Upset with faded Hardwood Floors? There is a solution..
What to do about faded hardwood floors..
Upset with faded Hardwood Floors? There is a solution.. Read More »
Hardwood Floors Can Promote A Lovely Sense Of Flow..
When house shoppers open the front door they love to see all rooms on 1st floor linked together. So many homes have various flooring products for different rooms. How many times have you seen tile in the foyer and kitchen, carpet in the family room or den, and usually hardwood for the living and dining rooms? This gives a very choppy feel and compartmentalizes the rooms. I say rip it all up and start anew! Run a hardwood floor from left to right (or front to back) and see how things immediately open up! Every room can still have it’s own personality and the hardwood floor will be the trail taken from one ambience to the other. The random lengths and natural variation of the boards gives a warm and natural feel that tile/carpet/vinyl never will. Next time a prospective buyer is turned off by the choppy feel of the layout on an otherwise promising listing, let them know your hardwood flooring contractor can open things up by laying hardwood flooring down.
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Hardwood Flooring Mistakes To Look Out For!
You probably already know this but not every hardwood flooring company can deliver such exceptional work as we can. Things can happen on a job (though, they don’t on ours 😉 and sometimes there are blemishes to address. Installation and especially refinishing of hardwood floors requires an eye for detail and a steady hand. When mistakes are made, no one is happy. Here are some hardwood flooring errors and why they happen…(not to us, I’m saying…the other guys..), Installation – * Gaps in-between boards Caused by not checking moisture content of subfloor and floor. Could also be caused by using an insufficient amount of nails or not spacing the nails correctly. * Buckled boards Could also be cause by moisture but also by not leaving enough of a gap between floor and wall to allow for expansion and contraction. Also caused by installing over an unlevel subfloor. * Uneven pattern Caused by not setting a line square with the rest of the house. * Chips and cracks and on boards Caused by using wrong gauge for nail-gun, faulty compressor or using wrong nail size. Refinishing – * Chatter marks (looks like ripples in the wood) Almost always related to the sanding machine being in need of repair. * Sanding marks Caused by improper technique. Can show as cuts in the wood, swirl marks or scratches. * Blotchy/Uneven stain Caused by not water-popping the hardwood floor prior to staining. Also caused by poor technique used when applying stain. Another factor could be not following the correct grit schedule. * Rough finish Caused by not eliminating all residual dust/debris before applying urethane, which then gets trapped in the finish. A professional hardwood flooring company (like us) has a process to be followed that ensures these mistakes never happen. Getting it done right the 1st time is our priority because we know mistakes can be costly. If you’ve been on a hardwood flooring job and have seen any of the above, run away fast and be glad knowing your go-to hardwood flooring company (us) would never do such things.
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Hardwood Floor Installation Can Be An Exciting Process..
