I have a question about what is considered professionally installed or not. A professional installer put in ipe in my house and the finish has bubbles, the nails are coming through nice and shiny and the finish looks streaky.. They had never finished this kind of wood before and I am totally not happy with it.

They also left gouges and scratches. Is there any feasible repairs or what can I do short of having them rip it out. ANy thoughts on what happened here? The treads look the worst, the edges look ragged and unstained. Is that a reasonable expectation, or do I need to have a talk with the contractor.....

Professional only means that someone gets paid to do it, not that it is very good. If you are unhappy with the worksmanship, you need to voice your concerns in a polite but firm manner to the contractor/installer. Being angry or hysterical doesn't work. Being assertive does. Ask them to give you a rational explanation for all the flaws you've noticed. If they are at all concerned about their reputation, they will at least work with you to reach a reasonable solution; a win/win situation.

It would be good if you could read the little booklet from NWFA on expectations. Explains what is acceptable and what is not.

It *sounds* like you may only need another coat of finish. At worst, it would be a quick refinish.

In this profession, HASTE MAKES WASTE! Maybe the cause of the problem was that the first time, they had this same attitude. Hurry up! Cut corners. Be quick about it! If I were presented with a problem of this nature, I would take WHATEVER TIME WAS REQUIRED to remedy the problem correctly and would feel no pressure to "hurry up".

By quick I mean the considerably less sanding a fresh finish requires compared to a new install. It goes without saying the finished product needs to be up to par.

I have had to resand many floors sanded and finished by other flooring contractors because of gouges in the floors from sanding, poor stain job, chatter from poorly maintained sanders, wrong color, and a myriad of other problems and issues. I have not found that this was faster, quicker or easier than sanding the flooring from scratch (when it was raw and unsanded). In fact, on staircases, where someone poorly trained was let loose with any edger, at times the gouges where beyond repair by sanding and the material needed to be replaced. And sanding off multiple coasts of fresh finish that has not been thoroghly cured also presents sanding challenges that sanding a "raw" floor does not have. Fixing a sanding job done poorly by another contractor has always been a challenge because now your work is under the microscope of the homeowner. I always charge MORE for this type of work because of the skill and expertise involved. While I am sure you understand this, this is a public forum visited by mostly unknowledgeable DIYers who take our words to heart. Therefore, I believe we have a duty to be as clear and precise about what we say and what we, as professionals, propose. IMO, nothing quick nor easy about resanding a poorly done floor.

The original poster was looking for something "short of having them rip it out." In that context, any refinish is "quick" Thats all.

sounds to me, Marco, like someones likes being the answer man, always remember, egos, egos, egos, and, pay no attention as someone attempts to asert thier "professional authority". your answer was correct, that is a "quick fix" and I think he had this installed, and, compared to a rip out, and reinstall, sand, finish, a sand/finish repair is a quick fix or repair, I mean, a few weeks to a few days, sounds quick to me.

oh well, Hi Ken, long time, no see or talk.

SelvaLee

My comments were off base. Marco was correct, a refinish would be quicker than a rip out and redo. I don't know what I was thinking. I think I misunderstood the question. My apologies to all.