Question: How do I know if I have to sand my wood floors rather than using cleaners to remove the stains? I am refinshing the floors, and when I removed the carpet I found out that a previous homeowner put linoleum down. There are black mastic stains as well as cat urine stains. Additionally, some areas of carpet padding are stuck to and staining the floors. Answer: Dear Matt You most likely have to sand the floor after you have removed all the sticky adhesive from them. Most times in the process of cleaning off this glue you will remove most if not all the floor finish. And the cat pee stains will not usually sand out. They will need to be bleached out or repaired. First try a white non-abrasive nylon scrub pad and a pH neutral cleaner for these spots. Read about these cleaners in the ‘Cleaning’ section of my web site under the ‘Project Categories’. If that fails try odorless mineral spirits, with a white cloth, and then the pad, then naphtha, then lacquer thinner, and lastly xylene in a product called Goof-Off at http://www.goof-off.com. Again with each try the cloth first and then the pad. In the worst case you can chemically strip the glue off the floor, and be sure to read about this process in the ‘How To’s’ section of my web site. This will remove all the floor finish from that area, so this may be part of stripping the whole floor. If all these solvents have no effect you will be forced to sand it off. That may be the least toxic way to go anyway, instead of handling all those solvents. And if the spots will not sand off they can be repaired as told in the ‘How To’s’ section. If you still have dark stains in the wood, and an odor that goes with it, you can certainly try bleaching with the strongest wood bleach available. Do this after all the floor sanding is done, but before any finish goes on. Try a wood bleach called Klean Strip at http://www.kleansrtip.com. It will turn the dark areas an off white color. The off white colored spots will need a light colored wood stain to blend them in to the rest of the floor. It’s quite an art. You will want the color to blend in with the final finished color of the floor, not the bare wood. Test for the finished color of the wood by splashing some naphtha on the clean wood. You will have to fine sand the spot before staining, but be careful not so sand out the bleached effect. Then complete the finishing of your floors.

Question: Dear Mr. Turney, I would like to buy pre-finished eastern (or like it) pine planks 3-6″ wide. I like the light color that is already in the livingroom of my condo, which is in a 1900’s three family in Bosotn. The wood is flat grained, with knots (not the pine where the grain is raised and squiiggles around a lot.) I would like it prefinished due to my allergies to some chemicals. I cannot find it anywhere! why not, do you know? Or do you know where I can buy it? Answer: Dear Elizabeth The best eastern white pine comes from old growth reclaimed timbers. I’m going to give you a long list of reclaimed pine suppliers in North America. You will have to contact quite a few of them to see who has the best floor deals at the moment. There should be some good specials on at this time of year, so I’ll give you the whole list. You might still have the floor installed unfinished but pre-sanded with beveled edges. Then finish it on site with a non toxic oil finish. Tried and True is the only really non toxic oil finish at http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/ That’s generally how these floor are done. But I will mark the ones that say they carry prefinished floor. Prefinished flooring may not be in the species you are looking for. Any of these suppliers may be willing and able to ship the wood to you directly or to a local distributor in your area. Have them send you a sample in the mail, some will ask for a small payment for the shpping costs of the sample. Good Luck, happy shopping. Oh, and if the wood is over 4″ wide you will have to follow the installation instructions in my Plank Floor article in the Quick Links section. The article gives detailed instructions on realistic subfloor requirements and nailing and pegging these wide floor, so they don’t form ugly dirt collecting gaps. Well worth the modest price. Acorn Millworks, Deerwood MN 800-383-3639 Aged Woods, York PA 800-233-9307 www.agedwoods.com Anderson Hardwood Floors Clinton SC 864-883-6250 sells prefinished Authentic Pine Floors Inc., Locust Grove, GA 800-283-6038 Appalachion Hardwood Floors Wilksboro NC 800-298-3202 sells prefinished Balsam Creek Woodworks, Woodstock ON Canada 877-1369 Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adv Inc. Farmingdale NY 631-777-8887 Birch Creek Millworks Inc Terreton ID 208-663-4329 Byrne Wood Floors Norris TN 865-494-7712 Carlisle Restoration Lumber Inc. Stoddard NH 800-595-9663 Centre Mills Antique Flooring Aspers PA 717-334-0249 Curtis Lumber and Manufacturing Inc. Summerville SC 888-478-7463 Sells prefinished Foreverwood Inc Miami Fl. 305-635-9222 Foster Wood Products Inc. Shilo GA 800-682-9418 Gammapar Forest VA 800-283-5667 Sells prefinished Heartpine Prod. Enfield NC 252-445-3891 Herwynen Saw Mill Ltd Rockwood ON Canada 519-856-1180 Huskycoat Prefinished Floors Colonial Heights VA 804-524-9460 Mountain Lumber co. Ruckersville Va 800-445-2671 Sells prefinished Nobel House/ Floorco High Point NC 800-411-1526 Patina Old World Flooring Ventura CA 800-501-1113 Sells prefinished Pioneer Millworks Farmington NY 800-951-9663 Ridgefield Indutries Crystal Lake IL 800-569-0316 Showega Hardwood Floor Middlefield OH 800-834-1180 Sells prefinished Southern Wood Floors Augusta GA 888-488-7463 Sell prefinished Tallon Lumber Inc. Canaan CT 860-824-0733 Tilo Natural Floors Inc St. Catherines ON Canada 905-327-8488 TimberKnee Ltd South Royalton VT 800-720-9823 Top Grade Floors Portland ME 888-332-4950 Woods Co. Chambersburg PA 888-548-7609 Any more questions you may have on this subject or clarifications of your original question feel free to write again at no cost. I hope you have enjoyed this personal service, real human responses are the best. If you found this information helpful, please explore the Wood Floor Doctor.com by visiting the rest of our website. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor

