Refinish and repair old oak floors or replace with new?

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Save your money and restore your old hardwood floors

The question always arises: should I reuse what I have or buy a new floor? Right? New is exciting and fun because we get to shop around, make choices and get something that is – well; new! The thought of this is much more exciting than looking at what we have had for years, thinking how to make it better and more interesting. Hardwood floors are an asset and as such, should be looked at as a long term investment and not a temporary floor covering. These floors had been in service for more than a 100 years in a lot of homes.

Unfortunately, the craft of working with wood floors is slowly disappearing. The number of floor contractors who can tackle a really good sanding job is going down every year. If you have an old wood floor that has some blemishes, or even some boards are buckling – this floor can be sanded, repaired and finished to last you years to come. Then, you could use the money your saved on other things.

Let’s take this floor for example, an old top nail white oak floor. This floor was covered with different carpets over the years, had been urinated on by dogs, had carpet shampoo flood some areas and that’s just some of it. Well, most contractors that came to quote on that floor suggested a new floor instead of repairing and sanding the old. That is because they were not qualified to do such work.

We came in, repaired the floor where needed, added some new at the entry way and did our usual stain and finish to the highest standards.

The home owner was thrilled with the outcome, and was even happier to be able to spend his money on new furniture, instead of a new floor.

We mainly work in our immediate area which includes the 80 corridor from Oakland to Pinole, with more areas served like Lamorinda and walnut creek. We had spent the last 20 years restoring old floor, and installing new hardwood floors. Be certain that we will recommend the best option for you, not to our pocket.

Before Refinish White Oak San Pablo
Before Refinish White Oak San Pablo

Before Refinish White Oak San Pablo

After Refinish White Oak San Pablo
After Refinish White Oak San Pablo

After Refinish White Oak San Pablo

Top Three Mistakes Consumers Make When Hiring a Floor Contractor

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white oak refinish Berkeley bona ambersealWhen hiring someone to refinish your wood floors, or to install new hardwood floors there are many things you should do and don’t. From asking the right questions to checking the experience and quality of the company, this process of interviewing and hiring can be long and agonizing.

Here are my top three mistakes most of us do in the process of hiring a floor contractor. It could be for a refinish and repairs, or installation of new wood floors. The mistakes cover both avenues, and are mainly things I see here in the Bay Area, CA.

  1. Calculating a price by the square foot:
    A lot of consumers get stuck on this. Understand that this price per square foot didn’t come from contractors, it was created by someone along the way to put a price tag on something that isn’t a product – it’s a service. Professionals give you a quote for the work you ask them to do. They calculate in their quote things from payroll expenses to how much filler they need to use on your floor. A professional cannot simply take a number like $4 and multiply it by any size job to get them to a reasonable gross sale. When a professional gives you a quote, don’t automatically compare it to others just by dividing the number by the square feet you have. A lot more goes into your floors than you know, and even more than the professional has time to explain to you. I always refer to the dentist example. Understand that a tooth specialist could possibly charge thousands of dollars for 30 minutes of work. Compare that to when you get a crew of experienced craftsmen to work on your floors for a week, and it costs you only around 8K or 9K, it does seem cheap in comparison. To me, what society has determined is unquestionable as far as prices go, is beyond logical. It is unfair and makes no sense who gets to “get away” with their prices, and needs to negotiate, accommodate and follow.
  2. Asking google if whatever the contractor told you is actually true.
    Anything from what finish is to be used, or floor product. Understand that the information online is usually wrong, and doesn’t apply to your scenario. Trust in your reputable professional to provide you with the right answers, and recommend the right product. On the same token, don’t go to online forums seeking others opinions on your situation. They didn’t take the time to drive to your home, and give you their time. Finally, they don’t even know what the full scope of work is, and most likely they would like to look like they know better when in fact they usually don’t.
  3. Relying only on review websites
    It’s become a norm to check and judge companies based on their presence on review sites like Yelp or Angie’s List. Understand that as much as it is a good resource to read about other people’s experiences, those sites could also have bad information. These days it is easy for a new company to create a profile that looks like they had been around for decades, served hundreds of customers – when in fact – they have been in business for a few months. Writing fake reviews, and posting stolen pictures from social media is common among those companies. Unless you are in the trade of floors, you couldn’t tell just by looking at their profile. Beware, as to how you should take those sites with a grain of salt.

