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APPLICATIONS:
Q:
Is it cost-effective to select wood flooring over less costly
materials?
A: Yes! Residential real estate agents say homes with
wood floors hold their value better, sell faster, and fetch
higher prices, according to a recent nationwide survey commissioned
by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). By a three-to-one
margin, real estate agents said that a house with wood floors
would sell faster than a carpeted house. Some 58 percent said
a house with wood floors would bring a higher price. "There
is a perception today that they don't build homes like they
used to," according to one Pennsylvania agent. "So when people
see hardwood floors instead of carpet-covered plywood, they
feel the entire house was built with superior building materials."
Q: There are so many species of wood. How should a specifier
select one?
A: Choosing a species of wood involves more than selecting
a color to match décor. Both decorators and installers should
be aware of the basic facts about wood species. Other appearance-related
attributes are important for designers too, such as texture,
grain, and color. Installers will want to consider mechanical
properties like dimensional stability, machinability, and ease
in finishing. There are also specific performance attributes
relating to our Arizona desert environment.
Q: Is hardwood flooring durable enough for a kitchen or work
space?
A: Yes. Specifiers and clients are discovering what basketball
players have always known: wood flooring can take a pounding
and still look beautiful. The urethane finishes on most new
wood floors stand up to water and traffic, bringing wood flooring
into kitchens, and other higher-stress areas. These finishes
resist wear and stains better than other finishes and require
no stripping, no buffing and no waxing.
Q: Is hardwood flooring suitable for a bathroom?
A: Hardwood can be a wonderful decorative addition to
a powder or guest bath, but is probably not the best choice
for a bathroom with a shower that is used every day. Our goal
is to make homes more livable, and we realize that few men or
children are dillegent enough to keep standing moisture off
of a floor.
Q: Does wood flooring provide good acoustics?
A: Churches, synagogues, and other clients with auditorium
projects increasingly request wood floors for its warmth and
acoustic contributions. It makes acoustics lively which make
it imminently suitable for listening areas. On the flip side,
there can be noise issues in cases where you are concerned with
sound transmission from one level to the next. We have special
installation techniques and barrier to restrict noise transmission
in these applications.
Q: Are hardwood floors or laminate floors better?
A: Hardwood floors can usually be sanded back and refinished
if they are damaged or aged, laminate once damaged is gone.
This is why hardwood floors have a life cycle measured in decades,
whereas a laminate floor is normally toast in a dozen years.
Still, laminate floors are a viable choice for a family with
young children, because they suffer abuse more readily than
hardwood even if they don't last as long.
CARE
AND MAINTENANCE:
Q:
Should you dust the furniture first or dust the hardwood floors
first?
A: You should dust from top to bottom. If you dust the
floors and then the furniture the dust will fall on the floor
and you will have to dust the floor again.
Q: How are polyurethane finishes maintained, and what specific
cleaning products should I use.
A: Surface finishes like polyurethane require only simple
care. Just vacuum regularly and use a tery cloth mop with an
appriate cleaner. We recommend and merchandise BONA-X Hardwood
Floor Cleaner. This product is made by a Swedish company, Bona
Kemi, the world's leading manufacturer or floor finishes. BONA-X
cleaner is accepted and/or endorsed by every hardwood manufacturer.
Never use vinyl or tile floor care products on any wood floor,
and if someone suggest any product that has the word "oil" in
the name, run, don't walk, away You can order your cleaning
products from use by phone or email to be delivered to you.
Q: Can a wood floor be damp-mopped?
A: Never damp mop a waxed floor. When cleaning a surface-finished
floor, follow the manufacturer's recommendations. You may generally
use a dampened (near dry) mop to maintain a wood floor, however
excessive moisture will cause damage. Standing water can dull
the finish, damage the wood, and leave a discoloring residue.
If water spills on a wood floor, immediately wipe it up with
a clean cloth.
Q: How can I prevent scratches on wood flooring?
A: Place mats and throw rugs at doorways to help protect
wood floors from grit, dirt and sand. Place felt pads under
furniture legs and vacuum/dust your wood floor regularly. Remember
that all wood floors will get scratches, but they do not harm
the beauty or performance of the overall floor.
Q: How do you restore hardwood floors?
A: Refinishing wood floors is a very time intensive process
best done by professionals. We sand off the old finish, vacuum
the dust, then apply stain or clear sealer. The finish coats
are usually poly-urethane, but that's just a general term. We
actually inventory ten different urethane products and part
of our responsibility as professionals is selecting the right
finish for your floor.
Q: Is there an alternative to refinishing?
A: Yes there is, and that process is called screening
and top-coating. This is a normal maintenance procedure for
wood floor that is normally done every five years. It is possible
that high traffic areas will need coating more frequently, and
it is also true that in some homes that are used only part time
we can got to an eight or ten year cycle. Top-coating is the
application of a new coat over the existing floor. The screen
we do is a mild form of abrasion to prepare the surface for
coating. It doesn't not remove existing scratches or damage;
however the new coating tends to make scratches less apparent.
