I hired this company specifically because they said they used a non-toxic penetrating oil finish. The owner said I would love it so I trusted his professional opinion. The first issue is that the finish was very strong and I was sick for a week because of it and my puppies eyes became inflamed. It wasn't until I started running two high powered VOC air purifiers that I could stand to be in my home. To top it off, the only cleaner that can be used on it has fragrance, which completely defeats the purpose of having a "non-toxic" finish. I do not recommend Loba 2k impact oil for anyone with chemical sensitivity. I've done more research since then and in the future I plan to use products from https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com for house projects to avoid this in the future.
The next issue is the finish itself. He says I requested the matte finish. I would have never intentionally chosen something so matte...I just went with what he recommended and what he said most of his customers were loving. It feels like walking on a chalk board. I am not a wood worker...I heard "oil" and assumed it would have a low sheen at least. I learned my lesson here to request to see samples of the finishes before committing to anything.
This finish is very hard to keep looking nice, particularly in the kitchen and with kids and a dog. When I asked if there was anything else I could apply over it, he said it had to be completely removed. My woodworker brother and father did some investigating and they think a wax can be applied, so I am investigating that option.
The next issue is the craftsmanship. All of the existing transitions to other rooms with carpet or linoleum were beveled, but they left 2 of 3 of the transitions they did unfinished so the transition from wood to carpet is a sharp edge...Not good for the feet. They also didn't bevel the edge between my tiled fireplace hearth and the wood, so that looks unfinished. It looks like they chipped the corner of a board right in the area with high traffic...rather than replacing it, they just puttied the corner. It looks terrible. I could give it a pass if it was a less conspicuous place in the room, but right in the most high traffic area is no good. Lastly, when lacing in the floor to my existing floor, the installer accidentally cut into the adjacent planks multiple times. I told him that would really bother me if I was able to see that when they were done and he assured me I wouldn't or he'd come back and fix it...They didn't putty all of them, so it is very noticeable.
The last issue is the wood grade. I couldn't figure out why the newly installed flooring looked so much different. Of course the color will be lighter until it ages, but still something didn't look right. When I researched wood grades, I realized it appears they installed a different grade than my existing floor or the installer didn't shuffle the planks from different stacks to spread it out. I'm not sure. My existing floor has a lot of knots and color variation throughout, which looks more rustic and really beautiful. The new floor has considerably less knots and variation, particularly in some areas so it doesn't match.
I have written to the company twice to express my concerns about the finish. The first time he said he could come out and take a look "but it won't be today" and he never wrote back or contacted me to do that. The second time he just didn't respond at all. I've tried dealing directly with him to no avail.
He has expressed on his social media how it "grinds his gears" when other flooring contractors don't make their mistakes right, but I'm having the same experience here. read more