Question: Hi thanks for replying. The house is 92 years old. It is crooked, and that is ok. I am not trying to hide that, only stabilize things, and make them more visually appealing, and more usable. I am raising the floor because the existing structure is very un-level. There is a 2 inch drop from one end to the other over 9 feet, so to make the cabinets level, and not have a huge toe kick at one end down to a very small taper, I chose to build a step in to the kitchen. Some of the joists that are crossed, are touching the new ones, and some have a gap, up to an inch. I plan on using steel angle iron to tie the new to the old where they are not touching, rather than filling in the gap with a big shim. I will gladly send some pictures when we are done, thanks for any help you can give… Ben Answer: Dear Ben You might try a different and more efficient approach to leveling the floor. In situations like this I generally remove all layers of floor to expose the joists. Then I sister the joists with LVL’s or new joists. You can level the whole floor without raising the final surface more than necessary. If you are interested in a better description of this method let me know, but that’s what I would recommend. You can also sink part of the subfloor between the joists, so a combination of the two methods would level the floor without a nasty step up into that area. It levels the floor to it now mean level. Half above and half below.

Question: We spoke on the telephone a couple weeks back concerning my oak floors, I have taken your advice, I have resanded my floors and read your 3 articles… however wondering where I can purchase the heavy duty poly you mention in the poly without bubbles article? Looking for a TO supplier? btw, I have found the Poly article the most informing… Cheers, Jeff Answer: Dear Jeff Thanks for the purchase, and the praise, it is much appreciated. You can buy the Fabulon Brand Professional Polyurethane Super Satin (that’s the Canadian name go figure) finish at the Hardwood Floor Center at Weston Rd. just below the 401. Call them at (416) 244 – 9919 to make sure they have it in stock. You should be paying them about $105 per 5 US gal. Any more questions you may have on this subject or clarifications of the articles feel free to write again at no cost. I hope you have enjoyed this personal service, real human responses are the best.

