I don't know, but wise of your installer to have you come take a look at it.

"Should beveled planks show an unfinished (no stain) edge?"

NO! They should be beveled, and stained, and finished ... the planks should match well enough in height and the stain and finish go far enough down on the plank that there is no fringe of unfinished wood showing.

That was poor manufacturing

I am being told a multitude of confusing things, which I interpret as "not our fault". I will add pictures.

This is part of the floor that was installed:

After suggesting that the above may have contained some defective samples not representative of the floor as a whole (later backing away from this statement) we opened random boxes of completely different skids. These were laid out:

It is being suggested to me now that the above is what I would expect to find in a bevelled (it is a micro bevel) product and that it is acceptable. I do not agree. If this is what I would expect to find, why isnâÂÂt it consistent throughout the entire planks? I see splotches of blonde unfinished pieces. It would be preferable to me, at the very least, if the blonde pieces were all over ��" at least then it would make sense!! I was told that âÂÂ100% factâ no floor company finishes the sides of a beveled edge product.

"...âÂÂ100% factâ no floor company finishes the sides of a beveled edge product.... "

I can't resist here...I have to comment...you are in for a battle with the manufacturer, the distributor and the company that sold you the product. However, a stained and finished flooring product that when installed reveals unstained areas of each unit is unacceptable.

I would find a few units with missing stain on edges, but not any more than about a half dozen units in the typical job. I would consider what you have there as a manufacturing defect or a flaw in the process that creates the product.

A quick solution, were you to accept the product, would be to stain the offending blonde edges with an appropriate stain or coloring agent. However, I don't see why that would be your responsibility to do or to pay to have it done. However, $10 worth of coloring media and about an hour or two of labor to skillfully apply...and it'd be done and you could get back to installing and using the floor. Has the manufacturer suggested that yet?

Staining the edges of a few units and correcting other minor defects with colored wood filler or coloring media is typical with any wood floor installation and is part of the job. However, your situation goes beyond the scope of correcting an occasional unit.

I think you need to get your back up on this one. One of the reasons people buy engineered lumber is because it is "pre-finished" completely. I think you have every right to demand a better product. Go to the flooring companies showroom and see how their sample floors look. Good luck with this.