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Hardwood Flooring Mistakes To Look Out For!

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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..

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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!

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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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Nobody Likes Squeaky Hardwood Floors, But There Is A Fix!

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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?

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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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Is Grey The Right Color For Your Hardwood Floor?

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Keeping up with the latest trends in home improvement has always been a priority for real estate agents. If a listing client is doing a big remodel in order to get top dollar, it’s good to be able to recommend the best approach when it comes to design/layout/colors/etc. So what of this phenomenon with grey hardwood floors? Is grey here to stay or will it soon go away? Grey can definitely provide a contemporary look to a home and can even help tie-in modern and traditional if done right. It’s a touchy color to work with when it comes to hardwood flooring. The majority of the home-owners we work with prefer a light-grey tone which can be hard to achieve depending on the species of wood we are working with. So what are some of the best approaches your clients can take to get the shade of grey they want? The absolute best approach would be to go with a prefinished hardwood floor that already exemplifies the tone of grey they are looking for. These floors are ready right out of the box and just need to be installed, no sanding or staining required. They’ll also be able to pick the species they like best, one that contains the natural characteristics they are looking for. For example – maple has a clean/contemporary look whereas Oaks are more warm/traditional. But, they both look great in grey! Manufacturers of hardwood flooring know grey is IN right now so they’ve made available the many shades of grey. I don’t know about 50, but home owners will have plenty of options to pick from when they are hardwood floor shopping. Just make sure you do that with us!

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Hardwood Flooring and Dogs, Can They Get Along?

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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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Hardwood Floors Can Come In A Variety Of Gloss Levels

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Over the 20 years I’ve been working in people’s homes I’ve noticed that everyone has a different take when it comes to how much gloss they want to see on their hardwood floors. Some folks like to see a high or semi-gloss that looks clean and vibrant. Others prefer a matte or satin finish with little to no gloss at all! What seems to always be foremost in their minds is which will be easiest to clean and maintain… Truth of it is….is…..the more gloss you have on your floors, the more the wear and tear will show. A higher gloss can illuminate scratches and knicks you’ll get throughout the years. Any home with pets and kids running around should definitely avoid a higher gloss..maybe even a semi… The most common gloss levels available are: * High Gloss – Pretty self-explanatory. Like a mirror on the floor… * Semi-Gloss – A nice in between. Gives the floor a nice clean look but will still be easy to maintain. * Satin – This is the most sought-after finish lately. Great for older/rustic floors or any floor with a grey or dark stain. Does well at hiding wear. * Matte -No sheen whatsoever. This finish works well for those looking for that muted/unfinished wood look. Beyond the tone of the stain, another consideration might be how much natural light the house receives. If a house has darker walls and little natural light coming in they may do better with at least a semi-gloss to help distribute some light around so things don’t look so drab. BTW, I had a huge response from my post regarding the LED finishing process we now offer. That particular finish is very versatile as you can have spot repairs done even months/years after the job is done. That is not possible for standard urethane finishes. Also  comes in all the standard gloss-levels. Just to clarify, gloss-level in no way effects the durability of a finish…which is a misconception some folks have.. In summery, if you like a little pizazz on your hardwood floor then go with a nice sheen to give you that bright look. Now, if you’ve gone dark or grey and have much traffic on your floors, best to stick with a satin or matte.

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