Hi, hope to get some professional advice here. We contracted with a company to sand, stain, and refinish our hardwood floors a little over a month ago. We went away for a long weekend to let them do the project, got updates throughout leading us to believe all was well, and couldn't believe the lousy job we returned to. Their sander had malfunctioned and left all kinds of swirls, grooves, and gouges in the floor. They had so thoroughly stained the floors (with a paint roller!) that they were solid black. They'd polyurethaned over all the debris on the floor (dust, hair, trash, staples, etc), and the stain was still leaking through everything - not to mention all the stain left throughout the house, the sanding dust everywhere - just a nightmare to return to, just before Christmas.

The owner of the company came over and began to defend the work! But she eventually relented and said she'd make things right, just not until a better crew returned from the holidays on January 13. Halfway into this and our payment, we decided to give her a second chance to make things right, but we've been on guard.

The new crew started on Tuesday and, admittedly, have been 150% better than the old one. But that's a low bar, folks. On the owner's recommendation, we had the newly sanded white oak floors waterpopped prior to an ebony stain, after which they applied a sealant and two coats of water-based poly. It LOOKS so much better, but. There are some minor instances of debris that were coated over this time (she's offered to do a screen and coat to address this), some uneven application around the doorways, but mostly, the wood grain is popped up and rough throughout the house.

The owner insists that she's never seen wood floors that didn't have grain you could feel, and she also insists another coat or two of poly will not help. She wants us basically to accept this and thinks we're being ridiculous - and based upon our research, we see many professionals do not recommend a water-based poly over a water-popped floor. Or that if you do put a water-based poly on it, you might need as many as five coats to get a smooth finish.

We don't trust her based on the first botched project; are we being unreasonable by insisting upon a smooth finish, whatever it takes to get there? Is it possible to get there? Is it really standard practice to accept the feel of water-popped wood grain in your finished hardwood floors?

Thanks so much.

Water popping the grain will raise the grain and open the pores so more stain can be absorbed into the surface. This will affect drying time. After the stain has dried, the surface will be sealed enough for the water-based finish. Three coats would be enough if each coat was applied at the recommended coverage. You will see the grain and feel it, too, but the floor will be smooth. The floor ought to be buffed before the final coat.