Upset with faded Hardwood Floors? There is a solution..
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repairs and maintenence
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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Watch Out for Pests That Can Damage Your Hardwood Floors!
There are 3 different types of living creatures that can be real pests for a hardwood floor. Since a hardwood floor is a considerable investment, it’s wise to be aware of these perils and take action should one find evidence of their existence.The EPA estimates that more than 2 billion dollars is spent annually treating wood-damaging pests. As real estate agents you are familiar with one of these buggers, the dreaded termite! They can do so much damage to a house that looking for them is a key component of a home inspection. But there are two other wood-damaging pests that we will look at as well. Here I will tell you what evidence to look out for so you and your clients can protect your investment. Termites – Termites are the most destructive pest when it comes to wood damage. They eat wood, and their bodies convert the wood fiber into sugar. In only a few years, a colony of subterranean termites can destroy the entire structure of a house. And because they eat wood from the inside out, their damage isn’t immediately noticeable, and it can sometimes take quite awhile for a homeowner to even notice their presence. This compromises the structural integrity of wood until there’s nothing of substance left in it. It’s important to get your hardwood inspected for termites regularly so that you can prevent impending damage while there’s still time. Signs of termite damage include hollow-sounding wood, buckling floors, and visible tunnels or galleries in the wood. Also, if you notice any swarms of winged insects indoors, discarded wings, or pencil-thin mud tubes on exterior walls, you most likely have a termite problem. Powderpost Beetles –These are wood-boring insects that damage both hardwoods and softwoods. Their damage to hardwood flooring happens when their larvae bore into the wood through surface cracks. First, the adult beetle lays its eggs on the wood surface, then the larva bores through. The holes are created when the adult beetle emerges from its underground “womb”, and they can also cause a lot of damage from within the flooring, too. They can bore a million holes in the wooden mass and also weaken the flooring from within. Signs of powder post beetle damage include small holes in the wood, fine sawdust or “frass” around the holes, and weakened or crumbly wood. Carpenter antsThese ants are often mistaken for termites, but they do not eat wood. Instead, they burrow into it to create nests. While they do not cause as much damage as termites or powderpost beetles, they can still weaken the wood and cause it to become structurally unsound. Signs of carpenter ant damage include small holes in the wood, sawdust or debris around the holes, and rustling or tapping sounds coming from the walls or floors.Please pass this info on to your clients so they know what to look out for! Wood is too good to let it be ruined by these buggers. But in the event that you have a client that wants to address some existing damage, or needs a different kind of hardwood flooring service, you know where to send them!
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Essential Tips To Maintain Your Hardwood Floor
The major selling point for hardwood flooring is that they are durable and easy to maintain. Now, hardwood floors aren’t just going to take care of themselves, they need some help from the owner! Here I have compiled a list of essential products and techniques that will help your clients preserve their hardwood floors so they can go the distance. These tips will enhance the performance of the floor, will prolong the lifetime of the floor, will promote long-term sustainability of raw materials, and ultimately, will protect their investment. And here they are… Cleaning – Routine cleaning involves sweeping, dust mopping, or vacuuming and is absolutely essential for overall hardwood flooring maintenance. Notice I said dust mopping and not wet mopping. Please do tell your clients never to mop their hardwood floors! I’ve had many customers insist on using water or water/vinegar when mopping their hardwood floors but this is not a good idea at all! Water will damage the finish as well as the hardwood itself and vinegar will definitely wear down the urethane finish. Best to use a dry swiffer type mop with a hardwood floor cleaning solution made by Bruce or Bona.Shoes off, please – Out on the road we can get little pebbles and other debris stuck to the bottom of our shoes. These can leave scratches and unsightly wear on the hardwood floors. Taking shoes off ensures theses and other flooring enemies won’t be an issue.Area rugs about the house – By adding area rugs to your hardwood floors, you not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of your rooms but also provide a layer of protection to your floors. Area rugs help to prevent scratches and scuffs caused by foot traffic or furniture movement.They also add warmth to your space, making it feel more cozy and inviting. Area rugs even act as a sound buffer, reducing unwanted noise and echoes throughout the space. Furniture Pads – These are essential for avoiding scratches, dents or scuffs caused by sliding furniture. For some odd reason my wife likes to rearrange the furniture every couple months, I think it’s a Feng-sui thing..and she does it all by herself! Thankfully we have felt pads underneath everything otherwise my floors would be a mess! Sliding legs of chairs and tables will eventually leave wear so these pads are a must!Buff and Coat – Now this approach is a little involved. Firstly, this is not a DIY type of project. Better to trust a pros (like us) to determine if a hardwood floor would benefit from a buff and coat and if the answer is yes, let a pro (us) do it. This involves using a light grit sandpaper with a buffer so to remove the old, worn-down urethane finish in order to apply a fresh coat or two (preferably two). This approach will not remove deep scratches and wear nor will it resolve any discoloration issues. This approach is more for hardwood floors that are still in very good shape but just need some life brought back to them. Once done, a buff and coat should give a hardwood floor another 10 years or so until they’d need to be addressed again.
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Hardwood Flooring and Dogs, Can They Get Along?
Many of my customers have pets, and they would love to have hardwood floors that stand up well to dog claws. Can dogs and hardwood co-exist? It’s a challenging question to answer because all hardwood will dent and scratch over time – it’s just a matter of how much and at what degree will it show. But, I don’t think this is a reason for your pet-owning clients to avoid getting hardwood floors. Usually, this question is less of an issue for with cats and more of a concern with dogs, especially active dogs. And, while there are things you can do w/ your pets (e.g. clip or file nails), I’m going to focus on hardwoods that can take a better beating and will last longer. Sounds like a no-brainer but needs to be said – avoid the soft woods like Pine, American Cherry, American Walnut and even Bamboo. These softer woods will dent very easily – even without dogs or kids. They look beautiful, but they are not very practical. And, ironically, most are more expensive (because fewer people buy them and there is lower supply). Note: American Cherry and Walnut are different than like Brazilian Cherry and Brazilian Walnut. American = soft; Brazilian = hard.Another tip is to use solid hardwood floors over engineered. Solid hardwood is often better quality and most engineered hardwood floors have a limited number of sandings. It’s always good to have an insurance plan, and your clients will have stronger peace of mind with solid, since they can refinish solid hardwood floors if they get deep scratches or pet stains.Something else that can help – take your clients to take their shoes off. A lot of customers blame their pets for scratches, but often we do more damage to our floors than our pets do. While high heels are often not wonderful for hardwood floor, the biggest culprit is not the shoes themselves, but rather what gets caught in the shoes. It’s those pebbles and dirt that get caught in our shoes that cause most of the scratches. If dogs roam the house it’s probably best to go with a distressed look. This is a stylized look that some customers love and others hate. This look is not for everyone. But, here’s why it’s good for pets…it shows the scratches and dents less because that’s how the wood is designed – the dent looks like it fits right in. Likewise, hardwood that has more knots and character marks will hide the dents and scratches more. Which brings up a floor’s finish. The more subtle the finish the better. A higher gloss will show the scratches and wear more so than a muted finish. Stain color should be a consideration as well. The darker you go, the more it will show. Sticking with a medium to light tone with a fairly busy grain pattern (like oak) is the best bet!
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