All About Hardwood Floor Company

Revitalize Your Floors Revive the natural glow of your floors with this quick beautification system. Our innovative deep cleaning system is the safest, quickest and easiest way to remove all the dirt, grime and build-up on your hardwood floors. The Bona deep clean system combines a Bona PowerScrubber and Bona Deep Clean Solution to effectively and easily clean hardwood floors. Environmentally Friendly Cleaning The Bona Deep Clean Solution is a commercial strength hardwood cleaner designed specifically for hardwood floors. It leaves no dulling residue and is GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certified for Indoor air quality.

New Refinishing Process We have implemented a state of the art refinishing process where the homeowner can walk on their hardwood floors every night, and not have to move out of their home! We use fast drying stains and Greenguard certified water based polyurethanes that dry in minutes allowing you to still walk on your floors each and every night without worrying about damaging them. We do ask that you keep all pets off the floors, do not spill anything on the floors and avoid wet feet. The low odor finishes make having your floors refinished a breeze! How to Prepare Your Floors the Day It's Going to Be Sanded - Take your pets to a friends house or keep them locked in an area of the house away from the floors being worked on. A pet can cause quite a bit of damage if allowed to walk on a floor that's just been coated. Also, materials used to coat hardwood floors may be deadly if consumed by a pet and loud noise from the floor sanders could permanently damage your pets hearing. - If you remove carpet or tile from the floor yourself, be careful not to damage the wood. Knife marks on a hardwood floor might be impossible to sand out. Be especially careful of removing tile as some older tile may contain asbestos and should be removed by a professional. - Move all furniture from the room. If the room is opened to another room/area of the house, put up large plastic tarps to keep as much of the dust out as possible. - Keep the temperature warm in the winter/cool in the summer. Do not turn off air conditioning or heating systems. Here are a few things for you to do to get ready for us to work in your home. Before we arrive: 1. Make arrangements to keep your pets off the floors the entire time we are working, and for job site finished floors, usually 2 days after the floors are completed. 2. Move all furniture off the floors this includes closets and pantries as well. 3. Remove all curtains/draperies and all wall coverings not screwed on to the wall. 4. Decide on how to get us in your home, key, garage door code or opener, or door open. 5. Remove everything from counter tops, including on top of cabinets and fridge. 6. For install jobs, make arrangements with a plumber to have the toilet, pedestal sink, wash tubs, ice lines to fridge, disconnected and reconnected. 7. We will need 220 electric to sand the floors. We normally use dryer plugs for this occasionally we will need access to the main breaker panel. 8. While the stains and finishes we use are all fast drying, please keep in mind there will be times when you will not have access to the floors or be able to walk on them. Please ask your technician for specific time, or if in question. 9. You can freely walk on the floors 24 hours after final coated. Place furniture back 48 hours after final coated, and replace area rugs one week from day of completion. Expectations: 1. We will arrive at different times each day, please allow for this. 2. There will be some dust, noise, and vapors during the installation, sanding, and finishing stages of your flooring project. 3. You will have to touch up painted door casings, jambs, stair parts up on completion of job. Anything painted will need touched up, normally you can paint right over the stain/finish. 4. We will hang plastic in doorways to minimize dust; however if there is something that you do not want dust on, please cover it! 5. New wood in repairs sometimes appears lighter in color than existing, aged woods. 6. When matching existing stain colors in other finished rooms, the newly sanded floors may not match the color and/or the sheen of the existing, aged floors. 7. Some sanding may reveal existing conditions in the wood floor such as knife marks from carpet padding, bruising, stains, sun fading, or halo effects common in old pine floors where the center of the rooms were not finished originally. These blemishes may not sand out of the floor. 8. We will not fill cracks between rows of flooring. All hardwood floors expand and contract with the change of relative humidity and seasons. 9. You must maintain relative humidity in your home between 35%-50% to minimize shrinkage and expansion between boards. All wood floors expand and contract with the change of season, this is normal. 10. Do not expect a furniture finish on your floors. Please understand the scope of what we are doing. While we strive to get you the best quality finish possible, it is not uncommon to find a small piece of debris or sander mark on the finished floor.

What To Do - Sweep or vacuum your hardwood floor on a regular basis (about once a week) just as you would any floor covering. Make sure no rocks or pebbles get lodged in the bristles, they will cause damage to your finish. - Wipe up spills immediately. - Use doormats outside room entrances and in front of high traffic areas like the kitchen sink and refrigerator to keep dirt and grit off your floor and to prevent damage and excessive wear. Shake clean or vacuum all rugs periodically to keep clean. - Use carpet runners and area rugs (with slip-resistant backings) in high traffic areas. - Lift and place all furniture whenever possible, do NOT scoot furniture. For heavy pieces use a dolly with intertube tires, or place clean masonite on the floor and scoot across the masonite - Protect your floor from direct sunlight over long periods of time. - Wash floors with slightly damp mop using water and Polycare Floor Cleaner made by Last-N-Last, or Bona's Hardwood Floor Cleaner. - Maintain the relative humidity in your home between 35-50% to avoid shrinkage during heating months. You will have some cracks during winter months. - Use furniture protectors to avoid scratching and damaging the floor's surface, place self-adhesive felt furniture pads under chairs and tables legs that could damage the floor's finish when moved across the floor. Replace the pads often, and keep them clean and free of dirt and grit. - Keep heels of shoes in good repair - especially high heels. - Keep your pet's nails trimmed, they WILL scratch your finish. What Not To Do: - Do no use abrasive or harsh chemicals such as ammonia, dish washing detergent, powdered all-purpose cleaner, Endust, Pledge, Murphy's Oil Soap, Orange Glo or any type of wax or silicone base products on your floor. Do NOT use steam cleaners on hardwood floors, they will ruin your finish. - Do no use ball-type casters or casters made of hard materials such as plastic or metal on any furniture on your hardwood floor. For Long Term Maintenance: Urethane finishes will eventually show wear patterns from surface scratching. When traffic areas begin to look dull, it is time to re-coat your floors. Re-coating is a one day process, and cost much less than sanding/refinishing. You should plan on re-coating hardwood floors everything 3 to 5 years depending on traffic patterns and wear. Do NOT wait until you wear through the finish to the bare wood or sanding may be required.

