Q: How many times can my new floor be sanded?
A: If you properly maintain your floor you will never have to resand, unless of course you grow tired of the color, or some very real damaged has occurred.

Basically, the amount of sandable surface determines how many times you can resand. Thickness of the hardwood surface above the tongue and groove is what you look for, if you are worried about sanding. One thing to keep in mind is you can only sand to about an 1/8th of an inch before the tongue and groove in your hardwood. Any thinner and you run the risk of weakness at the edges. Sanding is an art. If you ever do decide to sand your floor, we highly recommend that you take the time to screen you potential workers. Having the right equipment helps, but having the "right touch" means more. We have seen professionals who can run a sander like a maestro playing a fiddle. Ask for references, and talk to people who have had their floor refinished. It is your only protection when getting your floor sanded.

Q: What is the difference between "real" wood and an "engineered" product?
A: When most people ask about "real" wood they're asking about solid wood floors.  Solid wood is basically just that; A solid hunk of hardwood cut to size, given a tongue and groove, and placed on your floor.  Engineered floors are a piece of plywood with a hardwood veneer. Engineered floors may not sound like quality material, however, you can get a really good ply, and some of the glues that are used today are stronger than the wood itself.

Q. What's the difference between "laminate" floors and "engineered" floors?"
A: Many people confuse engineered wood with laminate floors. They are not the same. Laminates have a fiberboard carrier and the top surface is generally a melamine.  Think formica, such as a formica counter top.

You can't go wrong with a solid wood floor; it is what it is. Another plus for solids is that the sandable surface is generally thicker than a comparable engineered product. However, there are some strictures you must follow when installing them. They tend to "move" more than engineered products. That is to say, they expand and contract with humidity more than ply does. The crust of that biscuit is we must allow more room for expansion when installing solids, which means that you will have to buy bigger moldings for your walls to hide the larger gaps. However, the layering of plywood with the sheets of wood going different directions make it what we call, more "dimensionally stable." You can buy some quality engineered flooring, with a veneer that has every bit of the sandable surface of a solid, and a finish you could drive a tractor across (well, that might a slight exaggeration).

As for installing a solid wood floor, it is our personal preference they we not glue solids down. We have had better results, and less call backs, when we have a wooden sub floor to nail into.

Q: What are the differences in a "job finished" and a "factory finished" floor?
A: Now days we are able to pull your wood floor out of a box, install it and have you walking on it the next day. This is due to the miracle of the "factory finish." It's not uncommon for manufacturers to give 15, 25, even 30 year warranties on their floors. To be honest, we don't think this is realistic. They are counting on you moving in 7 years and are playing the odds. We only have one problem with this; Most people tend to let their floor get to the point where they are having warranty issues 4, 5, or 10 years down the road, depending on your cleaning habits. When you just can't get the shine and beauty to come back into your floor, call us back for a "recoat." We can clean the floor very carefully and scuff the surface so another layer of urethane will stick. We then coat your floor with a new layer of oil modified urethane or water borne urethane and you should have another 5 years of new floor shine. (Note: A recoat will void some manufactures warranties.)

A "job finish" is when we install an "unfinished" floor that is bare wood. We sand it flat, fill any gaps or knotholes, apply a sealer coat and then finish with two coats of urethane. The end result is a five to fifteen year finish, depending on your traffic and life style.

Q: Are there any advantages to having a job finished floor?
A: The advantages of job finished floors are many, if you want to do something fancy such as borders, patterns, and medallions. They are all under a sealed layer of finish and, unlike factory finished floors, the cracks between the boards are sealed as well. As for cleaning a job finished floor, we recommend that you use as little water as possible when cleaning your new hardwood.

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