Top Five Complaints and how to Avoid Them

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If you are a professional hardwood flooring contractor like me, installing wood floors becomes a second nature. From the preparation to the final product – it is a careful step by step process. Done right, it can yield a floor that can last more than a 100 years. It sounds so easy just reading about floor installation or watching a video on YouTube. So why are there so many problems in reality? Because installing a wood floor is not that easy. Every day home owners pay a good amount of money for so called professionals to install their floors, only to have a problem floor shortly after.

The most common complaints are:

  1. Cupping – that is when the edges of each floor plank are raised. A Simple solution to that is knowing your moisture content and relative humidity levels inside the home and the wood before, during and after installation. Many installers skip this step or don’t understand it. The fact is that any wood can be installed successfully in most situations. A simple check with a moisture meter and allowing time in the schedule for acclimation can prevent most of the cupping complaints.
  1. Gaps – whereas cupping is the result of the wood gaining moisture, gaps is the opposite. When gaps appear in the floor, it is an indication that the floor lost moisture. That means again that acclimation and/or living conditions were not met when installation took place. Gaps also happen during the winter season when dry heat from the home furnace dries the air and causes shrinkage in the wood floor.
  1. Squeaks – the floor look flat but makes a lot of noise. One common reason is a bad nailing technique combined with the wrong nailer and fastener gauge. Another reason could be poor milling of the wood. Either way, the installer should have noticed the issue before completing the entire floor. Another possible reason is that the sub floor has a lot of deflection so with every step the wood moves and in turn makes a squeaky sound.
  1. Appearance – with every flooring product the manufacturer usually allows for up to 5% of material to be out of grade. That means that in worst scenario every box of flooring will have 5% of flooring material that can’t be used or would not look so good with the rest of the floor. It is fair to say that in most cases the floor planks are pretty consistent and don’t actually have that much waste in each box. Nonetheless, when installing a floor it is good practice to mix up the boxes and communicate to the home owner what the material looks like. I’ve seen many who went to local showroom and looked at a small sample without being told that the actual floor would look much different. There will always be the dark board and the light board in the floor. It is a natural product, but when some planks look like they truly don’t belong – it is a problem.
  1. Transitions – doorways with really big and bulky thresholds or sliding doors with not so beautiful moldings. It is all in the details, that is what I was taught. The floor could like great but when the final touches are not crisp and pretty it can really ruin the overall “feel” of the install quality. Taking the time to plan out those details can pay off big time when the job is done.

At Avi’s Hardwood Floors we work hard to make sure every client is truly happy for years to come. This takes a lot of educating you the client and open lines of communication throughout your project. As it is impossible to make each floor perfect, we get pretty darn close to it every time.

How We Contain Wood Dust

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Hardwood-Floor-Kitchen-White-CabinetsAt Avi’s Hardwood Floors we use several ways to control the cleanliness of your home while we sand and finish your wood floors.

We start with a clean site. Normally we would vacuum the floors and spend time taping off areas of the home where we don’t work. If we work in kitchen area we tape off all cabinets and if you have a big tv and wall mount speakers we will tape them off as well.

We use state of the art sanding machines – these machines are expensive industrial type sanders that are specifically designed for wood sanding. These sanders are the only ones in the world tested for wood dust emissions and are the most efficient in dust containment. Sounds like magic, right? Not really. We have seen other contractors claim to be dust free when in fact all they have is an old sander with a cheap utility vacuum attached to it. A vacuum sucks in the air and blows out air. If the vacuum is not designed to capture and contain the fine particles of dust then that dust will end up back in the air.