In a way, installing a hardwood floor is like piecing together a puzzle. At first you have a bunch of random pieces, but once joined together, they reveal a work of art. Today I will go over the process and how it’s done while touching on important details the guys look for to ensure the installation is done professionally. The absolute first thing the installers look at is the quality of the subfloor. If installing hardwood flooring over a plywood subfloor, the guys confirm that the subfloor is level and dry. Nailing a solid hardwood floor over a faulty subfloor will only create problems with the new floor. So, a moisture-meter test is done and they look for any peaks and valleys in the plywood that could cause unevenness with the hardwood floor. Once that is done the guys will “set a line”. This line is the center line that every house is built around. This line is the guide the installers will use to align the hardwood floor with the other lines in the house (walls, trim, etc.) so everything looks symmetrical. At that point the installers will then open up the cartons of hardwood flooring and begin to lay out the boards. This is where they will organize the various lengths to ensure variation. Last thing anyone wants to see is a room or area of the house with a bunch of short boards grouped together. Once the boards are laid out and the lengths are varied, it is then time to nail them down! A pneumatic nail gun is used to secure the floor to the subfloor, spacing the nails 6″ apart. It’s important that this distance of 6″ between the nails is followed to avoid incurring problems with the floor. A gap of about 1/4″ is left between the floor and the wall or baseboard. This gives the hardwood floor enough room to expand as it will during the warmer seasons. Defective boards are discarded. Many times the installers will find ugly boards as well as boards that contain imperfections in the milling. This is why a 6% waste factor is used when placing the order. Once the floor has been installed they guys will then go around and look for any imperfections to address. Many times they will find boards that have split or cracked in certain places. This can happen when the nail is being shot through the tongue and groove. Those boards are replaced. They will then wipe down the floor with paint thinner or other cleaners so to remove and marks or excess adhesive. Many times they will fill any sizable gaps with putty to keep the floor looking tight. That’s pretty much the gist of it. Sounds pretty easy, right? Actually, it’s a tough job. Not only is it hard on the back and knees but it also works the brain as you constantly need to be paying attention to how things are transpiring so to avoid having to do repairs or, god-forbid, take up and replace a large section of boards you just installed. So let’s give my guys some credit, they work hard and smart and always get the job done right the 1st time! Try us out next time you or your clients have a hardwood floor to be installed.
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Before You Do Your Hardwood Floors, Consider These Things!
Before you address your hardwood floors there are several things to consider before doing so. A major hardwood flooring project can bring big change to the look and feel of a home. And with so many different species of wood available, plus all the different stain colors to choose from, picking the right floor can be a big decision. Beyond that, once a floor is down or refinished, the end result is what home-owners will be looking at for the next 10-15 years. This means that picking a hardwood floor should not be a decision made in haste! Meanwhile, here are some important points to consider which may even help steer your clients to the best hardwood floor for their particular house! Kitchen Cabinets –Before having a new hardwood floor installed or an existing one refinished, it’s important to consider the color of the kitchen cabinets lest they clash with hardwood floors. I suppose it helps that most kitchen cabinets today are white, which is easy to work with when picking a stain color for your hardwood floor. But for every other situation out there, best to make sure the hardwood floors and kitchen cabinets compliment each other. Beyond color, have your clients consider the grain pattern of the hardwood floor and see how well it works with the wood grain in the cabinets, if they are not painted. Trim and Moldings –Hardwood floors tend to tie together different features of a house. This is why the hardwood floors should look good up against any trim like door casings and baseboards. Again, most of the time these moldings are white, but in the event they are not and have been stained, best to go with a stain color that works best with the trim. The pic below shows what to avoid! Staircases –Considering the fact that the main staircase is one of the 1st things anyone sees when coming through the front door, very important to go with a hardwood floor that will work well with the stair parts. Ideally it’s best to have any handrails and posts stained to match the floors but this can be a very costly project. If that’s not an option, a home owner can have the hardwood floors match the color of the stair parts or choose a stain that works well with the existing color of the stair parts. Of course the # 1 consideration should be – who’s going to do the job? Consider this, we’ve been at it for over 20 years and will always look to provide a comprehensive consultation when visiting a prospective customer’s home. We will make sure your clients get the hardwood floor that works best with their house and their budget. So, let them know!
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LVP Flooring Is Very Popular Now, Here Is Why!
Check your eyes because it’s not hardwood at all, it’s an LVP floor. Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring has been around for a while now and continues to gain in popularity. It is waterproof and can stand up to heavy traffic. These floors are ideal for basement installs as they can be installed directly onto a concrete slab and are not affected by humidity/moisture. Truth is, home-owners are opting to install LVP flooring throughout the home in place of more costly hardwood floors. LVP floors are manufactured to mimic the look of real hardwood and feature all of the natural characteristics you’d find in real wood like variation, knots, mineral streak, etc. Unlike sheet vinyl flooring, LVP comes in individual planks which provides a seamless, flowing look when installed. One big selling point with LVP is the ease of install. These floors can be installed directly on top of existing vinyl, linoleum, tile and even hardwood flooring. However, it’s imperative that the existing floor be perfectly level otherwise there will be soft spots. Best to stick with at least a 6 mm thickness when picking an LVP floor. Anything thinner than that could be problematic. It’s also prudent to go with one that has an underlayment attached to the back for more cushion underfoot and some noise cancellation.
