Hi, hoping someone can give me some advice on my floor which I just got re-finished. Before the work was started I asked about some large gaps (1/4-1/2") in my hardwood, parquet floor (ca 1948, 2x4" pieces arranged in alternating blocks). The guy said he could fill them in with strips of wood. When I went to check out the finished job it was all filled in with putty. Now he's saying that the gaps were too small to fill with wood.

On top of it, the putty looks pretty bad, the color is different, and with the size of the gap it's pretty obvious. And the putty is full of popped air bubbles and cracks - which I expect will, at best, fill up with dirt and, at worst, come apart.

So now they're saying they can cover it with more putty (to fill in the holes) - will this just make it worse? Is there any way to fix this now, since it's already stained & finished? Are 1/2" gaps really too small to fill with wood?

Thanks!
C_42

1/2"gaps could probably be filled in with strips. I would have just left the gaps and finished the floor. The only option now is to do what they suggested and fill with more putty.

It should have been torn out or filled with wood strips. If its any consolation, most of that ugly putty is going to fall out within a few years.

Thanks, I suppose it's *some* consolation that the putty will fall out? How many years do I need to wait for this?

So, more putty will just make it worse - right? thanks for the help!

If they had given me the option of putty or leaving the gaps - I would have gone with leaving the gaps. But for some reason they told me they would use strips of wood, then confirmed in an email that's what they had done .... but didn't. I'm thinking that they thought I might not notice? (it's pretty darn obvious, the putty is this kinda cat-puke orange color)
Or they thought I would just let it go?

As a customer it's definitely more annoying to be told one thing, and have an expectation, and then get something else. I wouldn't be annoyed about it if they had said in the beginning that it couldn't be done.