Some of our sanders have built in dust containment systems. All we have to do is empty the bags outside when they are full. Some of our other sanders are part of a dust free sanding system so all the vacuums are interchangeable and all the filters are HEPA filters. HEPA is the most efficient filter (and most expensive) in collecting fine dust.

Of course, there is always a few dust particles that get away and end up on the baseboards or in the corners. The last step of refinishing your floors is vacuuming every inch of the floors, window cells and other areas. We thoroughly check the site for any dust and wipe off any surfaces like counter tops.

The results yield a clean home with a newly refinished floor and a clean top coat of finish with no debris or dust stuck in it. At Avi’s Hardwood Floors we have done hundreds of jobs for families that had members of the family with allergies or other health conditions. We even did a few jobs for some with severe dust allergies. Those home owners had such strong reactions to dust they had specialty air cleaning systems installed in their home. Hiring us was the sure thing to do and we never disappointed anyone with our promise for a clean sanding job.

One client insisted we taped off their entire living room before we started work. We did. He came to check up on us a few hours into the refinishing process and said: “wow, there really isn’t any dust!” we just smiled and kept on sanding.

Trust us in doing a great job while keeping your home clean. This is not one of those empty marketing promises, it is the truth.

Why Should You Be Concerned about Wood Dust?

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  • Hardwood-Floor-hallway-staris-livingroomWood dust is not something our bodies can process. Wood dust is one of the more common causes of health problems especially lung related conditions.
  • Wood dust can irritate our bodies in many ways, for example breathing exotic wood dust can cause nose bleeds which we have seen happen on a job site. Dust rubbing on your body can cause skin rashes and other health conditions.
  • Wood dust is very hard to clean. We have heard stories about people cleaning their homes months after a sanding job was completed because dust was still settling in parts of the home. Wood dust is fine and light so once airborne it can travel all around your home.
  • A job site that is dirty will only yield a dirty floor finish. How can anyone provide a clean coat of finish when the air is full of dust? One of the most common finish complaints by home owners is debris in the final coat of finish on their wood floors.

The Best Wood Floors for Dog and Cat Owners – Part 2

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pets urine stains on hardwood floorHow to use and maintain your wood floors living with dogs and cats in the home.

Dogs and cats are probably the most common pets we all have in our home. Much like any member of our family they spill water, shed hair, scratch the wood floors and just plain wear through the house just living in it. That is part of everybody’s life. Added to the equation is the fact that if not properly trained, pets will urinate on the wood floors and permanently stain the wood.

If you have a dog or a cat and hardwood floors in your home, this blog is to help you understand what your pets do to your floors and how to keep the floors clean and maintained.

Common topics my clients have asked me about:

  • Pets who shed hair on your hardwood floors – This is a pretty easy fix. You can use a vacuum, a broom or a lightly dampened mop. I find it easier to use a damp mop or a micro fiber mop. A lot of the new micro fiber mops will pick up hair and dust without having to spray anything on the wood floors. When the mop is dirty just take it outside and shake it clean.
  • Water spills around their water station – Water and wood do not mix. No matter the finish you have on the floor, water will penetrate through it and will soak in through the floor seams and end joints over time. Water spills and drips in one area on a daily basis will cause discoloration in the wood, stain the wood or cause minor expansion and swelling of the hardwood floors. To keep those from happening, use a dry clean rag or towel to wipe the area daily. I have seen some clients that placed a plastic sheet on the wood floors and that works well.
  • Scratches on your wood floors – dogs and cats, especially large dogs will scratch your wood floors very easily. The heavier the dog the more scratches. A common mistake with site finished floors is for the home owner to move in too soon after the last coat of finish was applied. Since the finish had no time to cure properly the pets would then scratch the wood floors quickly and easily. It is important to try and keep those nails groomed and filed. It is also recommended not to let your 80lb dog run and play inside…

Much like us dogs and cats use and wear our wood floors. Following these simple guidelines will help reduce wear and tear on your floors and keep them clean for all to enjoy.

