Hardwood floor screw up - update in replies

[Mrs.flang]

We just had all of our floors refinished with the renovation.  There are two spots in the kitchen area that we noticed right away were not finished right.  They are darker than the rest and look too stained.  There's also two planks where they didn't putty in the screw holes so you can see the screws.  Of course all of these mess ups are right in the line of site when you are walking down the stairs or in from the front door.

We are about to wrap up this reno and go through punch list items, and one of the workers just told me that in order to fix these mistakes, we would have to move all the furniture out again, and move out for a week so that they could re-do the entire first floor.  That they can't just patch the one area.  This doesn't make sense to me and I am livid.  He said they'd offer a credit instead but that means I have to live with this screw up?  I'm so pissed.  Does that sound right?  Why can't they sand down this section and match it?  I wish we hadn't even bothered with real hardwood at this point.

[Susie]

I think it would be difficult to match the stain on just one spot, because if they sanded down the spot that needs fixing and then re-stained it, it would be impossible to PERFECTLY EXACTLY stain only the precise area that was just sanded down.  If any stain at all got onto the area that wasn't sanded, then it would be too dark.  Most of my staining experience is on furniture, and spot-staining doesn't work.  It is possible though (again, on furniture) to sort of gradually fade the sanding out and the stain in.  The result is not as perfect as if you redid the whole continuous surface, but balanced against the trouble of redoing the whole floor I bet it would be "good enough."  

Without seeing a picture it's hard to say exactly how I'd feel about it, but I would probably not be up for moving everything out.  Can you talk to a GC or someone further up the food chain than the guy you already talked to, that you could ask about a more moderate solution, something in between redoing the entire first floor, and just living with it?  

I have no idea about the screws.  Just sorry you're dealing with this.

[InBetweenDays]

We had a similar situation when we did a big reno years ago. There was one spot (~ 2 sq ft) where they had messed up. It almost looked like something had spilled before they put the sealer down, but who knows. Anyway they told us to do it completely right they'd have to redo the entire floor. Or they could try to redo that one spot but we may still see a slight difference. We went with the second option and you can't even tell.

[Mrs.flang]

This is a picture of the worst spot. It’s kind of hard to tell with the lighting in the photo but it’s pretty big and not in a spot I can even cover with a rug. The other smaller discoloration and screw holes bother me but after hearing there’s no solution I feel like I could live with them at least for a while. We’re meeting with the GC Saturday so we’ll definitely talk more then.

[munkii]

That's bad. If it weren't new, I'd say it looks like an animal-waste stain. So, like the others said, to do it right, they need to redo the whole thing. Sorry

[TR]

As much of a PITA as it will be, I’d have them redo it correctly. It will bother you forever and every time you look at it.

[sacattack]

Yes, get that fixed. I can't believe they would just assume it would be OK. I know its pain, but that would bother me and I would be resentful. Tell them to move the furniture out as consideration for your inconvenience. It will be much better in the long run.

[kittycatlove]

Oh boy, I'm sorry this happened. But I would definitely get it fixed as much as it's a hassle.

[fryjack2]

Ditto everyone else. Fix it now before it becomes and even bigger pain to do.

[Mrs.flang]

The problem with having it redone now is that I’m 36 weeks pregnant and I need the next few weeks to get settled since we were out of the house already for 5 months. I really don’t want to be inconvenienced or out any money and there is no way in hell I’m staying at my parents house again while they fix it. I’m curious what exactly the contractor will be willing to offer. I’ll update after the weekend.

[icedcoffee]

Do you have pets?

Honestly, between our dog and toddler I would leave it if I felt the monetary discount offered to me was reasonable. Dogs and kids are so hard on the floors. I'd putty the screw holes and fix it as best as possible and then take the discount. It would need to be a fairly big discount though.

If you did have them fix it would they move all your stuff out at their expense?

[Deleted]

Honestly, it looks like a pet stain and I would not be okay with it. I might let them try to just fix the spot first without having to disrupt too much else, but if it didn't work, then they would need to refinish the entire floor. Knowing how much it costs to have hardwood floors installed/refinished, I would not be okay living with that. Maybe, maybe if it were a spot that could be covered by an area rug I'd take the discount and run, but based on location, this needs to be fixed.

[mmp]

I’d ask for a major discount AND make them pull the boards and replace. They can always darken new boards to match. It’s near impossible to lighten dark boards to match.

Side note: what’s the wall color? I love it.

[Mrs.flang]

Nov 15, 2018 17:10:45 GMT -5 mmp said:

Side note: what’s the wall color? I love it.

Thank you! It’s Sherwin Williams Anew Grey.

[mmp]

Nov 16, 2018 2:49:45 GMT -5 Mrs.flang said:

Nov 15, 2018 17:10:45 GMT -5 mmp said:

Side note: what’s the wall color? I love it.

Thank you! It’s Sherwin Williams Anew Grey.

Thanks!

[Mrs.flang]

Update - we met with the GC today. He said patching it would likely bring more attention to it and didn’t really want to even try that.

DH really wanted the whole floor redone anyway but given the timing with the new baby and inconvenience we can’t really do it in the short term. The GC is going to write up a contract that gives us an IOU for a re-do to use within one year that we will try to plan around a spring or summer vacation. He’s going to include a refund option as well but we didn’t even talk numbers bc DH is very insistent on it being done right.

He was pretty accommodating with all the other stuff on our list so far so I’m happy with this even though I’m disappointed it happened to begin with and have to live with it for 6 months.

[redheadk]

I think that's a good solution. It is going to be inconvenient no matter what but it sounds like he is trying to make it right and is being pretty accommodating about it (as he should be, but that rarely happens). Mistakes happen, unfortunately.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 17, 2018 14:38:15 GMT -5 Mrs.flang said:

Update - we met with the GC today. He said patching it would likely bring more attention to it and didn’t really want to even try that.

DH really wanted the whole floor redone anyway but given the timing with the new baby and inconvenience we can’t really do it in the short term. The GC is going to write up a contract that gives us an IOU for a re-do to use within one year that we will try to plan around a spring or summer vacation. He’s going to include a refund option as well but we didn’t even talk numbers bc DH is very insistent on it being done right.

He was pretty accommodating with all the other stuff on our list so far so I’m happy with this even though I’m disappointed it happened to begin with and have to live with it for 6 months.

Sounds like a good plan.  Honestly, with a baby coming in a few weeks I don't think you're going to be thinking about your floors at all in the next 6 months.  :-)