• Why should I consider hardwood floors?
• What is the difference in grades of wood?
• What kind of wood floor can I use with radiant heat?
• Is solid hardwood the best in all cases?
• Are engineered floors less durable and impossible to re-surface?

• How do I maintain my hardwood floors?
• What products are recommended for care and maintenance?
• How do I clean my hard wood floor?
• Do hardwood floors need wax to restore the sheen when they become dull?

• Does the subfloor have to be perfectly level to install a hardwood floor?
• What is the appropriate time period for allowing the wood to acclimate to the house?
• Will we be able to stay in the home while the floor is being done?

• Does sanding and finishing a floor take off a lot of wood?
• What does "screening a floor," mean?
• How often do you screen and recoat a floor?

• Can I do anything about the squeaks in my floor?
• Can I put rugs on my hardwood floor?
• What about cracking?
• Will certain finishs stop wood flooring from fading and changing color?

• Why is my floor cupped up on the edges?
• What are Common Sources of Moisture on existing flooring?
• How long will it take for the flooring to dry out?
• What can I do to speed up the drying process?
• Can new subfloors or generally wet jobsites damage a new wood floor?
• Can over-washing of hardwood floors cause damage?
• Do hard surface finishes prevent water from penetrating and damaging hardwood flooring?

• New Floor Installation
• New Floor Care & Maintenance Instructions
• Recoating Service
• Sanding & Finishing
• Water Damaged Flooring Information Sheet

The grains and colors of hardwood floors provide natural beauty and a sense of craftsmanship. In practical terms: hardwood floors are easy to clean, more sanitary than carpet, and are a structural improvement that outlast most other flooring coverings. (Back to top)

What is the difference in grades of wood?

*	Clear Cleanest appearance. This grade is mostly heartwood with a minimum number of character marks and discoloration, providing a uniform appearance allowing for natural color variations.
*	Select Excellent appearance. Like clear, but having more characteristics such as tight knots, pin wormholes, slight brown streaks, and color variations. Select is our most frequent upgrade.
*	No. 1 Common Variegated appearance. More markings than clear or select. Light and dark colors, knots and other character marks make a more colorful natural looking floor while maintaining good uniformity. Traditionally our best seller.
*	No. 2 Common The grade with most knots, shorter lengths, wormholes, imperfections and color variations make a more natural looking floor that has a rustic feel to it. Perfect for a more casual look.

Wood, being a product of nature, will have characteristics such as grain, knots, pinholes and many other beauty marks of nature. Each piece of flooring will react differently to stains and finishes. This is what gives wood flooring its warmth and differentiates it from processed flooring products. (Back to top)

Almost any type of wood floor can be used when the system is properly designed. Please call us for a consultation during the planning stage of your construction project for our advice. Engineered floors with their dimensional stability are often considered for radiant in floor heat systems. (Back to top)

Engineered floors (also known as Longstrip or Europlank flooring) are more stable than solid wood flooring, i.e. less likely to expand and contract with changes of temperature and humidity. A concrete slab will likely have higher moisture content than most plywood subfloors, making the more stable engineered floor a better choice. Engineered floors can be installed over concrete slab without requiring a plywood subfloor, which would be necessary for a solid hardwood floor. Engineered floors would therefore minimize height gain in comparison to solid hardwood. (Back to top)

Re-surfacing can be performed just like solid wood floors but not as many times as a solid floor. A professional sanding crew can successfully sand an engineered hardwood floor two or three times. (Back to top)

Also, be conscious of scratching from movement of furniture and appliances, dragging of moving boxes or other items. Never use a product that will leave a wax or oil residue on your floor. This kind of residue will prevent recoating (applying an additional coat of finish) your floor in the future. (Back to top)

We recommend Glitsa and Bona-Kemi cleaning products. You may also use one cup of white distilled vinegar to a gallon of water for heavy solvent finishes and a quarter cup of vinegar to a gallon of water to clean water based finishes. (Back to top)

Maintain your floor with a clean damp sponge mop and then towel dry to remove moisture. Repeated heavy or too frequent washing of your floor can cause cupping and/or cracks to develop from excess moisture being absorbed. Towel drying prevents film buildup especially in homes with hard water. Frequent scrubbing of floors or use of abrasives will dull the finish. Pick up daily spills with a damp sponge and dry towel. Mild liquid soap may be used on stubborn spots. Do not flood your floor with water. (Back to top)

No. Today's hard surface finishes require no wax. Wax only sits on top of a hard surface finish causing an uneven sheen with even limited traffic and also prevents re-coating. (Back to top)

Depends on the product being installed. For traditional nail down flooring the subfloor does not have to be perfectly level, but must be flat for installation. For floating and glue down floors the subfloor has to be level. (Back to top)

Hardwood flooring is typically kiln dried between 6% & 9% moisture content. In a dry home environment it is desirable to allow flooring materials to acclimate for several days before installation. Where floors are being added to existing homes one can allow as long a time as is practical for acclimation. Ideal conditions in a new construction or remodel situation would provide that all wet work has been completed for three or four days. Subfloors should be scraped and cleaned and the environment should have permanent heat. Production schedules may not allow for this scenario but an increased probability of cracks due to absorption of site moisture is likely. (Back to top)

Our technicians will close windows to eliminate drafts during application of finishes. Windows should be opened as soon as possible after the finish is dry on the surface. Airflow across the surface will help the finish to cure and harden. If you can enter the house without having to cross the wet floor after about 4 hours to open some windows, do so. Trapping the gasses in the home slows the curing process and lengthens the time that the odors are in the home. (Back to top)

The sanding and finishing generally reduces the thickness by about 1/64". (Back to top)

What does "screening a floor," mean?