Custom Design Floors for New Installations Improve on the design and look of your home today. Ask us about adding a feature strip of wenge, walnut, purple heart, or Brazilian cherry. We'd be happy to help you customize your floor installation for a distinctive difference. Looking for something dramatic? Try adding a laser-cut border or medallion when you call us today. The Difference Between Laminate, Engineered and Solid Floors About 1/4" thick, laminate hardwood floors have an image of a hardwood floor on a plastic material fixed on to a compressed board. They are not glued or nailed directly to the subfloor, they are glued to each other, and installed over a Styrofoam material. This installation method is called "floating". These are inexpensive imitations of real hardwood floors. An engineered hardwood floor has a layer of real hardwood glued to multiple layers of plywood substrates. The thickness of the top layer of real hardwood will dictate the number of times these floors can be sanded and refinished. While the majority of these floors come pre-finished, there are some manufacturers that sell unfinished engineered flooring. Some engineered floors can be sanded as many times as a traditional 3/4" solid hardwood floor. These floors can be floated, glued, or nailed directly to the subfloor. Solid hardwood floors are real hardwood floors. They come as thin as 5/16" but the majority are 3/4" thick. If sanded correctly, they can be sanded 8-12 times before needing to be replaced. They come pre-finished or unfinished, and are installed by being nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor. We carry an extensive line of pre-finished flooring. Feel free to visit some of our manufacturer's websites including: Kahrs, BR111, Mirage, Somerset, Bruce, Robbins, Bella Cera, Teragren, Armstrong, and Indusparquet. The Difference Between Pre-finished and Unfinished Floors Pre-finished wod has been stained and finished at the manufacturer. Advantage of these floors include: - Quicker completion since there is no sanding or staining/finishing - Cleaner installation since there will be no dust from sanding - Little odor since polyurethane and stains are done at the manufacturer - Can be finished in as little as one day, depending on the job size. The disadvantages are: - Most have beveled or micro-beveled edges which catch dust, dirt and debris creating maintenance problems - Limited number of colors from which to choose - Warranties are general and vague and most do not consider gloss reduction as surface wear - Finishes rarely hold up to homeowners expectations Most unfinished hardwood floors can be sanded 8-10 times in their lifetime and can be stained in varying shades each time they're sanded. Their advantages iclude: - Can be sanded multiple times - Can be stained many different colors and shades - Floors are sanded smooth with no bevels to simplify maintenance - Easy to repair or to add additional flooring - Can install medallions, borders and/or inlays - Can apply water-based polyurethanes that are up to three times stronger than traditional oil-based polyurethanes Their disadvantages are: - Most sanding procedures produce some dust when not utilizing the Atomic Dust Containment System by Bona - It takes a minimum of two days to complete the floor work - With quick drying stains and polyurethanes you can walk on your floors after 2-3 hours, light traffic only, no shoes Install a Special Floor Pattern or Add an Inlay or Medallion with Ease While it is not difficult to install borders or medallions in your hardwood floor, an extra amount of time and planning is required. The choice of hardwood you use is important as it should be specific to your needs. As one example a soft yellow pine floor would not be appropriate for a family of five with two big dogs and a cat, where all the neighborhood children play. It would not stand up to the heavy traffic. You can have hardwood floors for all rooms except full baths where water from bathtubs and excessive humidity become factors.

Prevent Long-Term Floor Damage Urethane finishes will eventually show wear patterns from surface scratching. When traffic areas begin to look dull, it is time to re-coat your floors. Re-coating is a one day process, and cost much less than sanding/refinishing. You should plan on re-coating hardwood floors every 3 t 5 years depending on traffic patterns and wear. Do NOT wait until you wear through the finish to the bare wood or sanding may be required. Quick Service, Lasting Results Take the easy road and get your floor re-coated. Re-coating is a one-day process, and can be a quick solution for better-looking hardwood floors. Utilizing our low-odor, quick-drying, water-based urethane, you can be on your re-coated floor in a few hours. Cost-Efficient Solutions Contact us to learn more about our re-coating and repair services which are sure to cost less time and money than sanding and refinishing. Advantages of Screening Floors Over Sanding & Refinishing Screening the floor will only remove light marks caused by normal wear and tear. Once the floor is screened (lightly sanded), it will be coated with usually one coat of finish. It usually takes only a day to screen and re-coat a hardwood floor. Screening will not remove deeper scratches and indentations. Also, screening will not help a floor that has been worn down to the stain. In these cases, the floor should be completely sanded and refinished.