Greetings experts.

Floors: https://www.calibamboo.com/product-dark ... 02101.html

I installed them about a year ago and unfortunately I have to refinish them due to a lot of screw ups. To make a long story short, My house had Pergo laminated floors. in 2018 there was a pipe that burst which caused damage to the house. Since I do not live there (it's a vacation home) My buddy and I, every weekend, would go there and do the work ourselves. Things turned out great. I never liked the Pergo laminated stuff (don't get me wrong, but not my cup of tea) so I went to Lowes and got cali bamboo flooring for the entire house.

It got to the point where there were so many little things here and there that had to get done after a year of grinding away, and my wife getting upset that I was gone every weekend (lol) that I could not possibly be able to finish it all in a timely manner. She got these two great contractors to come out and do the moldings, painting, etc. They did a great job ... until they got to the floors.

I wanted them to see if they could fix a section (two planks) of the floor that started lifting. If anyone has ever worked with Cali bamboo before, the floors are high maintenance, moisture, etc. That's fine, I'm able to control all of that on my phone. This winter, it got super cold and we decided to start a fire so the house would heat and be nice and toasty. Well, the humidity in the house dropped to like 15% and it caused the section near the fire place to lift. Oh well, it is what it is. I ripped the old one out, and installed two new ones that I had as spares. I did this purposely because the finish of the factory finish of the flooring would never look the same if you go out and purchase the same kind a year or two later due to different batches (According to Cali Bamboo).

The floors would not sit flush unfortunately. I was going to use small screws meant for these type of jobs to drill down the floor and then use a small amount of wood filler and then a pen to cover up the hole. Heck, you could even use a sharpie and you would never notice it. Well, the contractors said they could do it but I guess due to a language barrier (My wife was translating) they ended up using wood filler and some kind of stain and glue straight down to the point where it was an eye sore. I would have never done this and it became a HUGE eyesore. They said they would fix it..

Well, they used a harsh chemical to remove the glue to the point where the factory finish was completely gone. RIP. I can't fault them, they did their best and are willing to work through it but as much as they tried to make poop turn to gold, it wasn't happening. I had told them before the job started that these floors require extra attention to detail, I installed them myself, No other place in the house had the problem -- Just that small section and they assured me that they were able to get it done. Well .. they didn't.

I showed them the sharpie trick to fill the small hole and they were just dumb founded. We do not have extra planks left, and if I were to buy a new box of plank, the finish would not match the rest of the floor. MEGA RIP. So we agreed to sand and refinish the floor. The problem is that Cali Bamboo does not sell stain. This normally would not be a problem, but I also went ahead and ripped out the old stairs and replaced them with cali bamboo stairs to match the floors. I guess you see where I'm going with this. Overall, the entire project was great. I had a lot of fun DYI'ng this stuff but now, I'm in a pickle.

My question is ... what is the best possible stain I can purchase? I don't skimp out. Stairs and floors were like $8,000 in materials alone lol ... I like quality stuff, but I need to get some premium stuff to work with so I can match the refinished floors to the stairs -- so I don't have to sand and refinish the stairs as well. I'm at the point right now that I just want to rip the floors out and redo them brand new, but that's crazy talk if I can just go ahead and sand and refinish them. The floors are going to be completely sanded and it's unfortunate that the "stress marks" will no longer be there -- but it is what it is. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Thank you all in advance for whatever type of advice and input you give this DYI'er. I had a lot of fun fixing my house and I've learned to appreciate the years of experience all dedicate to this craft. I'm so close to being able to enjoy it but this floor is killing me.

A relatively inexpensive area rug can solve an expensive problem.
Too bad that most finish companies sell only gallons of finish.
If you re-do the floor it doesn't have to match the steps exactly.
It's a lot of work to re-finish. Maybe re-think getting a box of new flooring to make the small patch, if you have not already started.

True, but I don't think a rug would help. Due to where it is and how long it is, it would look awkward. Ever seen an area rug that's 8ft wide by 3ft long? and if you go 8 feet by 8 feet, well, even more awkward. Why would you cover new floors with rug. Catch my drift?

Thinking it over, I think I'm going to redo the floor (just the living room).

I hate cali bamboo... When I first got it at lowes, they never told me how delicate they are... is it uncommon to mix and match? Say, If I got the option to redo, Can I get something that's easier in terms of maintenance? Hmmm...

An area rug will help muffle sound and help define an area. It will become part of the architecture of the house, just like light fixtures and furniture. They are practical because you can turn them around if they start to get worn by a traffic pattern.

Hey Pete,

I appreciate your input.

The issue with putting a rug in the problem area is the fact that it would be an awkward placement. The problem area is is right smack in the transition between kitchen which has since been tiled with a custom transition to the wood as well as the foyer towards the rooms in the back.

https://i.imgur.com/8CLb3z8.jpg

What a pain in the but problem. I believe it started lifting due to the heat from the wood stove like I mentioned above. To put a rug in that area, I don't think it would look right and to cover up new floors with an area rug the size of the living room kind of defeats the purpose of having nice floors.

Every band-aid I can think of leads me back to seeing an eyesore and potential problem should I want to sell the home to buy another one. Sucks.