Screening is a process by which the floor is lightly sanded by an orbital buffer to allow for adhesion of the new coats of flooring finish. This process is performed during the recoating of a hardwood floor. (Back to top)

This depends on the amount and kind of traffic in the home and the type of finish used on your floor. With Glitsa Floor Finish after three to five years one should review the performance to consider recoating. Other finishes such as water based or polyurethane finishes may not perform as well and may need recoating sooner. A screen and coat should be considered as preventive maintenance; its low cost and minimum dust and disruption add years to your hardwood floor without major refinishing. (Back to top)

Isolated boards that squeak in a floor can be top nailed and the squeak may be removed in some cases. In conditions where the entire floor has squeaks it is very difficult to remove them. General squeaking can be caused by structural conditions, structural design or by seasonal wet crawl space or basements. There are a great number of things that can be done to reduce squeaks but no guaranteed solution. (Back to top)

Yes. Place throw rugs in entries, in front of the kitchen sink, and other high traffic areas. Finish manufacturers recommend an extended curing period before using rubber-backed area rugs. (Back to top)

Because hardwood floors are sensitive to climate, seasonal cracking is common. Humidity causes expansion and dryness brings contraction. To minimize cracking, a humidifier can be used to add moisture to your home by maintaining a constant humidity level around 35% and 45%. (Back to top)

No. Certain finishes will reduce the effects of ultraviolet rays but none will fully eliminate UV light. Both the wood and the wood floor finishes will change color. This is a natural aging process. (Back to top)

When wood flooring "cups" up at the edges it is because of water has been introduced to the wood after it was installed. This is true whether it has been installed for two days or twenty years ago. The sketch below illustrates the difference between "cupping" and "crowning" and will help explain why "crowning" occurs. With enough time most floors will dry out and in some cases no repairs are required. This of course depends on the volume of water that has been absorbed into the flooring and the length of time that the flooring is exposed to moisture. When floors have absorbed a great volume of water it is best to replace these floors. We recommend that new flooring be replaced when water damage has occurred due to scheduling requirements and to return the floor to a new condition. (Back to top)

The most frequent cause of water damage to hardwood flooring is plumbing leaks. Water supply lines to refrigerators seem to be the most common source of problems because these lines are easily damaged. Dishwasher supply lines are probably a close second with a wide variety of supply and drain plumbing following behind. Roof leaks are the most common structural failure, which cause moisture to damage wood floors along with leaks in door and faulty window units, and improper flashing on decks. Poorly designed landscaping and faulty gutters and downspouts have also caused moisture to enter the home or crawlspaces and then damage hardwood floors. Remember that many leaks may never cause water to pool on the surface, and therefore can go undetected for some length of time before doing damage that is noticeable. Many leaks are difficult to find because evidence of the excess moisture can appear in places, which are not directly related to the source. It may be necessary to consult a General Contractor to help locate problems in your home. We would be glad to recommend a number of General Contractors if you are not acquainted with one. (Back to top)

Simply, not until the "cupped" flooring has lain down close to it's original flat surface. If the floor is uneven on the surface then the moisture content is too high to sand and refinish as "crowning" may occur after the floor has dried. Wood products will maintain about 6% moisture content (MC) in our dry climate. New flooring materials have a 6% to 9% MC. Even though your floor "looks dry" the moisture content may be considerably higher than normal level for your home. (Back to top)

We recommend clipping one or more 150-watt trouble lights to the floor joists beneath the damaged area as a safe method drying a subfloor. This recommendation assumes that you have unfinished access beneath your floor. Space heaters can be used to cure moisture out of a structure but care must be taken to avoid overheating and causing a fire hazard. Dehumidifiers can also be rented to dry moisture out of the home. Generally heat & airflow on the damaged area and air exchange in the home are required for the moisture to cure from the damage area. Crawl spaces can cause considerable delays in this drying process, as evaporation up into the home will continue to add moisture to the subfloor and the hardwood floor. Ventilation of the crawl space is absolutely necessary for the curing of the water damage flooring when flooding of the crawl space has occurred. (Back to top)

Wet subfloors can be caused by the rain or snow when the roof is open during construction, water spilled from tub saws or drywall wet work being done on the subfloor before the installation of flooring, (to name a few sources). After installation of the hardwood flooring mud and water or snow may have been tracked into the site during construction. Also plywood and OSB board may have been installed with a high MC. "Crowning" is often the result of wet site conditions, which may not be detectable when the flooring is sanded but will later show up after the home is properly heated. Cracks from compression set frequently occur on jobsites where excessive moisture is a problem. (Back to top)

Yes. Kitchen floors, which have been repeatedly scrubbed, can develop cupping and cracks. As the moisture is repeatedly absorbed into the floor cracks can become enlarged after compression set occurs. (Back to top)

This finish and other comparable brands of finish are designed to hold up to traffic but are not designed to serve as moisture barrier. (Back to top)

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* Illustrations provided by the Wood Flooring Manufactures Association. Here are links to N.O.F.M.A. and N.W.F.A. which are what companys use for guidelines in the flooring industry.