In addition to improving the overall appearance of the floor,
top-coating protects the hardwood from the drying impacts of
temperature and humidity.
Q: How long does the polyurethane smell after the hardwood
floors have been refinished?
A: It depends on how much air you get through the house.
Generally it's a week or two but if the house is well sealed
up it might take longer.
Q: How do you stop hardwood floors from splitting?
A: In a desert environment it is not unusual for some
splitting to occur in a hardwood floor. This is especial true
in extremely hard species of hardwood, or in engineered floors
with an overly thick surface ply. This is counter-intuitive,
but in simply terms thicker and harder does not translate into
better performance in the desert. As desert hardwood experts
we can help you inform yourself on what to expect from different
species of wood. If you do choose a very hard floor, more frequent
top-coating may be needed to protect the wood from our drying
climate.
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES:
Q:
Does wood flooring promote a healthy indoor environment?
A: Yes! Bacteria, dust and dirt do not embed themselves
in wood flooring, as they do in other flooring options. Simple
regular maintenance-such as dust-mopping, sweeping, or vacuuming-keeps
wood floors sanitary.
Q: What if my client suffers from allergies. Is wood flooring
hypoallergenic?
A: Millions of people suffer from sensitivity to chemicals
and toxins. Tests by leading allergists have proven that wood
flooring provides a healthier environment for these allergy
sufferers. Wood doesn't harbor irritating dust and microorganisms.
Q: Is the natural environment protected during the harvesting
and manufacturing of wood flooring?
A: Yes. Far from a depleting resource, hardwood is sustainable
and commercially more available now than ever before. On the
486 million acres of forestland in the United States classified
as commercial, substantially more wood is added in new growth
each year than is harvested. For hardwood species, 86 percent
more wood is added annually in net growth than is removed through
harvest. Manufacturers of glue-down wood flooring meet Clean
Air Act standards for construction adhesives. A national environmental
standard for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is anticipated
in the next few years, but manufacturers are already offering
VOC-compliant wood flooring products.
Q: Once installed, how often must wood flooring be replaced?
A: Every hundred-years or so for a traditional solid hardwood,
and every 20 to 60 years for engineered hardwood flooring. In
fact, the heart pine floors in historic Bacon's Castle in Virginia
are more than three centuries old and counting. Simple care
and maintenance keeps wood floors looking beautiful for a lifetime.
Instead of laying an entirely new floor when the original is
worn, wood floors can be rejuvenated with sanding and refinishing.
When done by a wood flooring professional, wood floors need
only to be refinished every 10 - 15 years or 10 - 12 times during
a floor's life. When a wood floor's useful life is over, it's
completely biodegradable.
Q: Is recycled wood flooring available?
A: Yes. Wood salvaged from a variety of sources, including
old barns and factories, is a popular high-end design trend.
Wood recovered from riverbeds is another growing segment of
the wood flooring industry. Logs that sank during logging operations
years ago are being recovered by a number of companies and used
to create truly unique flooring. Today's only significant source
for heartwood from long-leaf pine is through reclaimed timbers
from warehouses and factories constructed during the late 1800s
and early 1900s. Chestnut, hemlock, poplar, walnut, and cypress
are other options.
TROUBLESHOOTING
AND REPAIR:
Q:
How can scratches or stains on wood flooring be repaired?
A: First aid for wood floors depends on the type of surface.
In the following chart, solutions in the middle column are for
floors finished with wax or penetrating stains. Solutions in
the right-hand column are for floors finished with polyurethane
or other surface finishes.
Note: When removing stains from any wood floor, always
begin at the outer edge of the stain and work toward the middle.
Always use the wood flooring manufacturer's cleaning, repair
and finish products when known.
Scratches
Repair with a touch-up kit for urethane finishes.
Dried milk or food stains
Use BONA-X cleaner developed specifically for urethane finishes.
For stubborn spots, scrub using the urethane cleaner and a scrub
pad made for urethane floors.
Water stains or white spots
Follow instructions for food stains.
Heel scuffs and other black marks
A little WD-40 and then follow with BONA-X cleaner.
Mold or mildew
Use BONA-X cleaner. If the mold or mildew lies underneath the
surface finish, sand and refinish the area. Chewing gum, crayon,
Christmas tree sap or candle wax Apply a plastic bag filled
with ice on top of the deposit until it is brittle enough to
crumble off. Then follow with instructions for heel marks.
Oil and grease stains
Follow with instructions for heel marks.
High Heel Shoe Dents
1/4 inch spike heels will cause dents that require professional
repair.
How can you get battery acid stains out of hardwood floors?
Wood generally turns a dark color when it gets battery acid
on it. That is because the cellulose in the wood is breaking
down into carbon. About the only solution is replacement of
the board in question.
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