Tips on Maintenance
Advanced finish technology and innovative products make wood one of the most beautiful and easy-care flooring materials today. The enjoyment of wood flooring depends on some routine but minimal maintenance details. Mywoodfloor.com offers these guidelines that will help preserve a beautiful finish and keep maintenance to a minimum. These include:

• Sweep your floors or use a dust mop daily, and vacuum, but do not use a household dust treatment (i.e., those used on furniture), as this will cause your floors to become slick or dull the finish.

• Know the type of finish on the wood floor. Follow the proper maintenance procedures for the particular finish.

• Place mats and throw rugs at doorways, exteriors and interiors to help prevent the tracking of grit, dirt and sand.

• Clean your floor's coated surface with a lightly dampened cloth using a recommended cleaning product, and according to the manufacturer's directions for use.

• Never wet-mop a wood floor. In all cases, use minimum water, because water causes deterioration of the wood itself, as well as the finish.

• Avoid using mops or cloths that leave excessive water on the floor. Never let a spill of water dry on the floor.

• Never use water on a wax floor.

• Never wax a urethane floor. A majority of floors installed today have urethane finishes.

• Use protective pads on furniture legs, tables, couches, hutches, bookshelves, etc…

• Buy a "floor care kit" that your installer or flooring retailer recommends instead of counting on a home-made remedy of vinegar and water to clean your floors. Different finishes have different maintenance requirements, and it's best to follow professional advice in this area.

• Clean light stains by rubbing with a damp cloth

• Control humidity levels by use of a dehumidifier or humidifier. You may need to add portable units in some rooms.

• Have your floors recoated periodically as the finish shows wear.

• Do not clean your wood floors with water or water-based products on a regular schedule. Clean only when necessary and clean only the soiled areas.

Real Wood or Laminate Flooring?

This is an article that discusses the differences between real wood flooring and plastic laminate flooring. First, it's important that you understand the difference between real wood flooring, be it engineered or solid, and plastic or compressed laminate flooring. It can be very confusing because prior to the introduction of plastic laminate flooring into the U.S., a lot of flooring dealers referred to engineered wood flooring as a wood "laminate" flooring. First let me tell you about wood flooring.

There are a few different types of wood flooring available to you. The first and perhaps the oldest in existence is the "solid wood floor". These floors are generally 3/4" thick and can be purchased unfinished (traditional), or pre-finished. The other style of wood flooring which is actually now becoming much more popular is the "engineered wood floor". Engineered wood flooring is the type of floor that is most commonly confused with plastic laminate flooring. This is a wood floor which has a top wear layer, usually 1/8" thick on better products, and than has one or more layers or "plies". The top layer is generally made out of oak, maple, cherry, etc. These engineered wood floors are gaining in popularity because in a lot of applications they will be more stable than the solid wood floor, have less installation time, no sanding mess, and can be refinished like a solid wood floor. Engineered wood floors are also able to be installed using methods not available or advised with solid wood floors (certain cement slab installations). They come in styles that can be glued down, free floated, or stapled. We at Traditional Hardwood Floor Co. prefer the free floating method.

Now we'll talk about what is now referred to as "laminate" flooring. These days when we say laminate flooring, we're talking about "plastic laminate" flooring. A lot of consumers don't even refer to it this way, they simply say "Pergo" flooring. The reason for this is that Pergo, a brand name, was one of the first to introduce their product in the U.S. We would estimate that there are now close to one hundred different brands of laminate flooring on the market worldwide. The easiest way to describe laminate flooring would be to say that it is similar to your mica countertop only much stronger. The surface is actually a plastic type composition applied to the core using heat and pressure, the core is usually made of high density fiber or particle board, and the backing can be a paper or another layer of laminate. Plastic laminate floors are extremely durable however they cannot ever be refinished or recoated once they are scratched or worn. That is generally the main difference between plastic laminate floors and real wood floors. Another down side to the laminate flooring is that the pattern is printed and many of the boards, in some cases all of the boards are identical in appearance.

Okay, so now that you have a general idea of the differences in these types of flooring, let's discuss which is better for you. You need to evaluate your individual situation to make an educated decision. Let's see if I can help you make this determination. Listed below are a few questions you may want to ask yourself that will narrow down your choice.

