Update on the floors

Yesterday I promised a floor update, so let me see:When last I left you, I just figured out the stain recipe and custom mixed the shade I wanted for the feature strip. After that, I decided to go with Home Care Contractors advice and started taping at the earliest.Taping began and staining began and everything was going beautifully. I even had thought of seeking Thermalchem's services to give the floors a good finish.This is the entrance hall to my house and now you can see the Craftsman design and the stain. I love it, but I sometimes get wistful thinking about the bamboo flooring in my mother's house.So taping continued until just in front of the fireplace. And then:The second feature strip on the right side of the fireplace is separated by the correct two floor planks, but the left side is separated by only one plank!Here's a closer photo.WHAT THE HELL!!!???!!! How hard can this be?Considering that the sanding took at least two centimetres of floor off, they could have followed the inlay with a sharpie, or their painter's tape, hell, even fuchsia spray paint!So back to the Russian crew who came in Sunday morning and pulled up the floor and re-laid the planks.Good thing I was looking over their shoulder because all of a sudden completely different wood, cut across the grain and completely not the kind of wood my floor is made up suddenly was in the pile ready to be installed.I made them pull up two more planks and re-lay the kind of grain the rest of the floor is made of.Phew! Another two disasters undisastered, and polishing taking place.More sanding and polishing, vacuuming and polishing, polishing and vacuuming.I feel like the floor police! I feel like I always have to be vigilant and on the ball. I feel like I can't trust any of the trades to do a proper job.At this point I briefly thought that possibly taking up a habit of drinking coffee might been a good idea. (Very briefly and then it went away. It always sounds like such a good idea but I can't stand the taste.) Besides which, I'm already not sleeping. This is why people start drinking the scotch!And then, this morning, the first coat of varnish dried and I had a good look:Things are looking better. There are still a few issues to address. One is the high gloss finish I want is not there, and the second are a couple unacceptably proud corners which need to be sanded down flat and re-varnished. But I'm hopeful that there won't be any more disasters to undisaster.This floor is taking years off my life!