St. Catharines and area hardwood flooring

Archive for November, 2005

Tacky, dull floor

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

For some reason after cleaning the floor a couple of days ago, my floor is extremely tacky and dull! I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought that maybe it was just extra dirty from a social gathering we had, therefore, I cleaned it again. Same thing. What happened?

Kitchen flooring and cabinets

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

Should cabinets be installed on top of the hardwood flooring? I have heard different opinions and don’t know which is correct.

Wood fillers

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

How can I fill the many large nail holes on each of our hardwood steps?

Wood delivered, house freezing

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

I just bought the house yesterday and had the wood delivered right after the closing, oak, 3.25″. Somehow I haven’t activated my account with the gas company, so the heat has been off just right after wood was brought into the house. The heat will be off till Monday, 28th afternoon. Meanwhile, the temperature is about 18 degrees at night and going to be 16 tomorrow night. I put few electric heaters and humidifier, the temperature was about 59 degrees when I left. Would my wood be ruined or it can restore itself after the heat is back on? How long it should get acclimated after heat is back?

Floor slowly cupped

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

Due to severe damage in my house, I recently had new oak floors installed on the second floor of my home I live in a hi-ranch in NY. My problem is since the installation 5 months ago I have had many large sections or areas of the second floor that have cupped. I put the contractor on notice and he came to the house and he admitted there is a problem but could not determine what would cause the cupping. He had his moisture meter and found everything dry. PS as a side note the wood did acclimate to the house for 3-5 days inside prior to installation. The floors are a #1 oak and were finished with 3 coats of satin poly. The installation was very tight board to board, no gaps. Now knowing that the only thing that has caused the cupping is expansion due to absorbing moisture. And it did not absorb moisture from the surface because it’s sealed.

Pine with dogs

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005

We recently purchased a home with wide pine flooring. We love the look, but we also have 2 dogs and their nails have gouged and taken off the finish in certain areas. What can we do to repair these areas and how can we protect the floors from further damage?

Across the joists

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005

The big question: Which way to lay the flooring? The long way – parallel to the 20′ length or the short way – parallel to the 14′ length.

Different species, different filler

Friday, November 18th, 2005

We have probably 25 different species of woods from osage, mahogany, cherry, white and red oak, birch, honey locust, ironwood.. To find a wood filler to match all these, yikes. That’s why I don’t think it would look good. Is there some product that we can “pour” into the gaps, cracks and knot holes to fill all these in? I’ve heard to leave the sawdust in the cracks and crevices, but won’t that come out during the first coat of sealer? We’re not using a stain either, don’t want to cover up any of the colors.

Sheens

Friday, November 18th, 2005

What polyurethane sheen should I use on recently sanded and stained stair treads? High gloss, satin, or semi?

Dull build up

Thursday, November 17th, 2005

How can I remove the dull build up on my hardwood floors from cleaners that I have been using?

Glued laminate removal

Wednesday, November 16th, 2005

We have a 20 X 20 section of 1/4 inch wood laminate flooring. We are trying to remove the entire area to put down new floors in our home. We are having a difficult time removing the flooring as it is a click in place and it has been glued to a particle underlayment. Is there something that can be used to heat the glue to make the removal easier?

Staining before install

Tuesday, November 15th, 2005

Would it be easier to stain a new pine floor before it is laid? If this is the case, could we go ahead and give one coat of finish? The last part of my question is, would we have to stain the ends of the boards when we cut them for installation?

Nail holes

Monday, November 14th, 2005

Should I be able to see nail holes in my new wood floor? Also they tell me there is no good way to transition to my existing tile entryway because it sits slightly lower. Is this true?

Blend

Saturday, November 12th, 2005

I currently have carpet in my living room and hardwood flooring in my kitchen as well as my nook. These areas are connected. What I want to do is take the carpet out of my great room and put hardwood flooring. I would like it to look like it was done at the same time. Is this possible?

Open windows

Wednesday, November 9th, 2005

Could open windows and cold temperatures have caused peeling air bubbles?

Dip it low

Wednesday, November 9th, 2005

We are putting down a hardwood floor, but we’ve found one area that dips down. Can we use self-leveling compound to fix it? Can it be stapled through? How thick can the compound be?

Flatten stair surface

Tuesday, November 8th, 2005

Our stairs are very old, worn down, painted pine. We are planning on leaving them painted and putting down a sisal carpet runner. Can the boards that are very worn be filled to make them flatter and less dangerous?

Painted concrete

Friday, November 4th, 2005

I have a concrete floor (above grade) that I would like to put down an engineered hardwood floor. The problem is that the concrete has been previously painted (a long time ago). What problems can I expect with a glued down floor? Will the paint allow the glue to separate from the concrete? Can anything be done?

Removing rug for laminate

Thursday, November 3rd, 2005

I have a question. Should I remove a indoor/outdoor carpet in my basement rumpus room to install a laminated floor? The old carpet is glued to concrete and I think will be not ease to remove it. The thickness of it is around 1/4″. Can I use it as subflooring instead?

Sticky mat

Thursday, November 3rd, 2005

Our under mat from an area rug left some sticky residue on our wood floors. How do I get this off? Someone mentioned vinegar and water solution. Would this work?