Hardwood Floors (wk 35, 2011)

Installing the floor

This project had original 2 1/4″x 3/4″ tongue and groove #2 Red Oak floors already as the primary flooring in the home. It was easy to weave in the new identical product and refinish the entire place. Josh at Sunrise hardwood floors did the work. Oak flooring like all mother nature things has variability not as much as say a Maple flooring does in color. So if done “RONG” it will stand out like a sore thumb at transitions old to new.

The two new additional areas were installed quickly and efficiently after acclimatizing the wood in the home.  All  of our oak lumber on this project came from Linden Alabama and is considered a Southern Oak. Josh says that in the era of north end homes Southern Oak was the most popular material used and is prized for it’s color variations. Occasionally we will see #1 oak with quarter sawn pieces “Tiger Striped” in the main room and #2 on the rest of the home. But this one was all #2.

Inset wood grills finished off the project while we rescued and reused two of the original registers.

Drum Sander in Action

After installing they sanded the entire home and applied a coat of sealer that locks the natural color in. In Idaho we still use the Glitsa products and although they off gas a ton of Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC’s, it make a great scuff and wear resistant hardwood floor finish. Where is the green in this process? Good question, do all the other things we do that are green count against the Glitsa? Once sealed we protect the floors to prevent damage till we are essentially done.

The finish coat will be applied after all of the interior work is finished.  A quick cleaning and scuff will be followed with a satin sheen.

Our process demands that we only install hardwood after the painting is done. This is to prevent huge amounts of humidity and moisture from entering the wood. “We have fewer call backs and much better results this way” says Josh.