Question: Will Bonna Kemis protect against urine? Will any hardwood finish protect against Urine and/or water? what is the Best protection Wilma Sue Answer: Dear Wilma Sue No, I’m sorry but any finish including the catalyzed water based coatings like Bona Kemi’s Traffic won’t protect a floor for long against a puddle of urine. Urine is mostly water, and water molecules are like little octopi and will slither past the smallest seam And then invite more of it’s friends on the same route. The wood will swell and the acid in the urine will stain the wood an ugly smelly black color. And all the damage is under the finish at this point. That all said, of all the finishes I have used, I find that the good old Oil Modified Poly has just about the best water repellancy of all the finishes. Thats because it is truly a crosslinking finish, and the molecules in the finish form a flexible but impermeable bond on the wood. It may not be as scuff resistant as the Traffic but poly ages better, to a mellow amber tone. I have seen water based finishes that in only a few years become so opaque that you could hardly tell the wood species under the finish. They also may tend to get a bit brittle in harsh sunlight. But check out jobs that are 5-10 years old with the Bona Kemi Traffic and see for yourself. Any contractor who is recommending any finish should have and be willing to show you jobs that are at least that old. This is the only way you can really assess the finish and the floor contractor. Oh, and the Hiring contractors is a worthwhile read in the Hardwood Authority section of this site. If you want an article that will walk you through the use of Oil Modified Polyurethane, we do have a Pro Series article, normally meant for the WWW directory trades people. But we offer emailed copies to the public for a modest donation of 5 dollars. It’s very detailed, and will teach you how best to apply the poly without bubbles and pits that most people experience when using this material. Well worth it. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: When the installer installed our oak hardwood floor he put several coats of tung oil on it. He advised us tung oil would be better than urethane because we have dogs and the scratches their nails leave (and I clip the nails regularly, I’m a dog groomer)could be erased by rubbing the scratch with a cloth dipped in tung oil. He also put a Behr pearl stain on it so the floor would match our washed oak kitchen cupboards. The floor is extremely hard to maintain. It never has a shine and the day after we clean it, it looks as though we never clean our floors. I’m embarassed every time visitors come to my home. What can I do? HELP, Please!!! Lisa Answer: Dear Linda I’m sorry to hear of your trouble, perhaps I can help. There are almost no oil/varnish finishes out there that are durable enough for floor work. But here are two : http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com and http://www.waterlox.com. The tried and true true oil/ varnish is really meant for furniture, but is truly non toxic. And the Waterlox brand have finishes that are more like varnishes than oils, but are suitable for floors. You should not use a pure oil finish on a floor, as it will have no water resistance. These oil/varnish blends are the best of both worlds, but are difficult and expensive to apply, so would cost a lot more than a regular oil modified polyurethane finish. They have the advantage of easy touch ups, but any dent or scratch will still show through. They should not be waxed as is often the suggestion. You will be defeating the purpose of the touch-up-ability of these finishes. Once the wax is applied (any floor finish has to cure for at least 1 month) you can only touch up with wax, not the floor finish any more. For all of my floors I only use oil modified polyurethane. It has a fairly quick dry time. I apply one thin coat and by the next afternoon it is dry enough to be scuffed, and the second coat brushed on. I skip a day and scuff again and apply the third coat. It’s ready for moderate use in 48 hours, and cures in one month. The finish will get harder over the years, and should last 10-20 years in light use areas. It’s easy to re-coat, but cannot be repaired invisibly, any touch up coat really show, unless you do the whole board or wall to wall. Compare that to the oil/ varnishes. You will need to apply at least 5-6 coats of a true oil/varnish. This will take all together about 2 weeks to complete. Let each coat dry enough to be steel wooled (two days each coat). Don’t be fooled by the fast dry times of some company’s instructions, they say that the OMP (oil mdofied polyurethane) that I use dries in 4 hours, it’s simply not true. And the oil/ varnish finish will not be as scuff resistant or as durable as the OMP. You will find yourself recoating an oil/varnish floor every 2-4 years to keep it looking good, and only of you use the Tried And True finishes will you have a real non-toxic finish (no heavy metallic dryers), and this will cost you a bundle over the years. With the waterlox brand I’m afraid you will be exposing yourself to lots of toxic fumes as you touch up and re-coat these floor so often. Oh, and since you say you have a white or pale stained floor, you really shouldn’t be using a oil based finish in any case. It will darken quite a bit in just a few years. Better to use a clear water based finish like Street Shoe (http://www.basiccoatings.com) or Traffic (http://www.bonakemi.com). As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: The flooring is already installed. Have you heard of these two products “Squeak-no-more” and “Squeak-Relief”. Just wondering if it is worth the money to help with my squeaky floors. Here is the Website:http://www.squeakyfloor.com/ Thanks for your help. Rich Answer: Dear Rich No, I recommend the Squeak-Ender product instead. But don’t bother with these until the squeaks show up. The Squeak-Ender is engineered better, and has a better chance of pulling the subfloor down tight. It can also be tightened whenever you want. Visit their web site for this and their other good products at http://www.squeakender.com. Both products you mentioned are flawed in design. The modified pocket hole guide is an old idea, and the snap off drywall screw is courting disaster. You can use a pocket hole drill guide and skip the first product all together at www.leevalley.com; Prod #25K61.01. And you can use a nail spinner (Prod. #99k20.01) to spin in up to 3″ spiral finishing nails, also from Lee Valley Tools. These are all you need for this less favored method, (albeit cheaper) of quieting squeaky floor.

