I recently had installed a red oak prefinished floor. It looks beautiful, but I am finding the floor to be very sensitive and soft. I'm not talking about scratching. I'm talking about the fact that both I and my handyman notice that the floor seems excessively sensitive to pressure. For example, when we rolled out the high rise bed on my daughter's floor the wheels left impressions/depressions (not scratches) on the floor. (We've had this bed on wood floors in two previous apartments and they never caused any problem at all. The wheels are smooth; it is as if the wood is giving beneath the weight, like temperpedic foam.) If you happen to drop something on the wood, you may get a small depression in the floor. I thought oak is a hard wood but this floor does not perform like a hard floor.

I called the supplier who sold me the wood and she called the manufacturer (Somerset) who said that my wood was part of a very large shipment and they haven't had complaints from anyone else. I chose this supplier because my parents put in a prefinished Somerset red oak floor 5 years ago and they haven't had any problems, though their boards are narrower than mine (3-1/4"). The supplier suggested I bring in an independent investigator, since they have no one to send to look at the floor.

Has anyone experienced this problem with prefinished red oak? Did I make a bad choice of materials or is this flooring not performing as it should? In other words, should I bring in an investigator, or will I just be out more money and not get any satisfaction.

Thank you!

Its probably not worth your time chasing it because the chance of you getting somewhere is slim to none. Sliding heavy furniture is considered owner neglect, its not a warranty issue. You cant roll heavy furniture across wood floors unless you have some big tires on that bed. It probably did it to the other floors but because they were not new and not yours you probably just didnnt notice or care. Also the red oak today is softer than some red oak that is 50 or 100 years old. Somerset's oak flooring is top notch stuff just be more careful in the future.

Agreed. It might also be the finish that is denting, and not the wood itself. I use Somerset on a weekly basis, and always warn the customer not to roll or drag anything. Even though it is called hardwood it isn't. rolling furniture across even the hardest woods can show indents.

Thank you for all of your advice. By the way a high rise bed is not heavy; it is just a light metal frame with light springs and light mattress on top. It is made to be rolled out from under the bed without causing any damage. My prior floors were not prefinished and there is no question that they did not get damaged the way this Somerset floor is responding. My contractor who installed the floor using the material I chose feels that the Somerset flooring is performing poorly. It looks beautiful, but it is extremely soft, unlike any wood floor I've experienced in the past. Perhaps the problem is that I chose red oak rather than white; I can't be certain. But I am deeply disappointed in the performance of the floor. I was told that a prefinished floor would be more durable and it is disappointing to discover that the opposite is true. We have only been here 2 months; my kids are grown and mostly away at college, nobody is abusing the floor. And yet it has indents all over the place. I have lived with wood floors all my life; some were 80 years old, some were 2o years old. They were all vulnerable to scratching, but none accumulated indents like this Somerset floor.

a 110lb woman in high heels exerts the same pressure as an elephant does on a floor. It's more to do with the size of the casters not so much the weight of the bed. Is the floor a dark color, if so that may be part of the issue. Dark floors show things light ones do not. White oak is just a smidgen harder and will still indent. pics would be helpful in determining if its something to be concerned with.

I just had a conversation about the problem with Somerset. (Previously, I only spoke with my supplier who spoke with Somerset.) He explained that the finish on the wood is quite thick and it is most likely the finish that is showing the indents. The finish gives the floor its lustrous quality, but is susceptible to indents because of its thickness. And looking at my floor more closely, I think he is right.

Overall, the floor looks beautiful but the indents look awful. (Unfortunately, they are extremely difficult to photograph because the satin gloss of the finish reflects the light.) I explained that I wish I had been informed of its vulnerability. I don't bring in elephants or walk in spiked heels (which I know can damage any floor), but the indents are really bothering me. It's not just the rolling bed, there are small indents scattered in every room. If I'd known, I would have sacrificed that silky look for more durability. And I think suppliers and installers who do know about this should give a heads up to their clients, preferably before they make the purchase. I'm not the kind of person who buys a white sofa because it is hard to keep looking good, and I would rather not have a floor whose finish is so easily penetrated and damaged.

