Last year I took on the task of installing hardwood floor. We went to menards and bought some Great Lakes hardwood flooring. I was hesitant because menards does not allow reviews on their sites and I couldn't find any information on this wood, but it was the only hardwood that my wife and I could agree on and it had a nice texture. This isn't engineered hardwood its oak flooring pre finished with aluminum oxide coating which as I read it would be super protective.So I started laying the floor in my spare time around this time last year going room by room. Im no professional, but I did do months of research and I did purchase the right tools for the job. I put a fresh layer of subfloor down, then I used flooring underlayment and got started. It went down good...I mean theres a small gap here and there but I didn't really have any issues putting it down. I was happy with my work. But I don't think I got quality wood.I have 3 dogs but they're all under 45lbs. But literal pieces of the wood are chipping off of the top, exposing unfinished wood. Also with the dogs, come accidents. Sometimes they pee the floor but it is cleaned up immediately. Regardless I have found multiple pieces where its almost as if the liquid found a way under the finish and caused it to crack at the top. Again chips are coming off of my flooring. This isnt raising up on the edges its in the middle....and its chipping in the middle.So in a couple of bedrooms I have used a polyurethane sealer. In one room I used an oil based which has performed well but it took too long to cure and the house wasnt inhabitable at that time because of the fumes. In the other I used a water based but it shows scratches from the dogs. I have bought some Bona Mega water based but have been so occupied at work I have not been able to put it down for the past few months.Like I said I started on this project almost a year ago...I started in my living room and worked my way down a hallway into the bedrooms. Many boards in the living room are showing signs that theyre going to rise up and crack off pieces of the finish. Im very concerned at this point that if I even try to put this Bona Mega down on the floor its going to seep into these hairline cracks in the finish of the wood and cause them to warp and crack like it has done on other pieces.I know I put the floor down myself and no doubt voided any warranty and If I didnt void it there I did when I put down the sealer. Im not really looking for any kind of reimbursement....A lesson was learned here. But does anyone know of a method where I can fill in these hairline cracks in the wood without letting any liquid seep into them and raise the finish off? Its the tiniest cracks hardly visible to the human eye but in one of the other rooms when I put the sealer down it did cause that piece of wood to raise and crack. Luckily its under our bed and we never have to look at it or step on it.Im pretty fed up with it at this point and im debating on tearing it up and buying some bamboo flooring but I have really invested a lot of time and money into it... Any thoughts or tips would be great. Also if you think this is something I fudged up please speak up and let me know where I went wrong so I avoid this mistake in the future.Just to clarify the cracks arent between the pieces of wood. Theyre IN the wood. via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2FuHCgM
