Old Strip Oak Floors Turned Trendy: Before & After

The reality of our homes today is that the most prevalent hardwood floor is the 2 1/4" red or white oak. It's also known as oak strip flooring. Oaks have always been plentiful and therefore relatively inexpensive. With the proliferation of wide plank flooring, distressed surfaces, and exciting species like acacia - it is no wonder that owners of good old oak strip flooring gaze longingly at the more updated floors in stores and newer homes.

So,when people come into the showroom they often ask me, "Should I tear out my old oak strip floors?"

While I love the new products on the market, and I'd be pleased to sell someone a whole new floor, the ruthlessly practical side of me says, "No!" Re-sand and re-stain those floors and your house will get a whole new (and very updated) look.

Case in point - look at the attached photos of a job we completed today. Old, tired, white oak floors (See photos on the left margin) got sanded and stained darker (see after photos on the right margin). It's what I call Pottery Barn Syndrome. Suddenly, your floors look like they're right out of a home products catalog. The house looks warm. The floors look very trendy. And, they cost just a fraction of what it would cost to tear out and replace them with new hardwood floors.

What do you think?

What Matters Most: Product Info or Consumer Experiences?

Here's a blindingly obvious lead: the way people buy today has changed from years ago. Today, the consumer's appetite for information is enormous. Consumers want to spend hard-earned money wisely. They want to invest in products and services that will bring them value. I'm not talking about buying pizza. I'm talking about high dollar luxury items. Yes, there is still compulsive buying out there - but for the most part, our clients shop and shop and shop. Information is a key component to the value equation. The Internet is the easy source for information.

All in all, I think that trend is good.

The danger though, comes in assigning expertise to a source, without proper verification. Just because you blog on the Internet, have dabbled in a design class, or worked retail for a year - doesn't mean you're now an expert. Yet, the very fact that people put up opinions on the Internet seems to lend credibility. Sometimes, that credibility is unwarranted. I've found countless sites offering conflicting information about a given product or method. I'm guessing you have too.

Now, I fully understand and appreciate the need to research complex and important items like medical procedures. Surely, that's complex stuff worthy of consumer research. By comparison, you would think the less-vital wood flooring world would be a reasonably simple market. You'd be surprised.

Wood hardness, stability, finish cure rates, joinery methods, adhesive properties, volatile organic compounds (VOCs)...well, it isn't so simple after all.

I had a client recently debate one of our field crews regarding how many gallons of finish it would take to put a final coat of finish on his floor. He had read on the Internet that the average yield per gallon of his chosen finish was 500 square feet. So, he was adamant that we needed 4 gallons to finish his 1,600 square foot floor. What he didn't understand was that the early coats applied to a newly sanded floor use more finish, and the later coats require less finish. In the early coats, the floor absorbs more finish. In the later coats, the floor absorbs far less. The final coat on his 1,600 square foot job would require 3 gallons of the finish product to achieve a proper final coat. A professionally conducted debate ensued, and the client went so far as to open our crew's truck to count the available gallons of finish.

In the end, the floor looked beautiful and the client was thrilled. Eventually, our client sheepishly said that perhaps he should have just trusted the crew as they clearly knew what they were doing.

People who research medical procedures eventually have to trust their physician to perform the procedure in question. While the stakes are far less important, you have to trust your less-vital service providers too. Confidence and trust are an essential component in any important purchase.

Consider this - perhaps in our quest for information we consumers should spend more time researching customer experiences and less time focused on product specifications. Building trust is faster than building expertise.

What do you think?

New Hope For Faded Floors?

A couple of times a week, someone will write or call and ask me "How can I make my old hardwood floors look new?" The standard answer has been that we can screen the floor (an abrasive on a buffer) and then add a new coat of finish. This process builds up the finish on the floor, kind of like the Zamboni on the ice rink between periods of a hockey game. It is an important maintenance step that preserves your finish layer. It is also brightens up the floors. However, this screen and coat process requires professional skill and application.

Now there may be another option. I met with my local rep from Basic Coatings the other day. He told me that Basic Coatings is now bringing to market a new product for the home consumer. Their Hardwood Floor Refinisher product works through a two step process. First you thoroughly clean the floor using their hardwood floor cleaner, Squeaky Cleaner. Then add an application of Refinisher via a microfiber mop. The process is fairly quick, and it enables you to brighten up your own hardwood floors!

Sure, I've got lots of questions. Is the finish as hard as a commercial grade finish? How easy is it to achieve great results? How durable is the finish and how often does it require reapplication? However if it works as promised, even as a stop-gap step between coats of commercially applied finish, I can see how this product could become very popular.