1. What style house do I have and which floor will be better suited to that style? (i.e., Does the price level home you have warrant the expense of good quality real wood flooring?)

2. What are my long term goals with regard to a new floor? (Basically, how long do you plan on being in the house?)

3. Are budget constraints a major factor?

4. What type of traffic do you have in the house and how much abuse will the floor have to endure?

5. Does resale value have any relevance in my decision? (Am I looking for a floor that will be an investment and increase the value of my home?)

Your answers to these questions will ultimately dictate your choice.

Allow me to give you some hypothetical situations that may pertain to your position.

Regarding question number 1, let's say that you paid $95,000 for your home and that's about the maximum priced home in the neighborhood. It really won't make much difference whether you go with real wood or the laminate. Unless you plan on being in the home beyond seven to ten years, you may want to consider staying with the laminate flooring. Chances are if you go through the expense of installing a good quality wood floor, you won't realize any type of gain when you sell the home. On the other hand, if you paid $200,000 or more for your home, and the houses in your neighborhood fluctuate in price depending on the upgrades, then the real wood flooring would be a benefit whether you're in the home for one year or ten years.

Regarding question number 2, whether your in a $95,000 home, or a $600,000 home, if you're planning on being in that home beyond five to ten years, and don't want to replace the floors again for the duration of your stay, than there is no doubt that a good quality real wood floor would be the better choice. The main reason for this being that you will be able to resurface the real wood floor when it shows signs of wear and tare, whereas you will have to replace the plastic laminate floor altogether.

Regarding question number 3, if you have established a budget of let's say $3.50 per square foot or less for material, and don't plan on exceeding that budget, then the plastic laminates should absolutely be your choice. I say this because although you can get real wood flooring material for $3.50 per square foot or less, the type of the real wood flooring available to you at this price level will probably not give you the same performance you can expect out of plastic laminate floors at this price or less. To get a real wood floor with a good quality finish that will have a durability level close to that of the plastic laminate flooring, you should expect to pay somewhere between $4.00 to in some cases over $8.00 per square foot for material. An average price range for what we consider to be a good quality wood flooring material is $4.00 to $6.00 per square foot.

Regarding question number 4, the level of traffic and/or abuse in your home will also play an important role in your decision. Let's say your family consists of two kids, one dogs, plenty of relatives that visit often, and a lot of friends that take advantage of your big screen television and endless supply of free beverages. If this is your home, than you better make sure that you either go with a plastic laminate or a "very good" quality wood floor! If you have heavy traffic such as this in your home, a low quality wood floor will be a mistake. It will not hold up to your expectations whatsoever. As an added note, although the plastic laminate floors may be more resistant than inexpensive wood floors, there are also lower quality laminate floors that will not hold up well under high traffic either.

Regarding question number 5, if resale and the value of your home is a concern, than you definitely want to consider good quality real wood flooring. If you speak with any realtor that knows their business, they should advise you that real wood flooring is considered an upgrade to your home and increases the value, while plastic laminate flooring does not. Real wood flooring is truly an investment into your home. The plastic laminate flooring, while holding up well during your stay in the home, really does nothing for the resale value. Considering plastic laminates cannot be resurfaced, it is considered temporary. Anyone buying a house where laminate flooring is installed knows that it will need to be replaced most likely during the period of time that they will be living there.

Please understand that while I've listed these questions and situations as a way to help you make an educated decision, you will need to consider all these factors combined. In some cases, your individual situation may differ from these examples. For instance, if you don't have heavy traffic in your home, and you like the look of real wood, than there's nothing wrong with using an inexpensive real wood floor. This also holds true if you only plan on being in your home for a short period of time and want to increase the value for resale. Another case where inexpensive real wood might be a good choice is if you are buying and remodeling a home strictly for the purpose of reselling it for a profit.