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Thrillingly Unique Patterns For Hardwood Flooring Installation
The world of hardwood flooring is full of options. There are different species to choose from, countless different manufacturers, color options, width of boards, solid or engineered, etc. You even have options as to how a hardwood floor can be laid. Hardwood flooring traditionally comes in boards of random lengths. Once installed, the floor presents a type of pattern. Some homeowners like to get more creative and go with a more artistic type of pattern that will compliment the rooms or the existing decor. I’ll go over some of the patterns in case your clients would like to spice things up a bit and really make their home stand out… 45 Degree Angle (Pic above) – 45-degree flooring creates a sense of movement and fluidity, offering a unique aesthetic that can transform the look and feel of a room or the entire floor of a home. This angle can also be a clever tool in interior design to guide the eye and create a sense of flow through different areas of a home. It could be used in a single room, giving that room a sense of uniqueness, or it can interestingly tie rooms together throughout an area of the home. Random Width (Pic below) – We’ve done countless jobs in a random-width pattern and in my opinion it gives the floor a very custom look. The most common pattern is 3 1/4″ and 5″ planks but depending on the size of the rooms one could go even wider. A random-width pattern does a good job of hiding the bevels of a hardwood floor, giving it a more seamless look. It certainly works for a more rustic approach but can fit in with a modern look as well. Herringbone – This is a classic design that actually dates back to the Romans! Besides bring much elegance and class, the main advantage of herringbone is that it makes small spaces look large. I personally find it to be a very elegant look, a real eye-catcher! Because it doesn’t have any angled joints, you can get a herringbone floor with all types of hardwood flooring and some click-together options like laminate and LVP. It’s not the easiest type of floor to install, by the way. Best to trust pros like us that can get it done right. Chevron – Note that Chevron is different from Herringbone, but to the untrained eye, they can be easy to confuse. The easiest way to tell the difference is to note that herringbone is made up of 90-degree angles, while chevron wood floor patterns are made up of 45-degree angles. We did a job for a very particular home owner in North Wales, it was about 800 sqft of exotic hardwood installed in a Chevron pattern. That job was a doozy! But, the end-result turned out beautiful! Check it out… Borders – Hardwood flooring with a border is a classic look that can do a good job of framing a room. It’s best used in rooms that are for the most part a perfect square. Usually, the boarder itself is of a different color than the main floor. It can also give a sense of flow if installed throughout a home’s entire floor. Honestly, we used to get more requests than we do so it may be going out of style but can always work if done tastefully. We’ve done some wild jobs throughout the years. Once we were involved in a job where the owner installed various species of hardwood in various widths..and it was all reclaimed wood! Lost my pics of that job but it might be for the best. I got dizzy just looking down at it. Course it was in Philly by the art museum so…
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Are Darker Hardwood Floors Hard To Take Care Of?
Dark tones can be tricky for a hardwood floor. If the rooms are smaller a dark tone can make things feel even tighter. They also tend to show wear and tear much more than lighter colors. But they can also be a very exciting addition to a design scheme. Here are some hardwood flooring stains in darker tones that should really catch some eyes. These are Minwax stains that can be used on refinishing and site-finishing jobs. From the above pic, the very top stain is a mix of Jacobean and Ebony. The addition of Ebony gives it a slight tint of grey while still maintaining the underlining deep brown base tone. That makes it a very sophisticated pick for a modern or traditional look. It also does a great job of highlighting the natural grain pattern of the wood itself. As a contrast to the modern white and light colored trim today, this stain can tie-together a remodeling project in a very warm and robust way. The stain in the middle is the well known Jacobean stain. This stain has a very faint red hue that gives a type of chestnut character to it. Jacobean also allows for a lot of variation which is important for darker tones. Without some variation, darker floors can come off as bland or mute, which nobody wants. This stain looks really great along side light to medium toned paint colors.The bottom stain is the popular Dark Walnut, a very rich and chocolaty color that brings a lot of rich tones to a home. Dark Walnut doesn’t allow much for much variation so with this one, best to go with at least a satin finish.
