I'm generally happy with the refinish job my contractor is doing, but there are swirls and sanding marks like this in some areas:



Is this normal, or should I ask them (or demand?) that they sand with a higher grit and try again? Here are some other pics to put the problem in context:




This is after 1 coat of poly, and the stain is a 50/50 mix of Minwax Ebony and Red Mahogany.

i assume those marks are around the perimeter?...some minor marks ,may happen but if this is consistent, dark stains will bring them right up and personally I would not except them..but that is subjective..if you need to get down on your hands and knees to see them, then that is a bit extreme as well.

I would be more concerned with the stain on your door and cabinets.. i dont know if they were like that previously or this happened during the course of this work.... but that is not professional..

also keep in mind...you get what you pay for...

Yes, just along the perimeter. They're pretty clear as you're walking by. On the other hand, our Welsh Corgi lives in this room (the kitchen), and I'm guessing these scratches will blend right in, in a year or so.

No, the back door is the work of our dog, scratching to get out (over 9 years). That's my next project. The stain on the cabinets will be covered up by shoe molding, so not a problem.

I did think $2.50 per square foot was a great price, so I didn't go out and get any more estimates. I have no idea what's average in our market. Again, I'm pretty happy at this point, just wondered if this is a common problem. Probably is at this price point...

I get my stain jobs pretty close to perfect .My last stain job only had two small visible spinners (edger swirls) And those were in areas where the sub flooring was lumpy. So generally, a good job is one where spinner marks are only a few and are isolated and not easily found.Or better yet, no spinners at all.

Your job seems fairly decent in that regard . One thing I noticed though is that I can still see a lot of wide open grain. It looks like your floor is barely coated.If this is the case, I might be worried about your finish wearing out at an accelerated rate.

Thanks Paul. Yes, this is just the first coat. The next 2 will come Monday and Wednesday. Can't wait to move back upstairs! The dog and I are sleeping in the basement.

Oops . I overlooked that it was only 1 coat. that would make sense .Here is a pic of a 100 year old oak floor I just stained and finished. After edging and some extra hand work, the boards should be spinner free like this.

johnfieldsoldoak 011 by paulsecondino, on Flickr

The floor has some insect incursions and some gouges and other character which will never sand out but that is different .

I've decided I'm not going to worry about this. I have a much bigger concern now - no expansion gap for the new oak flooring.