|
Can't find it? Ask Google to find it for you!
|
Orbital Floor Sander
I'm a real gadget nut. Any new tool offered to us floor sanders, to do a better or easier job, I usually give it a try. In most cases I'm pretty disapointed by the claims of manufacturers, espesially when it comes to sanding machines . Most of the hand held random orbital sanders, for instance work well on softwoods, but don't have the power or weight to work on hardwoods.
|
21 Wood Floor Species
Use our wood species list to learn the pro's and con's of these twenty-one different types of wood. This extensive lists contains exotic and domestic species.
|
|
|
Melrose ® Prefinished floors
At the start of March this year, I found myself up at the Hardwood Floor Center in Toronto, Canada picking up some floor finish and quarter round. I noticed this cute little sign on the contractors desk promoting Gator-Tuf Titanium ®. "What the heck is a titanium finish ?" I asked, sensing yet another gimmick. It was Frank the owner, who coaxed me into the adjoining showroom. I'm not a big fan of showrooms and the plethora of prefinished flooring panels leaves me bored (board) stiff.
|
|
Melrose ® (REVISITED)
I have been quite anxious to try out the new Melrose prefinished strip floor and low and behold a job meant for it appeared right before my eyes. One of my early spring parquet installations had canceled, because the tenants in the apartment couldn't see themselves going through the messy process of an unfinished floor installation, in their bedrooms. They would have to move out for a few days while I sanded their floors.
|
Laquer Finish Floor Fires
I hope the title of this article alarms you because every time I get news of another lacquer floor fire it brings me back about 21 years ago when a floor caught on fire right under my nose. I'll return to this later.
This first year of the millennium has been a busy year for most of us floor sanders but it seems we are still using a finish developed about 80 years ago, when high production was regularly sacrificed for safety and health.
|
Wrong Way Floors
Here we have a situation that could have been avoided with a little planing and knowledge. In our video section you can see me preparing a sub-floor on the main floor, of a Toronto home, before installing a new oak floor. Well believe it or not, (because of my busy schedule) the owner hired a major Toronto based firm to install a similar floor on the second floor.
|
Wrong Way Floor Concluded
Well I guess , all's well that ends well. I spent quite a bit of time with my client, coaching him on his upcoming Small Calims Court lawsuit. He has spent a fair bit of his time this summer gathering estimates from other companies and making a video of the humpy floor using a spirit level to demonstrate just how bad this job was.
|
DuraSeal 1000
I've always said one of the most durable (not practical) floor finishes is the polyurethane varnish. Doing it right means applying at least 3 coats and scuffing between coats. You must allow enough drying time between coats , and the finish must cure for 2-4 days before you use it.
|
A Brief History Of Wood Floors
According to "THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE" encyclopedia as late as 1625 the ground floor of most European houses still lacked a wooden floor. Most houses had a beaten earth floor that required visitors to wipe their shoes on a entry mat to prevent this natural floor from getting muddy or dusty depending on the weather.
|
Plank and Strip Flooring
I will divide strip floor from plank floor in this discussion because they have different fastening and sub-floor requirements. Tongue and groove strip floor in 2 1/4" or 3 1/4" wide and 3/4" in depth, is probably the most popular hardwood flooring available to North Americans today.
|
An Innovative Product From Primatech; Model 210 Pneumatic Nailer
I've been increasingly concerned these days by the proliferation of pneumatic floor staplers. In the summer of 2000 I contacted the two major floor nail manufacturers and asked them if they had any evidence to show the drawbacks of using staples to fasten down hardwood floors. Only the Primatech Co. of Quebec, Canada answered my calls.
|
Prefinished Hardwood Floors: How to choose!
I can't tell you how many times I've been asked what brand of prefinished floor I recommend. Or how many samples I've gotten through the mail. These days there are so many choices out there it really is hard to tell the good floor from the mediocre and poor. For this discussion I will try to stay away from brand names (for once) and try to talk out these floors in a more generic manor.
|
Parquet Flooring
This type of flooring first showed up in the Baroque Period (1625-1714) in France's most Royal of homes and palaces. This is where they first experimented with the most intricate of patterns and 3D effects. These days parquet flooring is found in the most humble of apartments, as the basic mosaic pattern is quite affordable to the rest of us plebeins.
|
