I am not impressed with what I see in the pictures, however; it may very well be exactly how the product should be. After all, it is distressed and is to have a worn and tattered look. Different companies of hardwood have different levels of standards for what will pass and what does not. It appears to be a lower cost product in my estimation. if so, it is probably normal. if this was an Anderson floor for example, it would not have any of the issues, but you would have paid for it big time. You can ask for an inspection, but my guess will be they will say it is normal and is just distressed. Good Luck.

Thanks for replying. Richard Marshall is supposed to be high end so this is not low cost flooring. From what you're saying it sounds like we may have received subquality material from the manufacturer or the contractor. How do I go about getting an inspection? Should it be done by a manufacturer representative or an independent 3rd party? If the latter, who should I call?

Also, can you clarify what aspect of the flooring leads to the conclusion that it's a low cost product - what should a high quality "distressed floor" look like which is in contrast to what we have installed?

Also, can you clarify what aspect of the flooring leads to the conclusion that it's a low cost product - what should a high quality "distressed floor" look like which is in contrast to what we have installed?

I'm no expert, but I think your floors look beautifully rustic.

Looking at the gallery photos on the Richard Marshall website, some of the floors do appear to have imperfections that look like dents etc. with the lighting. This would make sense to me, if the floor is supposed to be distressed, then I would think it should have not only a look, but also the feel of being distressed.

The cracks look like they are part of the knots, which can be normal with knots if they are distressed, imperfect boards. I have very rustic floors and a lot of my knots had cracks in them, some of which I just filled in (the large ones). To me those imperfections give it the believable distressed look and without them the floor might not look very rustic.

Like floortech mentioned, you can always check with the company as far as what their definition and standards are for their distressed flooring. Maybe you could send them the photos along with your concerns.

You wanted "distressed" not #1 clear grade. Knotholes, checks, mineral streaks, and dents is the very definition of "distressed". You got distressed. Not defective.

If the floor is a little too rustic for your liking, then you should have purchased something that wasn't called distressed, or purchased 25-40% extra and instructed your installer to cull more boards than he did.