Have family coming to town before the holidays? Put on a quick coat of Refinisher! Graduation party? Don't just clean the floor - refinish it! Putting the house on the market? You get the idea.

I'm doing more research and I'll get back to you with the results. Meanwhile, we're going to petition a few clients to try it out. If you'd like to participate in a market research, be sure to let me know!

The Right Cut

We believe that "cut" really matters when you're talking about clothing, diamonds, and meat, but it also matters when you're shopping for hardwood flooring. Yesterday I commented on the risks of using rotary peeled hardwood flooring in dry climates. Some then asked if I'd explain the different cuts of hardwood flooring in more detail.

No problem.

One of the more confusing elements in buying hardwood flooring is the cut of the wood. Rotary peel, quarter sawn, rift sawn and flat sawn all have different looks and different properties - all of which will impact how your floor looks and wears.

The term "flat sawn" or "plain sawn" refers to a cut whereby you bisect the log and make subsequent cuts parallel to the first. Pros: It is an efficient cut with little waste. It will show more variation in grain including flat grain (those arches you see in grain that look like mountain peaks) and vertical grain. Cons: It will expand and contract more than a vertical grain product of the same species as the relative humidity changes with the seasons.

A quarter sawn hardwood is when the log is cut into quarters, and then the quarters are cut on a line that runs from the center of the log out to the edge of the log. This method of cutting results in a board surface that shows a lot of vertical grain. In fact, by definition, a quarter sawn board will have growth rings that form an angle of 45° to 90° with the surface of the piece. Pros: Vertical grain boards are more stable (expand and contract less) than flat grain products. It twists and cups less than flat grained products. It is harder than flat grained products and therefore will wear better. Cons: It is less efficient cut (more waste) and therefore costs more than flat sawn products.

Rift sawn boards are similar to quarter sawn boards, except that they are cut so that growth rings are at an angle of 30° to 60° with the surface of the board. Rift sawn offers similar advantages and disadvantages so we won't rehash them here. In fact, many custom home builders order "rift and quartered" products from us, because the look and properties are so similar.

Rotary peeled lumber is where the log is "peeled" akin to peeling an onion. This is the most efficient of cuts, but yields the least interesting grain pattern. Pros: This is the most efficient method for cutting and is therefore very eco-friendly. Cons: It's a matter of taste but most feel the look is not as attractive as boards that come from the other methods of cutting. Plus, rotary peeled boards usually end up as the wear layer in many engineered products. They have a natural inclination to return to their curved shape, and therefore tend to "check" or crack more, especially in our dry climate. We have some premium rotary peeled products that work great in Colorado - but shop very carefully! Many lesser products will fail here.

As always, shop wisely. Make informed decisions. Buy products that will bring a lifetime of value and pleasure!

Elements of Design

Chuck Crispin does a nice job in this article "Elements of Design" recently published in the National Wood Flooring Association's e-magazine. Good ideas for those of you with a flair and passion for original design!

How To Choose A Hardwood Floor

Nano technology finishes. Engineered or Solid? LEEDS points. Stain techniques. Stability vs. light sensitivity. Yikes! Choosing a hardwood flooring solution is hard!

Rest easy friends. To help with the confusion, I present our revised "How to Select & Enjoy Hardwood Floors."

I could expand upon any of these 10 items in glorious detail. So, take this as your preliminary guide and know that there's more to each one of these steps. However, if you take these steps in order and ask lots of questions, we're sure you'll end up making a well-informed selection that you'll enjoy for years!

Step 1: How Green Do You Want To Be?
Consider cork, blue-stained pin bark beetle kill pine, reclaimed hardwoods, LEED points, bamboo (though we could debate this), renewable resources, and finish volatile organic compounds (VOCs). You're already going green buy buying hardwood floors. Generally speaking, carpet isn't very green and tile isn't renewable. If you want to go REALLY green in hardwood, it'll influence all of your choices in the steps below.

Step 2: Choose a Species
Consider hardness, stability, & grain. Color comes later. Exotic or domestic? Get a species to match your lifestyle. Go really hard (e.g. mesquite or Brazilian cherry) if you have kids, big dogs, and clumsy adults. Go really stable (e.g. mesquite or Australian cypress) if you don't like the cracks that occur between boards in Winter. Avoid exotics and cherry species if you don't want your wood to darken over time and avoid walnut if you don't want your wood to lighten over time.

Step 3: Engineered or Solid Hardwood?
What's the installation environment? Think grade, moisture, & subfloor. Beware the wear layer - the layer that goes from the top of the board to the tongue. Get a good (5/32" or better) wear layer. Engineered products are great if you want very stable products (= less movement) but the key is the "inner" wood layer. Is it seven layers of marine-quality plywood or is it a cheap fiber board?