Conclusion

I'm sure that there still may be some of you that would like to ask what I personally recommend. My own personal feeling on this subject is that if you can afford the real wood flooring, go for it! In the long term, good quality wood flooring ends up being not only an investment, but also a better buy since it can be resurfaced. Additionally, nothing beats the look and feel of real wood. On the other hand, if your kids, pets, friends, and/or family are just plain nuts and love to treat your house like a war zone, and you don't want to put a lot of money into your home, but also don't want the hassle associated with carpet and/or tile, then go with the laminate flooring.

How to Spot and Avoid Trouble with Wood Floors

In a comfortable home with slight humidity variations through the seasons, wood flooring responds by expanding and contracting. These changes may be noticeable. During warm, humid weather, wood expands. During dry weather, wood contracts. This seasonal movement is a normal characteristic of wood flooring, and it never stops, regardless of the age of the wood. One of the best ways to ensure that wood flooring will give the performance homeowners expect is to install humidity controls and ensure that they are functioning before the flooring is installed.

Working with humidity controls
A homeowner who chooses hardwood flooring is making an investment in a floor that will last 40 years or more, and he or she should protect that investment by installing humidity controls--a tool that helps the floor maintain a beautiful, trouble-free appearance.

Cracks and separations between boards
Nearly every floor endures some separation between boards. In winter, when homes are heated and the air is dry, wood flooring gives up some of its moisture and therefore shrinks. When that happens, thin cracks appear between. This is normal, and homeowners should be forewarned of this. It is acceptable, and customers should not be calling the installers at the first sign of cracks. Once the indoor heat goes off in the spring, and the indoor environment regains moisture, most of these cracks will close up.

Cracks in winter--in the drier months--may easily develop to the thickness of a dime (1/32 inch) for solid 2 1/4-inch wide strip oak floors. Floors with light stained woods and naturally light woods like maple tend to show cracks more than darker, wood-tone finished floors.

The cure for cracks? Homeowners should add moisture to the air during dry periods. It's their choice-live with the cracks and wait until spring, or else add humidity by opening the dishwasher after a rinse cycle, switching off the bathroom fan or hanging laundry to dry in the basement near the furnace. Better yet, install a humidifier in the furnace, or an exterior air vent for the furnace burner.

If cracks are a concern, laminated flooring moves less and shows fewer gaps.

"Cupping and crowning"are common complaints that develop with high humidity. Both problems occur across the width of the flooring material.

Cupping is when the edges of a board are high and its center is lower. It can occur after water spills onto the floor and is absorbed by the wood, but high humidity is more often the cause. If the wood expands significantly, compression set can result as the boards are crushed together, deforming the boards at the edges.

Cupping is caused by a moisture imbalance through the thickness of the wood: The wood is wetter on the bottom of the board than on the top. The moisture imbalance can be proven by taking moisture meter readings at different pin depths.

The first step in repairing a cupped floor is to identify and eliminate the moisture source. In the kitchen, it may be a leak from the dishwasher or icemaker. From outdoors, it might be the terrain of the lot, with rain and runoff not moving away from the house and foundation. Indoors, the humidity may need to be controlled, or a plumbing leak may be causing excess moisture in the basement, which migrates up into the subfloor and from there into the wood flooring.

Once the source of the moisture is controlled, cupping can usually be cured. The floor may improve on its own as it dries out over time. Other times, fans may be needed to speed the drying process. Once the moisture content has stabilized, the floor can be reassessed. Choices may be to do nothing at all, to recoat the floor or to sand and refinish the floor. However, it should not be sanded until moisture-meter readings indicate the floor is thoroughly dried.

Crowning
is the opposite of cupping: The center of a board is higher than the edges. Moisture imbalance is sometimes the cause of crowning if excessive moisture is introduced on the top of the floor, perhaps from water used in maintenance or plumbing leaks from an overhead sprinkler system. However, a common cause is that the floor was previously cupped, but was sanded at the wrong time-before the moisture content returned to normal and the board flattened on its own.

It should be noted that some slight cupping and crowning may occur naturally, and should be tolerated: The bark side of lumber shrinks and swells more than the side closest to the center of the tree. Largely seasonal in occurrence, it's common in wider planks. Its appearance can be minimized by using a beveled-edge flooring product with a satin finish, rather than square-edge flooring with a high gloss finish.

