Hello All - I had a contract with a local hardwood flooring contractor to do the main floor and 2nd floor hardwood floor installation (800 sq ft) and staining. To rip out carpet from staircase and install oak planks and then stain. Rip out carpet, put laminate in the basement (350 sq ft)and tile the kitchen (100 sq ft). Initially i was going to do all this myself except for the stairs but then he said he would do all this for 8500 inclusive of material. I thought that was a decent deal so i agreed. He has installed the hardwood flooring, stairs have hardwood as well, ripped out the carpet in the basement. Nothing has been sanded or stained and no laminate or tiles have been installed. Since Tuesday he has been MIA. i have called him, emailed him and texted him and he just doesnt reply back anymore. Before he would reply back with in 1 hr. I have paid him about 6.5K and yet a lot of work is left. I dont know what to do anymore. I went to the address he has on the website but its a residential area. This guy has a very good rep on Angieslist so i am amazed he has disapeared . Has anyone seen this happen to them? What options do i have? I really wasnt expecting this. Thanks for your help.

Done a few floors before, they usually look pretty good. This weekend, sent the wife to her parents' so I could do 2 small bedrooms, hallway and a 24x16 ft living room...red oak. Drum sander 36 and 60 grit, edger same grits, orbital 80 and 100 to even it all out...looked pretty darn good other than some pesky squirls from the edger, but baseboards and furniture will hide most of those. Stained last night. Minwax wood conditioner. Then Minwax oil-based red oak. Bedrooms look pretty good. Living room not so much. I was just using a rag to apply. The living room was really too large for me to keep a constant wet edge, hard as I tried. I see way too many lap marks and blotches. Should I have used something like a mop to cover the area more quickly? If you do that how do you wipe off the excess? And what can I do now? Stain is still tacky. I'm thinking a rag with some paint thinner might bring most of it up, then I could recoat? Would the paint thinner adversely affect my 2nd coat? Should I just let it cure then sand it?