The Best Wood Floors for Dog and Cat Owners – Part 1

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20161020_114247_smMany of us have dogs or cats as part of our family, and as such we let them inside the house on the hardwood floors. Dogs and cats will walk, run and play on the wood floors and much like us humans will cause some damages over the years. Normal use of our wood floors will eventually cause loss of sheen, scratches, dents, stains and discoloration. Having pets in the house often causes early wear and tear and/or excessive scratches. This leads me to guide you through choosing and using your new wood floors.

The first thing you need to remember is that what you are wearing through is the finish on top of the wood floors, not the wood itself. When considering a new hardwood floors, remember that you don’t need the hardest wood in the world. Unless you drop hammers on the floor every day you don’t really need a floor like let’s say Ipe’ or Strand Woven Bamboo.

The second thing to remember is what the plan for the near future is; Are you going to sell the home? Are you staying there for a while and might need to be able to refinish the floors?

The third and last thing to ask yourself is what kind of pet do you have? Is it a small dog or a big heavy dog that will scratch the floor finish easily? Is it a puppy which urinates everywhere and will stain the wood?

Let’s discuss these issues and figure out which wood is best for you:

  • If choosing a prefinished product buy a higher quality floor, usually the more you pay the better the finish. If you choose a site finished product make sure your contractor uses commercial finishes and not DIY cheap one component finishes. I recommend using a site finished product because of many reasons, the main one being – you can add one or two extra coats for more protection. That was easy, right?
  • If you are selling the home in less than ten years then you’ll need to make sure your hardwood floor can be refinished or recoated before you sell it. Nobody wants to buy a home with a beat up wood floor that needs work or cannot be serviced. If you bought a prefinished floor that cannot be sanded because of a thin veneer or because of a Teflon like coating then you have a problem. If you chose a solid site finished product then you can easily repair and sand it, and most likely change the color/sheen.
  • Important: no finish is impermeable – meaning if your dog urinates on the floor or a water spill stays on the floor it will eventually penetrate through the finish and stain the wood. The stain cannot be sanded off. The solution to this is preventing by training your pets, there is really nothing you can do with wood floors to protect them from liquid damage.

To summarize, choose a floor that is versatile in service and use. Don’t choose something too soft like Fir and you don’t have to use an exotic wood like Ipe’. There are many options for you out there like White Oak, Red Oak, Maple, Brazilian Cherry, European Oak and more. Do your research and make sure that in the end, you hire and consult a professional. In the next part I will discuss how to use and maintain your hardwood floors with pets in the home.

How often should I refinish my hardwood floors?

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20160701_080008_SmWhether you live in the Berkeley Hills or Alamo, if you have wood floors they are most likely original to the house. Whether you live in San Pablo or El Cerrito, you most likely have a white or red oak solid floor. These floors are solid wood and had been around for decades, some even more than a century. The life span of a traditional oak floor is longer than what most people think. We just refinished a white oak floor that was installed in 1965. It has been around for about 50 years and has more life on it for another 50. When we refinish oak floors we get this question a lot: “how long before I need to refinish my floors again?”

The short answer is: it depends. Some floors will need to be refinished after several years and some after more than a decade. Here are the factors that contribute to the durability and longevity of the wood floors finish:

  • Professionally sanding the floors – a qualified contractor will only sand very little off the floor. Poor sanding can take years off the life of the floors. Also, the smoother and more flat the sanding, the more consistent the finish layer will be
  • Using commercial finishes – if your contractor uses cheap or DIY finishes from the local box store, you are guaranteed a finish that will wear and tear quickly
  • Following manufacturer recommendation for the proper drying and curing conditions. Home owners are told it is okay to move in two days after the final coat was applied. It is not. The finish needs proper time to harden and cure and that takes more time than two days
  • Maintenance – proper care for your wood floors will guarantee more years of use before a need to refinish

From our experience at Avi’s Hardwood Floors the average family would need to refinish their floors every 10-15 years. With proper sanding and finishing on our end, and proper use and maintenance on your end (the consumer) your wood floor finish will last a long time.