Buckledfloors
The "buckling" of hardwood floors-when the flooring literary pulls away from the subfloor, lifting up to several inches in one or more places-is one of the most extreme reactions to moisture that can occur. Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence.

Buckling happens most often after a floor is flooded for a time, but there are numerous other causes. On nailed floors, insufficient nailing, incorrect nails or incorrect subfloor construction are possibilities. On glue-down floors, the causes range from the use of incorrect or insufficient mastics to an inadequate mastic transfer, a subfloor separation or a subfloor contamination.

In flooded hardwood strip flooring, the swelling stress is theoretically high enough to push out walls. However, before that can happen the nails or the glue holding the flooring to the subfloor will usually give way, so that the floor bulges upward.

If buckling floors are caught early, spot repair and replacement may be possible. Once the standing water is removed, several boards may be taken up from the floor so that air can be circulated across and below the floor more effectively. Once the floor has dried to a more stable moisture level, repairs can usually be made.

Quality or Grade
Character of wood, knots, heavy color variation, mineral streaks, surface defects. Usually the clearer, more uniform the wood the higher the grade and hence more expensive the wood.

Premature Finish Wear
or excessive wear areas, scratches, and bare patches are usually from . improper maintenance, grit, water, strong soaps, dog toenails, and unprotected chair legs. Correct maintenance, especially vacuum, not just broom sweep. Clip dog's nails, felt chair leg glides, appropriate exterior walk-off mats to prevent grit, area rugs especially in front of kitchen sinks. Will most likely need to re-coat or possible re-sand.

Pet, Plant & Water stains
The general rule is "the darker, the deeper" the water or pet mistake has penetrated deep into the wood floor. For the most part, they will lighten slightly when sanded, and bleaching is not a suggested course of action, as this damages the wood fiber and can not be repaired without removal and replacement of the damaged boards. Staining the floor the help camouflage the stains, is one alternative. For sever stains, removal and board replacement before refinishing will give best results. Make sure the replacement boards are the same species and grade. Often if grade and species can not be located, they can be removed from an inconspicuous part of the floor in another part of the residence, like a closet, and those boards can be use for repairs.

Dents
are usually caused by high heels, pet nails, dropped heavy objects, metal tips on furniture legs, and unprotected rolling of heavy appliances such as refrigerator or freezer. To prevent: remove high heels or maintain proper heel-tip protectors. Keep pet nails clipped. Provide large felt protectors under heavy furniture legs and chairs. Roll heavy casters over plywood protection only. For individual dents where wood fibers are not broken, cover with a dampened cloth and press with an electric iron to draw fibers up. Last resort sand and finish.

Cigarette burns
Most common burns can be treated with touch up kit (rub with steel wool /sandpaper, stain as needed, touchup finish) If burn is deeper, boards/pieces may have to be replaced

Chewing gum, crayons, wax
A plastic bag filled with ice on top of deposit until brittle enough to crumble off. Clean area with cleaners made for urethane finishes. Spray freezes work great for gum on anything.

Greasy spots, Food
Cleaners made for urethane finishes (cleaning kit from your wood floor retailer)

Scratches
Repair with touch-up kit from your wood floor retailer 

Are hardwood floors expensive?
Hardwood floors are very competitively priced and represent an excellent value when compared to other flooring options. Hardwood floors never have to be replaced and will enhance or even increase the value of your home should you decide to sell. When compared to other flooring products, hardwood floors provide long-lasting value, as Real Wood Floors are "Beauty that last a lifetime".

Is it cost-effective to select wood flooring over less costly materials?
Yes! According to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) & 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 trade organization. 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.

How long does the sanding process for unfinished hardwood floors take?
The time it takes to sand and finish a hardwood floor varies with the floor. Existing floors that are being refinished can take a little longer because of old gummy finish that needs to be sanded off. Kitchens, halls, foyers, closets and any other area where the drum sander can’t go also adds time to the sanding process. If you are staining the floor dark then extra steps need to be taken to eliminated sander marks that become prevalent with a stained floor.

As a rule though, the average job (say 500 ft) should take a couple workers one day to sand and two more days to apply finish. The floor should be left clear for at least three days after the final coat so the finish can cure properly.

Sanding Steps