The cure

Q: I’m having new cherry floors put into my apartment. The installer says he’s going to put 3 coats of varnish on the floors, with the final coat going on next Tuesday. He says we can move in the next morning. Is that right?

It seems awfully quick to move in heavy furniture. I thought new floors needed a week to cure before even walking on them.

A: When I re coated my own floors I placed the furniture back the next day. You have to treat them more gently for the first few days. I have been using Circa 1850 polyurethane for the past year, and it’s directions are light traffic after 24 hours, heavy traffic after 3 days. No area rugs for a week or 2. You should be fine. Don’t drag anything heavy. Use felt tacs on the bottoms of furniture legs.