Step 4: Surface! Surface!
So many choices! Distressed, etched, V-grooved, hand-scraped, machine-scraped, nail heads, flat and more! We have plenty of examples in our showroom. More distressing hides scratches and nicks but doesn't fit well in contemporary designs.

Step 5: Consider the Source
Choose from leading manufacturers and mills to get consistent products, ample supply, and reliable warranties. Cheap products won't last. Some manufacturers and mills are committed to quality. Some aren't. Do your research (or talk to us!). Poorly milled products won't lay well and you'll see gaps that have nothing to do with seasonality.

Step 6: Express Yourself!
Choose your design! Consider color, inlays, borders, herringbones, parquets, diagonals, transitions, trim, stairs & more! This is pure design, folks. A little accent goes a long way to creating a gorgeous AND unique floor. Even something as common as 2 1/4" red oak strip can be dazzling if you add the right accent.

Step 7: What Finish?
Choose from urethanes (water or oil) or Natural Oil. Consider wear, maintainability, the environment & looks! Big dogs? Choose a tough finish. Want to maintain it yourself? Consider natural oil finishes.

Step 8: Installation Matters
Floating floor? Sleepers? Radiant heat? Concrete? Nail down, glue down or both? OK, this is a shameless plug - but you need experience in selecting your installation method.

Step 9: Apply with Artisan Skill
Acclimate the wood. Tongue and groove EVERY joint. Use the BEST adhesives. Buff the stain. Don't rush beauty! This is not a project to hurry though. Do it right. It's the largest piece of furniture in your home.

Step 10: Preserve the Beauty!
Use the right cleaner, maintain the finish & ENJOY! Clean the floor with an industry-approved floor cleaner. Never use oil-soaps or vinegar and water. These items will damage your floor finish. A damaged finish can't properly protect your floor! And maintain the finish! Every couple of years, call us to screen and coat your floor. By building up the finish and restoring finish in high-traffic areas, you preserve the wood and avoid more intrusive hardwood floor sand and finishing projects.
We're happy to answer your questions. Simply reply to us or better yet, come see us in the showroom. We're here to help you make well-informed choices for a beautiful floor that will last a lifetime!

Beetle Kill Pine Flooring

Everyone asks us about pine bark beetle kill flooring. In Colorado, interest is at an all-time high. The ponderosa pines and lodgepole pines that cover the Rockies have been decimated by this little pest. By turning this sad eco-event into a gorgeous by-product, we can salvage a little peace and beautify our homes!

The blue-gray stain is the result of a fungus, which is caused by the beetle's penetration into the wood. The beetle doesn't kill the tree, the fungus does. Now, after sufficient kiln drying, there is no active fungus nor active beetles in the resulting wood product - just the gorgeous stain and a really unique look!

While lots of mills are making pine bark beetle kill flooring, quality remains a problem. To make a good quality floor product, you need to reduce the moisture content to a range of 6 to 8 percent. That means kiln drying the wood - which takes time - often up to a week. However, in a rush to produce product, many mills do not sufficiently dry the wood prior to milling. The resulting hardwood will not be stable and will shrink and gap over time.

As always, cheap isn't always good. You can test a floors moisture level with a moisture meeter (any good hardwood floor store will have these on hand). Make sure you're getting a quality product!

Beware The Rotary Peeled Floor

I got an email the other day from someone looking for "your cheapest price on engineered oak flooring." Ma'am, did you want a quality floor that will last or simply something budget friendly? I'm not being judgmental. Your budget is your budget. There's a place for both types of products, but you need to know what you're buying.

Some of the less expensive products are rotary peeled products. By that, I mean that the logs are "peeled" like shavings from a pencil sharpener. The resulting veneer is glued to some other veneer (often hardwood plywood). The good news is that these products are the most efficient cut of a log - yielding the least amount of waste. The bad news is that in very dry climates (like Colorado), these products can often "check" or crack in dry weather. However, many of these products perform well in moister climates.

Contrast the rotary peel with a "flat sawn" product where the log is bisected by the saw. Generally, the flat sawn engineered product will perform better in dry climates.

Will your retailer know if the product is rotary peeled? You'd be surprise how often they don't know this rather pertinent detail.

I know a Colorado homeowner that bought a rotary peeled product to save a few dollars, against ardent advice. In dry weather, the floor failed terribly. Due to the dry nature of our climate, the relative humidity feel well below the manufacturer's stated standards, which voided the warranty. In the end, the presumed savings were just a fleeting illusion.

Be wary. Be wise. Floors are expensive. Make well-informed hardwood floor decisions!