Which is the Best finish for my Wood Floors?

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Sanded-Hardwood-FloorsWe all want to protect our wood floors with the best finish available so we don’t have to do it all over again, right? Most our clients who choose to install new hardwood floors in the East Bay are concerned about the future of their floors. One client in Berkeley, CA asked me what finish would be best living with a big dog in the house. Another one in El Cerrito wanted to know what finish would protect their wood floors from water damage. The answer to this question is very simple: choose a professional to apply a commercial finish on your floor, maintain it properly and you should be fine. There is no one magic floor finish that does it all, after all we all walk on these finishes every day.

There are many choices of finish out there, here is a table exploring some of the characteristics of the main finishes used in the wood flooring market these days:

Finish Type

Color

Approximate Drying Time

Approximate Cure Time

Aging Color

Approximate VOC

Pros

Cons

Oil Base Urethane

Amber

overnight

7 days

Amber

500 g/L

Durable, ages nicely, easy to repair

Strong smell, dries slowly

Water Base Urethane

Clear

3-4 hours

Approximately 80% in 3 days

yellow

210 g/L

Durable, lower VOC, dries and cures fast

Results vary depend on product

Wax Oil Blend

All colors

overnight

7 days

Depends on color

zero

Easy to maintain, no VOC

No resin build up on the floor like oil and water finishes

Staining Wood Before Finishing

All colors

3-4 hours for light colors overnight for dark colors

7 days

N/A

550 g/L

n/

n/a

All finishes require regular maintenance.

All finishes will scratch.

All finishes will wear with regular use overtime.

All finishes can be repaired or restored with different results.

There is no magic product that cures in a day and will never need refinishing. It all comes down to which look you like and how you would be using the floors. Applied correctly all finishes will stand the test of time.

Fixing Badly Sanded Hardwood Floors

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Sanded-Hardwood-FloorsWe were called again to fix a floor that was badly sanded. After a water leak damaged the wood floor in a home in Lafayette, the insurance company brought in their hardwood flooring guys to fix the floor. The home owners assumed everything was going to be handled by the insurance company. Little did they know that the guys hired to refinish the wood floors were just plain horrible. The home owners returned to their house to discover a disaster: dust everywhere, gauges in their baseboards and an uneven floor.

Shortly after their discovery the home owners found Avi’s Hardwood Floors and contacted me for an estimate. When I got there it was obvious the floors needed a full refinish and the baseboards needed replacement. After closely inspecting the stairs we also decided to replace all the decorative molding on the stairs.

After a long while of the owners dealing with their insurance company we finally got the green light. The owners knew we were up to the challenge but like anyone who’s been through a bad experience, it was obvious they were concerned with the outcome. After all this was the second and last shot at the sanding, otherwise the floor would have to be replaced because there would not be much wood left to sand. We showed up on time and started stripping the finish off the floor while making the floors flat. This took a little while and the more we sanded the more we realized how bad the sanding job was. In some places we could not take the gauges out without replacing the boards. By looking at the scratch pattern on the floors we determined that one of the tools used on the floor by the other guys was – A grinder.

That explained the small circular scratches in the wood, the long deep gauges and the damaged baseboards. The owners were scheduled to stay at the house the first part of the sanding, then leave for the staining and finishing phase. Once we finished the final sanding I could see a big relief in the owner’s eyes. They were watching us sanding the floors at times and expressed their appreciation in our effort to keep everything clean and the floor flat. We made a custom stain color for them at their request to minimize the gold and yellow in their red oak floor. We applied the stain coat on a Friday so that we could let it dry for three days. The pigments in dark stains like the ones we used are very heavy and require longer drying times. The following week while the owners were gone we applied three coats of commercial water base finish and installed all new baseboards and stair moldings throughout the working areas. I took the time to text pictures of our progress to the owners every day.

As usual we did the best we could and the floor came out as expected. Avi’s Hardwood Floors takes pride in doing the best on every job. It makes for happy clients and life easier on everyone knowing that a project only needed to be done once.