WoodFlooringGuy.com

We have just refinished our floors in an “ebony” stain. We did one coat, so it is more like a dark brown. We now have to put the final touch on. Semi-gloss finish or satin finish. Any advice on how to decide, or which one looks better?

About 3 months ago I had a #2 common red oak floor sanded, stained with natural (same color that was originally used) and refinished with 3 coats of Swedish finish. Now there are many uneven dark (nearly black) lines that are unattractive. It may be my imagination but it appears to be getting more dark streaks every day. Was something improperly done with the staining or refinishing of the floor?

I did bring in a professional hardwood floor sander/refinisher to finish the floor. It was only after the sanding and two coats of oil-based urethane were applied that I noticed and became concerned about the gaps between hardwood strips. I obviously had not checked closely before the refinishing began, so my mistake. I can only guess that being in this part of the province during the heating season, the humidity level was so low that the hardwood shrank appreciably.

I am installing oak hardwood flooring, using stair nosing’s, on a staircase which is partially open on one side. What is the best way to match up the ends of the risers with the stair skirt?

My father-in-law is installing hardwood floors in his condo. There is currently no sub floor underneath the carpet. Do you recommend installing a sub floor on top of the concrete or can the hardwood be installed with no sub floor?

We have a gym floor that we refinish (oil based product) every year around Christmas. We are having troubles with it being very slick right now (basketball games and practice for a month and a half before we can re-finish). We have cleaned several times with a very fine scrubber (very low abrasive) but it really doesn’t help too much. We try cleaners that are not to leave a residue and also used wet towels on dry-mops. Nothing is working. My question is, is there a product that we could add to something that would restore the tackiness? It can actually be quite dangerous.

I am removing a laminate floor that has 1/2 inch plywood underneath. I need to prepare the plywood to lay ceramic tiles down. I have removed most of the laminate flooring but the adhesive is still on the plywood. Is there a product that will remove this adhesive, or would it be a huge problem if I tile over it?

My daughter lives in Toronto and has purchased the ******* from a big box store. It amounted to almost $10,000 of material. Recently she has had to make the decision to move to another studio space. She is allowed to pull the floor up and move it to the other location. However I would like to know if that is possible. What I understand is the joint is pre-glued with a self-activating glue that bonds to create a “double lock”. Therefore is it feasible and doable to lift the floor by cutting (i.e. with a circular saw) and piecing it together at the new location. Or will she just have a lot of work to end up with a poorly fitting floor at the new location.

I just had an end table top refinished by a local guy who has been in business for 25 yrs. A lamp is on top and shows off the finish very clearly. Under this light, I can very clearly see circular motion from his buffer (he told me before he used one). I’ve always understood that you should always sand, steel wool or anything else with the grain, and, in fact, have never heard of anybody using a circular buffer. Am I right about always going with the grain?

I sent it to a professional because I was pressed for time and couldn’t do it myself, but I have finished many projects in the past and have never been able to any finishing marks. I’m planning to approach him with my disapproval as it was expensive to have done, but I want to be armed with accurate information about accepted procedure.

Our solid oak floors (installed in March 2006) are cupping. We were told to run a dehumidifier which we are doing, but we can’t see or feel any difference.