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Nobody Likes Squeaky Hardwood Floors, But There Is A Fix!
I’m sure most of us have experienced this – it’s late at night and you fell asleep watching a movie. Everyone has gone to bed so you creep down the hallway to avoid waking the others only to have you efforts thwarted by a squeaky hardwood floor. So annoying! There are several reasons as to why a hardwood floor would be so noisy and I am going to cover them as well as tell you how to deal with it. A hardwood floor that squeaks is usually a sign of an underlying condition. All hardwood floors will expand and contract throughout the seasons. This movement can sometimes result in boards rubbing up against one another which can cause the noisiness. These environmental changes can also cause the hardwood floor to make contact with the plywood subfloor which can also cause the squeaking. Now, this expansion and contraction is a normal process that happens every year but rarely results in a noisy floor. Usually you’ll see small gaps or slight cupping but you shouldn’t be hearing too much noise. This means there may be a lack of nails or glue in the problem area resulting in additional movement of the boards. One solution could be to shoot some finish nails in strategic locations to better secure the boards. The nail holes can be puttied. If adhesive was used (engineered floors), a glue injection kit can be used to diminish the noise. Another culprit can be the subfloor itself. Any unevenness in the subfloor will manifest in the hardwood floor itself and cause the boards in the problem areas to sit higher or lower than the other boards, however slightly. This will result in the unwanted squeaking when the floors are walked on. If the unevenness is caused by sagging, a carpenter could jack the subfloor up if there is access from below. Of course this fix can be very involved as it points to structural issues. Sometimes a squeaky floor is simply the result of loose boards. Again, if there are too few nails or too little glue, the boards in the problem area will react by squeaking. As mentioned above, there is a solution to this which is pretty straight-forward. Now, all of these issues can be avoided! A thorough inspection of the subfloor can reveal any inconsistencies so they can be addressed prior to the hardwood floor being installed. In regards to squeaking caused by seasonal expansion and contraction, a professional hardwood flooring contractor knows to leave a 1/4″ gap between the floor and the walls. This will allow room for the hardwood floor to go through this normal process without resulting in a noisy floor.
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How Dusty Does The House Get When Refinishing or Installing Hardwood Floors?
I’ll be honest, working with hardwood flooring is a dusty affair. Even when the guys remove old carpet much dust is released into the air. As you can imagine, sanding a hardwood floor creates a ton of dust. None of this is an excuse to leave a house a dusty mess! In fact, shame on us if we ever leave a job-site full of dust. That’s because there are many ways to prevent the dust from getting all over the place. Dust is a major concern for homeowners looking to have hardwood flooring work done in the home. Here is how we handle it… When looking to control the dust travel on a hardwood flooring job, plastic is greatest tool. Plastic sheeting is placed at the doorways to other rooms where hardwood flooring work is not being done. This prevents the dust from traveling all over the house. We also place plastic over the kitchen cabinets so it doesn’t penetrate and make a mess inside. Wall-mounted TVs and other electronics are also covered in plastic so they don’t get damaged. In fact, anything that can’t be moved out of the room gets covered with a protective plastic. Wood dust is very fine and can get into anything so these preventative measures are of utmost importance! The machines that we use to sand hardwood floors are equipped with a contraption that captures most of the dust travel. Once the sanding or installing is done, the guys go around with a backpack vacuum cleaner and hit every nook and cranny of the work area. We also wipe down window sills and such to get rid of all the residual dust. If weather allows, the guys do their cuts outside or in the garage which is a huge help.
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