Hello, everyone!

I'm a first-time poster and recent lurker of this great forum. We have a full interior remodel in progress and our engineered hardwood is currently being installed. I would be grateful for feedback on whether or not I should worry about some aspects of the job so far.

Gallery with images of concerns: https://postimg.cc/gallery/V89DJ13X

Relevant Details

The flooring was purchased from Hurst Hardwoods, but their mill is Reliance Hardwood Flooring.

Unfinished engineered white oak, 4mm hardwood veneer, 5" x 5/8", select & better, rift & quarter sawn, 2-10' lengths.

Upstairs (shown in pictures) is on brand new Advantech 3/4 inch subfloor.

Downstairs is concrete foundation pour leveled with Maxxon Level Right.

Full glue down installation upstairs and downstairs using Wakol 260. No staples or nails upstairs.

Obviously, the entire floor will be site finished.

Concerns

The installer will be rough sanding, then trowel filling with Woodwise white oak before finishing stages. The contractor and installer have assured me that the gaps, rough edges, and chip(s) are within tolerance and will be imperceptible with the finished product, but I have a pretty discerning eye (not a blessing, but a curse). With this grade of product, is the Woodwise filler something I will notice after staining and finishing? And regardless, will the filler be crumbling or otherwise deteriorating in 10 years?

The mitered turn you see from the hallway into one of the bedrooms has me wondering two things: (1) Should a turn board have been used here for any functional reason or is it just a matter of style preference? (2) You can see the height difference between planks. Before the new subfloor was installed, this spot was quite uneven, possibly from a bit of settling. After the new subfloor was installed, the area appeared flat, but obviously something happened here. I haven't spoken with him yet, but I'm sure the installer plans to sand everything flat. It just seems like a lot of material to remove. Any major issues here beyond sacrificing more of the veneer than I'd prefer? Is this something he should have noticed and stopped to address?

Again, any comments and feedback are appreciated! Thank you!

As far as the material, issues look common with lower quality products and can be trowel filled. Fall out and crumble? Possible.

Direction changes on a 45 degree angle. Odd and rarely do I see it. The height difference isn't the issue as much as the squeaking chances down the road unless there's a great adhesive bond under both areas. Ideally it should have been splined as well.

Don't get too obsessed. Floors are made to walk on and not prize line fine furniture.

Thank you for the reply, Ken!

Most of the material is great, fortunately, but I have no doubt your product at Uptown Floors is in a different league. I guess I was assuming the installer would be more selective in trimming edges and tightening everything up.



To clarify, are you saying a floor plan like mine is uncommon, or the way the installer handled the direction change is odd? I know the subfloor underneath was glued and nailed, but I'll ask the installer about his confidence in the adhesive bond of the flooring and if he splined the boards there.

In general, does it seem like this installer is working according to standards and I should trust the process?

Beautiful flooring there. Minor gaps and filling will hold up fine and takes stain so you will not notice any minor defects. I sometimes use a colored pencil to make the grain characteristic cover a larger fill. Sine the product has been glued securely there will not be movement enough that the filler cracks and comes out with vacuuming.
The edges at the miter that need flattening will not affect the life of the floor. It does take a lot of energy to sand the over wood, but that is just part of the job. Good mechanics will have your floor looking spectacular.

Thank you, Pete. I hope things will button up fine, but I'm going to ask that the GC and installer be extra careful going forward. I'm paying a premium for this part of the project, and there's really no reason for them to install planks with chipped or uneven ends, and certainly I think everything should be tight.

It's all very frustrating!

UPDATE

Hi everyone,

The floor was trowel filled with Woodwise, sanded, stained, and finished to 2 coats of Loba 2K InvisibleProtect AT. A third coat will be going on towards the end of the remodel.

The gaps I was promised will disappear, unfortunately have not. Instead, most of them were only partially filled, which is quite noticeable and unappealing in my opinion (links below). The pictures show one of the smaller gaps -- for some reason I did not take a picture of a larger one when I was there earlier. I brought these gaps to the installer's attention before staining and was assured they would be corrected, but that didn't happen apparently.

https://imgur.com/dJ6e7XC
https://imgur.com/2la7Yr3

Much of the floor is covered while other work is ongoing, but I was also able to see this splintered veneer, which was not present before finishing (links below).

https://imgur.com/gUtl3j0
https://imgur.com/3wIjWFa

Can gaps like those still be filled at this stage and what would that process look like? And with splintering like that, should that board be replaced or how might it be repaired?

I have a lot to be grateful for, but we are spending a lot of money here. I want to have realistic expectations for the product I selected so that I can hold the GC and installer accountable as needed.

Thanks in advance!

Minor defects like these ought to be filled before the final coat of finish. Either use 5
minute epoxy or Crawford Putty colored with universal oil color. You should not notice from a standing position, looking down.