individual planks on their sides so that there’s no nails visible at all. I just had this done on a floor that I just installed. See attached photo.

OP, if this was my floor, I would be upset too. The French herringbone is not supposed to have nails visible in each plank. This flooring type really should be glued and not nailed.

Looking at more of your pictures and seeing that every plank is like that, I think it would bother me

" Looking at more of your pictures and seeing that every plank is like that, I think it would bother me". Then you wouldn't specify a chevron pattern.

Daniel Kasten, you don't have a chevron pattern, so the strips are able to be blind nailed all along the length. However, I'm sure if you look closely you'll find face nails in the last few rows, parallel to the wall.

Cat builder, didn’t realize that the chevron pattern does t allow for bling nailing. I’ll be checking the last few rows now to see if you’re right. :)

Good news everyone. The contractor agreed on the botched job by the floor intsaller he brought in. He said ”Im sorry and Ive never seen so many nails used for tongue and groove and the putty job is terrible.” He agreed to split the cost of new wood and cover the installation/labor/sand and seal entirely.

@Britt Wilen, good for you!

In my area chevron floors use hidden nails and slip tongues. There is no need to face nail anything other than the starter boards.

I guess other areas use glue, but I would think slip tongues would still be preferable, but that might just be my bias.

When the new floor is finished, pls share some pictures !