What could cause these drops in floor refinish job?

[New House Guy]

Hey there. So I just bought a house and had the floors done prior to moving. They looked great when I first got to the house and paid the contractor after his final visit. But the more I look at certain boards the more I’m noticing peculiarities.

I can deal with a sander mark here and there, but what on earth are these drop/smear/zebra marks seen in the pics ? (Shown with and without flash to highlight appearance in various lighting). 

They claim it is due to my Wood’s age, but i think it seem more like a rushed job. It’s only on a few boards scattered randomly... and always isolated to single boards... never bleeds over to a neighboring board...but it seems odd.

 

House was built in 56 if that matters. All wood is allegedly oak.

 

Are certain imperfections expected in refinishing jobs? 

Thanks for any input!

[wdwerker]

The grain on those boards is quartersawn. They call that " ray fleck " it's more common in white oak. Sometimes white oak gets mixed in with red oak, especially the bundles they sell to builders. They charge more for wood purposely cut that way. 

[drzaius]

If I'm understanding what you're referring to, those markings are ray fleck. It's a characteristic of the wood that shows up in quarter sawn lumber. Oak, particularly white oak is rich in ray fleck, and indeed, that's what makes it so attractive. Your "allegedly oak" floor is most definitely oak, probably red oak, judging by the openness of the pores

 

[New House Guy]

Thanks for the quick reply guys... wow... so what i thought was a problem with the refinishing is actually something ... coveted.  Glad i posted here before getting upset with the contractor.  To me it just looked like smears in the staining application due to human error or something.  I saw a few sander marks here and there and thought this was possibly due to that.  Anyway, glad i found this forum... found nothing about this topic on google.  

 

 

[RichardA]

The above responses were perfect.

[difalkner]

Gorgeous, makes the rest of the floor look bland...

David

[Chestnut]

That's the best part about hardwood floors in my opinion you can find those 1 or 2 boards that catch your eye and just look better than the rest. Which is better than the printed flooring that after 15 seconds I've spotted the repeating pattern.

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

That's the best part about hardwood floors in my opinion you can find those 1 or 2 boards that catch your eye and just look better than the rest. Which is better than the printed flooring that after 15 seconds I've spotted the repeating pattern.

So true.