Our Quality Will Floor You!

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to frequently asked questions about hardwood flooring to help you select, repair, clean and maintain your floor. If you have other questions please contact us and our flooring experts will be glad to assist you.

Applications

  1. Are hardwood floors cost-effective?
    1. Yes, hardwood floors can last for generations; real estate agents agree homes with wood floors sell faster and for higher prices.
  2. What’s the difference between prefinished and unfinished flooring?
    1. Prefinished: Advantages are faster and easier installation, minimal disruption to your home, fast cleanup time and usually less expensive labor costs because sanding, staining and coating are performed in the factory. Also, you usually get an extended warranty with prefinished flooring, and finish that is very scratch resistant.
    2. Unfinished: Advantages are availability of more wood species, widths and cuts that can be matched to existing wood floors. Also, unfinished flooring allows for custom onsite sanding, staining and coating with a protective sealant after installation to achieve a beautiful unique floor.

Variances

Hardwood flooring is a natural product cut directly from trees and there are always natural color variations in the wood—no two trees or boards are exactly alike.

  1. Why are there gaps between the boards on my floor?
    1. Seasonal expansion and contraction of flooring boards is considered normal. There is more humidity during the summer months and your floor soaks it up causing it to expand. Winter months are usually less humid and the floor dries out resulting in gaps between boards. While considered normal, you can minimize expansion and contraction by keeping the humidity in your home between 35 and 55% by using an air conditioner, humidifier or dehumidifier.
  2. Why is the floor beneath my area rugs and furniture lighter than the rest of the floor?
    1. All wood flooring is more or less photosensitive, and some species are very sensitive to ultra-violet light. It’s important to prevent the sun’s rays from discoloring your floor by shielding it against direct sunlight. However, it’s normal for hardwood floors exposed to even indirect sunlight to darken or lighten after a while, so for consistency, rotate rugs and furniture to equal out the amount of sunlight exposure and variances will eventually fade away.
  3. Will my prefinished floor have a beveled edge?
    1. Yes. Bevels are added to the sides of the board to soften the edge and help boards line up next to each other with even thickness for easier installation and structural stability. Bevels help to prevent the edges of the flooring finish being crushed when the flooring expands. This is why there are very few square edged prefinished floors. Some prefinished floors have bevels on all four sides of the board, and some only on the two long sides.

Installation

  1. Is hardwood flooring suitable for a kitchen, bathroom or workspace?
    1. Yes. Wood flooring can handle heavy traffic and the occasional spill while retaining its luster and beauty. Our finishes are designed to more than hold their own against heavy residential and commercial foot traffic. We do suggest using mats in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room, and walk-off mats at all home entrances to protect against spills and tracking in dirt or other objects that could scratch the floor. If spills do occur, do not let them remain on your floor—just wipe up with a clean cloth or drymop.
  2. What is meant by “acclimate” a hardwood floor?
    1. There is a common misconception among contractors that if you bring wood flooring into the workplace and let it sit for a few days, it will acclimate properly and be ready to install. This is a big mistake that costs flooring contractors time and money.

      According to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), wood floor acclimation is “the process of adjusting (conditioning) the moisture content of wood flooring to the environment in which it is expected to perform”.
    2. Wood flooring installation should always be near the end of any construction project.
    3. Make sure the job site is ready for the wood, and the wood is ready for the job site. Wet elements including plaster and paint should be completed and dry before the wood is delivered to the job site.
    4. It is a fact that wood flooring will always perform best when the environment is controlled and remains within a relative humidity range of 30-50%. The temperature should also be controlled within a range of 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
    5. Time of acclimation is dependent on moisture readings. Using a calibrated moisture meter, solid strip wood flooring less than 3-1/4” should not have more than 4% moisture content difference between the flooring and the subfloor. For wider flooring there should never be more than a 2% moisture content difference. Wider boards tend to have more movement issues than narrow boards.
    6. The following conditions should always be established before wood flooring is installed.
      • The building is completely enclosed (doors & windows installed)
      • All Wet construction elements are completed & dry (concrete, drywall, painting)
      • Basement & Crawl spaces are dry
      • AC and or Heating is functional and has been running for 48 hours prior to install
      • Appropriate humidity and temperature inside home has been achieved

Environmental

  1. Can hardwood flooring improve indoor air quality?
    1. Yes. Bacteria, dust, dirt and allergens cannot cling to wood flooring as they do in other flooring options; simply dustmop, sweep, or vacuum regularly and your wood floors stay pollutant free.
  2. Does it harm the environment to harvest wood and manufacture wood flooring?
    • Wood floors last generations making replacement a nonissue
    • Wood floors use less water and energy to produce than other flooring options
    • Average annual net growth for hardwoods is greater than average annual harvesting
    • Indoor air quality is better with wood floors
    • Trees are carbon neutral and produce oxygen while storing carbon during lifecycles
    • At the end of its extended service life, wood flooring can be burned as fuel or recycled