They all scratch and they all dent, its part of having a wood floor. My guess is that the indents are only visible in low angle light and you have to really turn your head right to see it then. Let me assure you that you floor is no different from the millions of others out there. Next time your out and about just take notice of some wood floors. I have yet to see one that is 100% perfect and dent or scratch free.

[quote="hannah"]I just had a conversation about the problem with Somerset. (Previously, I only spoke with my supplier who spoke with Somerset.) He explained that the finish on the wood is quite thick and it is most likely the finish that is showing the indents. The finish gives the floor its lustrous quality, but is susceptible to indents because of its thickness. And looking at my floor more closely, I think he is right.

I believe that is what I said.

Jeff, I noticed that you thought it might be the finish and I was going to acknowledge that (sorry I didn't). But you also say that even though it is called hard wood it isn't. Though that is true, I think it is the finish that prevents it from acting like a "hard wood." In other words, if I rolled that bed over an oak floor with a thin finish, there probably wouldn't be much of an indent because the wood itself wouldn't be indented. The wood itself might give for spiked heels, but I don't think it would for the wheels on this bed. But given the thick finish, I am left with wheel tracks pressed into the surface of the wood. I wish I had been given the opportunity to choose whether aesthetics or durability was more important to me. Wood floors look beautiful even without the lustrous finish.

I think all the relevant info has already been brought out. But I'd like to add that this sort of thing happens to me from time to time.I typically see indent marks from refrigerators and stoves being wheeled across a floor and from women's heeled shoes.These three things are a problem because too much weight is being focused on too small of an area for the floor or finish to withstand .

So all I can really do is offer some advice on moving things in the future. To avoid wheel/track marks in the floor , get a couple of pieces of masonite from a hardware or home improvement store and roll the bed over it. Masonite is a thin and very smooth panel material. You could buy a coupe of pieces that are 1/6th of an inch thick and they will disperse the pressure over a wider area so that your floors wont be marked further should you ever need to move or wheel something across your floors.

Somerset is a good product and I have never had any issues with it. Unfortunately, this is probably your own fault.

I know all of you feel it was the owners fault regarding the somerset floors. We have had our new floor for a very short time-1 month. Also Somerset Red Oak-Golden satin finish. We feel we are having the same problem. If anything at all drops, I am talking something soft, it dents. We weren't expecting this. I am glad to hear someone else had this issue and didn't realize it might be the finish. It makes sense. I find I am constantly going around using the repair kit to fill in.

Thank you pafloors. We are owners living with new floors. Most (or all) of the others who replied are in the wood flooring business. After living with this floor over 6 months, I know I am not doing anything unreasonable to harm it. The finish is beautiful, but frankly far too delicate. There are small dents everywhere in my lightly trafficked home. I have always lived with wood floors and I have never experienced this sort of aggravation. I think Somerset and the floor stores should make clear that this beautiful finish has a downside. If I had been offered a less lustrous but more durable finish, I would have chosen it. I renovated an entire apartment from demolition up, and this is the only decision I regret. And I continue to think about taking my complaints to Somerset. It is frustrating to spend so much money on a high quality floor and see it looking worse every day.

It seems all the people who replied to your post who accuse you of having unreasonable expectations or assume you acted negligently are in the flooring industry. Maybe they are too young.

I grew up with hardwood floors in the 50s and 60s. There is no way it performed as you describe your current floor. My brothers (also including me) were kids then. We were not careful. We did not wipe our feet. We threw things at each other sometimes. And sometimes those things hit the floor. We dropped stuff, including cast iron skillets. Other than dropping skillets there were no dents created.

If the red oak being installed is that soft the industry has a responsibility to tell us that BEFORE we buy.