We just had hickory put down in about 1,000 s.f. The installation (contractor #1) was good but we think there are problems with the sand and finish.

In a nutshell, the sand and finish man (contractor #2) failed to sand and finish about a 4" section going around the perimeter of the job. You can feel the roughness of the wood and it is clear in many spots that there is no sealant or finish product applied. We are worried that, especially by doors leading outside (4 separate entrances) there could be a problem with moisture, etc. and are wondering if we should be asking Contractor #1 to have the edges redone. And if they are needing to be redone, does the entire floor have to be done again for a smooth finish? Relative to this, there are areas of the floor that in certain lights seem to have streaks where perhaps not enough finish was applied. It is our thought that the lack of experience led Contractor #2 to put too light of an application of the water product.

Secondly, Contractor #2 was a self-professed oil man and had little to no experience with water-borne products. He used an orange putty that would have probably matched amber oil finished woods and looks horrible on these floors. There are several areas where the more white hickory has big patches of orange; also several smaller places where the orange is very evident. When we told Contractor #1 we weren't happy with this he instructed Contractor #2 to go get various putty colors and change it. Instead he came back with little jars of paint and proceeded to mix a palate of color on a board and try to paint over the largest area of orange.

Finally I have a question about the knots that were filled with epoxy. We had seen a finished sample and the knots looked like little pools of water. In the sand and finish a large number of air bubbles were exposed and little holes permeate many of the knots. And of course they were then filled with orange putty which makes them look like they have little paint drippings on them.

Are we being unreasonable to expect that: either the edges be sanded and then perhaps the entire floor be redone to take care of the large areas of unfinished wood? And what about the visible areas of orange putty in the floor? Is there any way to take care of that short of redoing everything? Finally, has anyone had this experience with the epoxy in the knots?

I appreciate any help that anyone can provide. We are not professionals, but paid a professional amount to have these floors done.

Thanks,
bluedogs

I would love to see pictures of the job.

Sounds like contractor #2 left his edger at home that day.
Nothing short of a full (and proper) resand will fix these problems.

I am trying to post some photos for clarification.

Contractor #1 just came and saw for the first time and agreed that the orange is a problem. He and assistant did some sanding and were successful in getting SOME of the problem spots cleaner. Then he talked to a local shop about the edge situation (he does installs and subs out the sand/finish which apparently explains his lack of knowledge here). The local shop said that it sounded like the product that was put around the edges and probably 'slid' away from the edges, hence the problem. I believe that the comment from Dennis that Contractor #2 left the edger at home that day is closer to the truth. And, Contractor #1's assistant got down and said "some of these areas are raw." Which i think is more correct than product sliding off.

The shop said to just go around and edge and do another light sand over everything and apply one more coat. When you say a full and proper resand, do you mean going down and starting over with sealer, etc.? Or do you think that the light sand and application of an additional coat will do? Will one coat of finish on the edges do the job of one coat of sealer and 2 finish coats? Or will the edges start changing in time to reflect that they only have 1 coat on them?

Again, I appreciate the advice.

Your pictures will help a lot in understanding the extent of your problem. Maybe post a link instead or email them to me and I'll post them up for you.

But from what I've read I'm inclined to agree with dennis on a complete resand, all the way down to bare wood. If I were in your situation I would want an explanation from #2 on how he thinks this happened in the first place and how he plans on making the second attempt better, before I'd let him touch my floor again.