Q: I have a question about ‘the wave’. My floor is a very dark ebony, and the finish is satin. The floor has waves, you can definitely notice them, but they are more apparent when the light hits them. Since the floor is very dark, without much of the grain showing through, they are more obvious then if the floor were lighter. My question is – is there a level of wave that you as the consumer just have to accept?
My flooring guy points out that no finish will compare to what a pre-finish floor looks like. Is this normal; are waves in wood floors acceptable?
A: I agree with your floor guy that there is no way to duplicate on site what is created by machines in a factory. Waves can be caused by a problem with the sanding machine or more rarely by issues with the building structure. I can’t really answer how much wave anyone should be willing to accept. How noticeable will it be when all your furniture is in place?
Note from webmaster: this goes for things like debris too. A good cleanup would prevent a mess of debris, but it’s pretty much guaranteed somewhere in that top coat a bit of fuzz or someone’s strand of hair will float in on a breeze. 100% Perfection is not what you get onsite, but onsite finishing has great advantages…
Are the waves every 8-10″?
Q: We installed 8″ pine floors. Hired a contractor to sand and apply rubio monocoat hard wax oil. The color is awesome, BUT I noticed these waves all over the floor before he stained. He came back to buff and I showed him and he said the buffing would take care of it, and it appeared to, until the stain was applied. I would like to show you a picture and ask whether you see it and whether you would have them resand and restain.
A: Do these waves appear every 8 to 10″? If so, he probably had debris on one of the wheels of the sander which caused a slight limp or thump with every wheel revolution. I can’t tell you if you should have the floors done over. That depends on you. It is totally appearance and has no bearing on the floor integrity itself.