Forest To Floor Hardwoods

Wow wow wow! My floors look unbelievable this is the fourth time we’ve had floors done and this is the first time we realized we didn’t have it done right the three times prior. Shane and his crew were unbelievable I felt completely comfortable having them in the house alone I would use them again in a heartbeat!

We hired Shane on the recommendation of my coworker. My coworker said Shane had done a great job with pre-​finished flooring at his home, even garnering the approval of a contractor who said how great his detail work was. We had talked with two other places for finish-​in-​place hardwood, but Shane came in at a lower price and with my coworker’s recommendation, we thought we made a great choice.
Shane is a nice guy, and a hard worker. He came over and talked me through the process (though as I later learned, not as thoroughly as I wish he had). He ordered the wood, and after letting it sit in the house for two weeks to acclimate, he worked for a few days straight with his nephew to get it installed.
My coworker was right. His detail was great. The wood was tight to the walls with very little gaps (which obviously got covered by baseboard. The process was dustless (surprising but true!) and they used this massive machine to suck up the dust. I was really impressed.
What I wasn’t impressed by was a few things.
1. He used (as I imagine all unfinished wood installers do) a putty to fill in all the small holes and cracks in the wood. This was done by covering the entire floor in what looked like peanut butter, letting it dry, and then sanding it down. While great in theory, this putty he used doesn’t take the stain. Therefore, there are spots in main spots on our floor that look like we filled in some cracks with peanut butter. My parents and in-​laws made comments about this when they were in for the holidays. It’s definitely noticeable.
2. I was told the floor was going to have a smooth finish over the top since it was finished in place. This was true initially. Then, after a week or so, I started to hear cracking and popping throughout the house which surprised me. The floor has separated in spots, and while I have learned this is the nature of natural hardwood, I was not even informed of this possibility when going through the process. Also if I run my finger over the wood, on some pieces I can feel the grain while others are smooth as silk.
3. I was told the finish would hold up to dog nails. It has not.
I contacted Shane a few times regarding the peanut butter issue, and he told me there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The last time he answered my call was before Thanksgiving and he told me he’d call me the week following — he didn’t. Since then, I have called and emailed regarding the separation and the putty, and he has not responded to me at all.
I’m quite disappointed in the customer service aspect of this job, and it wasn’t cheap to pay for. If I could do it over again, I’d go with the more expensive guys who gave me more information and had a guarantee.