Archive for February, 2007

Blotchy stair treads

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

We moved into our new home 4 years ago. We recently noticed our oak stair treads are turning dark in some places, and they look very bad all over the finish look, dull and dirty. What would cause this? what can we do?

Quick fix for a scratch

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I need a quick repair on a scratch across my light oak wood floor. I do not want a kit, just a homemade quick fix. I need to refinish them one day soon, but I need to do this touch up quickly, with an at home item.

How do I get my semi-solid wooden floors to go back to their original colour?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

How do I get my semi-solid wooden floors to go back to their original colour?

Dust and grit

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

We are moving into a new home and we just had the floors sanded and finished with a water based urethane. During some renovation, the floors were covered in dust and grit from workman’s shoes. Our house cleaner used an oil based cleaner, which left the floors with a tacky surface. How can we safely remove this tacky finish and restore floors to shiny finish without having them sanded and refinished?

Dirt buildup

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I recently purchased a home that was built circa 1921. The home has the original hardwood floors throughout, oak with a maple inlay. They have been covered with carpeting for many years and are in good shape structurally, but they are very dirty. I have been told that they do not need to be sanded. However, they do need to be cleaned thoroughly and buffed. I am seeking advice as to what product would best remove the dirt buildup without destroying the finish that still exists.

Greasy residue on floors, from cleaner

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I am using a cloth hardwood floor mop and using M*** *** on my floors. It is leaving a greasy residue that shows footprints. Why would it do this? What should I use to clean pre-finished hardwoods, without leaving spots or residue?

Dull laminate floor

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

How do I get my laminated wood floor to look like new? After moving in, and Christmas with the grandkids, we have scruff marks all over the floor. The laminated floor has become dull.

Glue, nails, or both, to attach oak slab stair treads?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I am going to install 1 1/16″ oak slab stair treads over top of existing stair treads. How should I attach the slabs? Glue, nails, or both? What kind of glue? What kind of nails? What does one use to cover up the nail heads?

Can floating laminate flooring be placed over kitchen linoleum flooring?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

Can floating laminate flooring be placed over kitchen linoleum flooring, or should the linoluem be removed?

So I didn’t heed the expert advice and I refinished my hardwood floors myself…

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

So I didn’t heed the expert advice and I refinished my hardwood floors myself…

Special varnish for stair treads?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

We just installed maple floors in a new house and want to stain and finish it ourselves, to match the prefinished hardwood floors. Is there a special varnish that’s needed to finish the treads?

Swirls and tiger stripes, normal?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I have new 4 inch oak floors with a M***** Dark Walnut finish. I have several issues that I an concerned about. For one, there are a number of areas that have tiny sand mark circles. Lots and lots of them. The flooring company said there is just no way around that with a dark walnut stain. Also, there are many areas that have a variance in the color, for instance, boards that are much lighter in color or much darker. Finally, there are areas where there are stripes, like tiger stripes. Is this true that this is the absolute best that can be done? I want to be fair to my contractor and not have unreasonable expectations, yet I also want to be a good consumer and be treated honestly and fairly. Any insight would be helpful.

Can I use rubber back rugs on a hardwood floor?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

Can I use rubber back rugs on a hardwood floor?

Rug and discoloration

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I would like to put an area rug over my hardwood floor. If I do this over the years, if I remove it, will the floor be a different color where it wasn’t covered by the rug? I don’t want it to age to a different color.

Bubbles, dust and debris in finish

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I have just had professionals install my new red oak wood floor. There are bubbles on the floor (seems like there is a mix of debris - like dust, splinters and lint as well as just air bubbles in the Poly). They are telling me that this is normal, and with time they will go away. Is this really the case or should they buff and re-apply another coat of poly?

Bleaching wood floor?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I would like to know if a commercial product is available to bleach planking, to be used for flooring? If not will regular bleach lighten the surfaces?

Squeaking laminate stairs

Monday, February 12th, 2007

I’ve just finished putting laminate on my stairs. They look great but the squeaking is terrible. I made sure before I put the flooring down that all the squeaks in the rough lumber were gone. Any suggestions?

Removing staples from wood floors

Monday, February 12th, 2007

Is there a tool to remove 1 1/4″ staples from wood floors without breaking the staple?

Paint spots

Monday, February 12th, 2007

I’ve got paint spots on my newly installed, pre-finished hardwood floors. What is the best way to remove them without harming the wood floor?

Treads with veneer

Monday, February 12th, 2007

I contracted with someone to install hardwood stairs in my home. The oak stair treads they have purchased for the job are 1 inch thick, and to have a solid inner core, but are covered with a thin veneer (4 mm) of oak. They were bought at a local Home depot store and HD insists that the treads are the same as getting a normal 1 inch all solid tread. The installation is being done and I am wondering if the treads will be as durable as the ones that are 100% solid throughout…