WoodFlooringGuy.com

How do I test the coating on my building’s staircase and exterior doors to see if each coating is fire proof?

Oil versus varnish wood floor finish: Pros and cons, which is the better choice of the two?!

My hundred year old fir floors are worn through in many areas. The pros say they cannot be refinished. Can I paint them a dark expresso? If so, what paint should I use and what would be the process?

What is better – oiling or lacquering our existing oak floor which needs life put back into it? We want our floor to weather occasional water/food/wine spillage’s. New Quaker-style kitchen is going into the basement of our 1840′s London town house. We have an open plan kitchen/dining area.

I have just selected “*********” hardwood flooring for my new condo. The hardwood flooring company has suggested it be finished with an oil, rather than urethane. What are the pros and cons of each? Which would you recommend?

Should I use a finish that has nanotechnology?

Regarding urethane for hardwood floors, I just finished reading your oil vs. water text. I think I am partial to oil. I have new, beautiful, truly brown walnut flooring that I do not want to yellow. I cannot get my hands on the Circa 1850 Bowling Alley urethane. Do you think that the yellowing or amber-color that happens with oil-based is from the yellow in the wood? If so, I should be OK because this wood has no yellow in it. Or, do you think that the urethane itself is what ambers? If that’s the case I might have to go with the water-based, which I do not want to do.

I am getting a lot of different opinions on which is a better method to refinish my wood floor, water or oil based finish?

Is it possible to paint parquet flooring as an alternative to replacement?

I am planning to sand and finish a 60 year old pine or fir T&G garage floor that will be my workshop. One problem is that many years of motor oil spills have created deep oil stains that will not sand off. What kind of finish will be compatible with this damage, in terms of sticking to it? What kind of gap filler would be compatible for the 1/4″ gaps between the boards. This will be a heated space in winter.

I recently had my oak floors refinished with water based poly. I would rather have had Oil but because of time constraints at that time I opted for the water. I want to put a couple of coats of oil on top. Can I just rough up the floor and add coats over water?

Q: I just installed unfinished white oak on my stairs. I’m staining them now. What is the best polyurethane to use that will dry nice and hard. Also, should I sand the poly between coats? A: There are many good finishes on the market. They might all claim to be the best, and I don’t [...]

We just had the floors redone using an oil based polyurethane and I’m trying to get the stairs to match. The problem is the stairs were originally done with a water based polyurethane. Do I need to completely sand down the floors or can I apply the oil based polyurethane over the existing water based polyurethane? Will the oil based polyurethane warm up the wood or will it be dulled because of the previous water based poly?

All of the green building references I have found say that wood floors should be finished with a low VOC water-based polyurethane, but none of these articles provide recommendations for a brand. Is there a website which provides this information or can you provide the names of some products that are on the lower end of the VOC scale?

We have a 70-year old house with beautiful pine floors desperately in need of refinishing. So far we’ve had 3 professionals in to give us estimates. We have 2 large dogs so of course, durability is our primary concern and we’re aware that we need to trim and file their nails. The first contractor recommended 3 coats of “high quality” water-based urethane with 1 coat of sealer underneath. The second contractor said 3 coats of oil-based polyurethane with no sealer under and the 3rd contractor said 1 coat of sealer under 2 coats of water-based urethane. We’re at a lost as to what to do and have 2 questions for you: 1) which is best for our situation: water-based or oil based polyurethane; and 2) do we need a sealer under the urethane?

We want a non-yellowing non-glossy finish for our hardwood floors that will keep the wood’s natural colour as best as possible. What is the difference between our two choices “Swedish finish” and water-soluble?

…….Do you have experience with a satin clear coat that has low, or no VOC’s, that you would recommend?

I read a couple of threads that suggested water based polyurethane for floors may not be the best idea. Should we reconsider an oil based polyurethane before we start?

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?

What do you think about water-based finishes containing aluminum oxide?