St. Catharines and area hardwood flooring

Archive for April, 2007

Is it normal that walking barefoot on your wood floors would leave footprints that have to be rubbed out?

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

We recently purchased a brand new house with pre-finished Brazilian hard wood floors. During the inspection we noted that there were foot prints all over the floor that did not wipe up. When we took possession of the house, these foot prints were still present. Thus far, we have had the builders come in 3 times and each time they say it requires a good cleaning. For the most part, the foot prints are gone now, but the last time they cleaned the floors one of their workers said they were using paint thinner. They are denying that comment now, but it seems that whenever we walk across the floors barefoot now it leaves footprints. Is it normal that walking barefoot on your wood floors would leave footprints that have to be rubbed out?

Cracking filler in gaps of poorly manufactured floor

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

Our house has dark Brazilian Mahogany hardwood floors. Unbeknownst to me, last year, at the time of purchase, the floors ranged anywhere from 4 1/2 inches wide to 4 2/8 inches wide. Where the boards don’t match up, some kind of gap filler was used. However, over the course of the last year, the filler has been falling out of the gaps, leaving unsightly gaps in the boards, sometimes as wide as 2/8 of an inch. This has occurred particularly in the higher traffic areas, but it is occurring all over the main floor of the house. In addition, where the filler has not fallen out it has cracked, leaving zig-zag looking patterns in the filler. I am at a loss. Is there a product that can fill the gaps that have lost their filler? Will it prevent this problem in the future? Is it something that I can do?

White Oak

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I’d like to put in White Oak throughout 3 bedrooms, a dining room, a hall and foyer. What would that cost, in Toronto? I want HARD wood that’s dog friendly. If something cheaper is actually better, that would be nice.

Cloudy spots

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We have 90+ year old oak hardwood in our home that was refinished 2 years ago. In two spots where the hardwood floor meets the hardwood trim, the floor has developed cloudy spots. What could this be from, and how can we fix it?

Go with Duraseal’s liquid wax products

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

The wood has not yet been sanded or finished. We would like a wax finish on these floors, and we also want to stain them. Do you recommend a paste wax initially, or can we go with Duraseal’s liquid wax products, which can be maintained with their Renovator? Can paste wax floors be maintained with the Duraseal product?

Trace paint in heavy grain

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I sanded some hardwood floors that were previously painted, but I didn’t (quite) get all the paint off. What will happen if I stain them?

Floor cleaning product leaving residue

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I have parquet wood floors, not solid wood floors. I clean them with the ***** ******** and ***** wood floor products, but as soon as someone walks across my floors I see footprints. What can do? Or, what should I use so that footprints do not show?

“Popping” or “cracking” sounds in wood floor

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We just had new floors installed in a 1 year old home, on the entire first floor, with a crawl space underneath. This is a redo job since the original floor had to be ripped up, because of major cupping due to moisture in the subfloor. Now we have new, prefinished floors (on a dry subfloor), but in various locations we hear a “popping” or “cracking” sound. Any ideas, before we go back to the installer?

Stain stairs same color as floor?

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We are going to have our main floor, oak, sanded and stained a darker color than it currently is. What do we do with the stairs? Leave them the lighter natural color? Or stain them darker to match? Then do we paint the banister a chocolate brown to complete the look?

Water underneath wood laminate flooring

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I recently had a plumbing problem under the kitchen sink. Now there is some water underneath the wood laminate flooring (about a 3′x3′ area). I’ve noticed slight swelling in between the planks. What’s the best way to dry that out?

Plaster dust all over our wood floor

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

The drywall guys left lots of plaster dust ground into our nice oak floor. What’s the best way to start cleaning it?

A few bare spots in old finish

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We own a 116 year old Victorian home and our large dining room area has an original pine wood floor. Since we have lived here for only two years, we have never refinished this floor. The problem is that lately, in quite a few spots, the finish has peeled and cracked, leaving bare spots that are actually deeper than the rest of the wood. Can we repair just these spots and then finish the whole floor? What are the steps taken to fix this?

How do I replace a single warped slat of hardwood with another?

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

How do I replace a single warped slat of hardwood with another? Or repair the warp, if that’s possible?

Getting rid of lap marks

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I have just finished staining my pine floor. I used a wood conditioner and then used an oil based stain. I did this in two parts, and now I have lap marks. How do I get rid of these?

Steam applied by an iron, to fix dent

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

Could I poke pinholes through the finish and have the steam go into the wood that way? I would live with a small dent or even 10 small dents… this is prettty much a huge, loooong dent. Have you heard of this trick and could it work?

When your wood flooring is defective

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We put in hardwood flooring 7 years ago, 460 sq. feet. Not too long after, I felt the floor was not standing up. I called the company [makers of the wood], and they did send someone in. He said they would only replace a few boards. We didn’t bother– we we’re unable to at the time.

Discoloration from mat

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

We have a K***** hardwood floor in our bedroom, which has been discolored by a rubber mat. What could be done to restore it?

Temporary stair runner solution?

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

I am renting a house with hardwood stairs. I have 2 large dogs and they are scratching them up. Is there anything I can put over the stairs without adhesive or anything else? I need something that is not permanent. Floor runners? I do not want to nail anything since I am renting.

We really want to save as much of the wood as we can

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

We just bought a 1950′s home with all original hardwood floors. They were covered in carpet and still in pristine shape. We’re in the process of remodleing the home, which includes moving several walls and expanding off the back of the house. We really want to save as much of the wood as we can and reuse it in the main part of the house. Prior to construction starting we want to pull up all the floors. Is this possible without damaging them so that we can relay them once the house is complete?

Footprints permanently in the urethane

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

Sanding with fine grit paper doesn’t take the spot (tread mark) off. I have no idea what was on the shoes, no chemicals are in the house. It could have been the maintenance man, but I’m worried about my deposit. Appx. 30 footprint/tread spots. It looks like the floor was refinished by amateurs.