NEED ADVICE PLEASE!

[slbermans]

I'm looking for help please! Just had floors refinished by my contractor and went with Jacobean for a darker look than I already had.  When we got back home, the floors looked "blotchy" darker circles that were on floor but not necessarily in spots where the wood had darker grain.  I hope I am explaining this right.  I have attached two pictures which will hopefully show what it looks like correctly.  Of course my contractor (who hasn't even seen it yet) is making excuses, so I would love to hear some feedback before I meet with him tonight.  Thank you so much in advance for any input, which will help my conversation.

Thank you!

[minorhero]

Looks blotchy to me. In my state (Maryland) in order for someone to perform home improvement work such as this they need a license. If they do subpar work and refuse to fix it you can call the regulating agency and they will come out and view the work. If they agree it was subpar they will pay a different contractor to come and fix it and bill the original contractor the cost. 

My gut tells me most states have a similar process but I honestly don't know for sure. Do you know if your contractor is properly licensed? 

[Bankstick]

IMHO, stain absorption will vary as to the density and grain of the wood.  Looks like you have oak flooring.  My oak flooring shows the same thing.  I even have some boards that are real dark, almost like walnut. BTW, my flooring was factory stained.

[Llama]

31 minutes ago, Bankstick said:

IMHO, stain absorption will vary as to the density and grain of the wood.  Looks like you have oak flooring.  My oak flooring shows the same thing.  I even have some boards that are real dark, almost like walnut. BTW, my flooring was factory stained.

Agreed.... Looks normal to me. Lots of things contribute to this.

I don't know what your contractor is saying that you feel are excuses. If you could provide that information, it would be helpful.

 

[drzaius]

Looks normal. That's what happens when wiping stain is used & sometimes even when spayed

[mat60]

Oak with a dark stain looks like this.    I think it looks good.

[bleedinblue]

Yup, normal and looks good. 

[wdwerker]

Wood is a natural material. When you choose a darker stain it will make some boards and certain grain patterns more obvious. When you see flooring or furniture with one consistent color the process conceals much of the grain and these finishes are only done on new wood in a factory/shop setting. That's a nice looking floor in my estimation.

[Minnesota Steve]

I'm not sure from the pics... but is this blotchiness you are seeing maybe a shine difference from some spots over others?

 

[slbermans]

Sorry, its tough to tell from the pictures.  The blotchiness we are seeing is not the that some boards are darker than others, its "patches" of dark spots that have nothing to do with the grain or the different boards.  I have circled what I'm referring to on this picture as this is an example...and their are a lot of these dark patches throughout the room.  Hoping this makes it more clear.  Thank you again for your responses, much appreciated!!!!!

[Immortan D]

Blotches like those are more visible when the wood was not properly sealed. But even then, they could show up anyways. I agree with others, your floor doesn't look bad at all!

[Mick S]

3 minutes ago, slbermans said:

Sorry, its tough to tell from the pictures.  The blotchiness we are seeing is not the that some boards are darker than others, its "patches" of dark spots that have nothing to do with the grain or the different boards.  I have circled what I'm referring to on this picture as this is an example...and their are a lot of these dark patches throughout the room.  Hoping this makes it more clear.  Thank you again for your responses, much appreciated!!!!!

Actually, it has everything to do with the grain of the boards. In both cases the grain rises just past the swirl of the knot and is more porous. It absorbs more stain there, so it's darker. It is the nature of the material.

[Johnny4]

I like it. End grain is going to soak up more stain. I know it's frustrating when it doesn't look the way you thought it would in your head.

[minorhero]

I have oak floors stained dark and do not have this blotchiness on my floor /shrug. How many coats of stain is it?

[drzaius]

54 minutes ago, Mick S said:

Actually, it has everything to do with the grain of the boards. In both cases the grain rises just past the swirl of the knot and is more porous. It absorbs more stain there, so it's darker. It is the nature of the material.

This. Those darker areas are normal & you will see it even in some factory prefinished flooring.

[Tom King]

When you said Jacobean, I immediately thought of MInWax.  If so, therein lies the trouble.  It does have to do with the wood grain, but also sometimes the type of stain.  With MinWax, you can't even let it sit on one place longer than the other.  MiniWax stain is some combination of stain and/or dye, and you never know what the mix is.  A general rule of thumb that you hear many times over on floor finishing forums, is to never use Minwax stain on a floor.

Application type matters too.  I like to put it on with a piece of carpet under a buffer.  It goes REALLY fast, and unlike by other hand application methods, it doesn't allow it to sit one place longer than another, and goes on really thin.

When I was building new, spec houses, I never stained a floor.

[Chestnut]

Maybe it's different in person but it just looks like the grain of the wood changing direction as described above. I've stained an oak floor before and the results i got were more or less the same. It doesn't look to me that to contractor made any mistakes those would span across flooring boards. With the spots being contained with in the board it seems far more likely this is just how that particular board is.

[Llama]

Yep, completely normal...

Still interested in hearing what your contractor said about this.

 

 

[Marmotjr]

Having lived in a house with 60 year old, well maintained hardwood floors... In a few years, you won't even notice the splotches. 

 

[wtnhighlander]

This is exactly why I prefer to avoid stain, or when unavoidable, use a stain that matches the natural color of the wood.

I imagine all of the reasons mentioned above played a part in this result. But I don't have a good feeling that any licensing agency is going to back you up and force a do-over. I hope for your sake that I am wrong.

[gee-dub]

Hopefully the responses here have set your mind at rest.  I too can be overly specific in how I want things or in the things I expect.  I think if you stop looking at them and move on you will find that those color variances will not be a big deal over time.  I doubt anyone else will walk into the house, stop in their tracks, point and say "what the hell is that!?!" even though the variance stands out plainly to you.

[shaneymack]

18 hours ago, Llama said:

Yep, completely normal...

Still interested in hearing what your contractor said about this.

 

 

Ya i would as well. Its always, " the contractor is making excuses." Most the time its the client has no idea what they are talking about and they need to be educated by the contractor and they refuse to hear it. Im so sick of dealing with clients in residential contruction due to this kind of ignorance. 

[Llama]

12 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

Ya i would as well. Its always, " the contractor is making excuses." Most the time its the client has no idea what they are talking about and they need to be educated by the contractor and they refuse to hear it. Im so sick of dealing with clients in residential contruction due to this kind of ignorance. 

Absolutely spot on!

[Immortan D]

2 hours ago, shaneymack said:

Ya i would as well. Its always, " the contractor is making excuses." Most the time its the client has no idea what they are talking about and they need to be educated by the contractor and they refuse to hear it. Im so sick of dealing with clients in residential contruction due to this kind of ignorance. 

The contractor has spoken.