Question: My hubby and I are refinishing our hardwood floors. Are sanding sealers still being used? If so, where can I find it? Marti Answer: Dear Marti No, good floor mechanics never use sanding sealer under an oil modified polyurethane finish. Only when you use a water based finish is an acrylic sealer used. Sanding sealers are usually a stearated lacquer, and the poly will not stick well to it. It is meant only for production furniture use, as the sealer dries fast and when sanded doesn’t clog up the sandpaper. But it is a poor and possibly dangerous finish. Be sure to read my article on Lacquer Finish Floor Fires in the Floored news section of this web site. Suffice to say, all you really need for the most durable, longest lasting floor finish is 3 coats of a good Oil Modified Polyurethane. If you want an article that will walk you through the use of Oil Modified Polyurethane, we do have a Pro Series article, normally meant for the WWW directory trades people. It’s very detailed, and will teach you how best to apply the poly without bubbles and pits that most people experience when using this material. Well worth it. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor

Question: Would it be ok to install a Mannington wood plank floor in a bathroom? The shower will be used on 4X month. I am worried about small children that miss the toilet and pee on the floor. Will the odor seep in to the wood? Answer: Dear Sarina Please reconsider this. Any solid wood or even the laminated wood in such a wet area is courting disaster. I’ve had to resand such floor in main floor powder rooms (no shower there), and after only just a few years the wood on either side of the toilet was rotten and smelly, from just what you said, pee. Also there is a great potential for sweating pipes (during the summer), to add so much moisture to the wood, that it will swell up and push against a wall or pipe or toilet and create another disaster. I’ve had to repair a floor that had swollen so much that the door wouldn’t open. We had to take it off the hinges. So in short no, it wouldn’t be OK.

Question: We are having trouble with the HP we bought from Carpet Mills Of America. Their inspector tells us that we have a moisture level of 5.? in our foundation. The planks are coming unglued and the edges on several planks are scalloping. No one ever tested our floor before it was installed to tell us we had moisture in our foundation. When it was installed the installers had to level the floor in several places and within a few hours were installing the planks right on top of it. Others we talked to that had wood floors installed could not even walk on the leveled floor for 24 hours or more. We have $11,000.00 of wood flooring in our home and we are very sick about it. Please let us know what we can do to get our on professional inspection and what if any thing we can do. Sincerely, Steve and Kathy Answer: Dear Steve and Kathy I’m so sorry to hear of your troubles. But this is a fairly easy one. The 5 the inspector came up with should be 5 on the Tramex Concrete Moisture Encounter meter. It’s a small hand held meter that has probes that are is pressed to the concrete floor. The highest reading allowed for wood is 4 1/2. And if a reading over 4 is detected many more readings should be done, in the wettest season you have. Oh, of course that needs to be done BEFORE they even consider selling you any type of wood floor. Along with this test they could have done a Calcium Chloride moisture emissions test. This test is a little more tricky, but basically it involves taping down a bubble container to the floor with a sample of pre-measured Calcium Chloride in the bubble. After a certain length of time this sample is sent back to the testing company, and they send back the results. A 4 in this case is the maximum pounds per 1000 square feet over 24 hours, allowed for wood floor installation. This is a better test. So you see in either case you have exceeded the maximum, and hence the bad result. The solution is clear, remove all the hardwood ( you didn’t say of this was solid wood or engineered) clean up the subfloor. And install carpet. You can never have a hardwood floor in that present situation. Don’t be too alarmed by the high readings, all concrete floor emit some moisture, it’s just too high for wood and all vinyl products. Now if you are going to ask me, who is to blame. Well, after 3 court cases, (the last one is described in the Wrong Way Floor in the Case in Point section) I would believe that it is up to the flooring contractor to determine what wood floor, and what method of installation is best in your situation. It is always up to the expert to do all tests, and if they did not they will be responsible for returning to the point at which this all began. Plus maybe punitive damages, and costs of the inconvenience of the first job. And the cost of moving out while they remove and CLEAN the concrete, install new carpet, and you restore your life. Please don’t be sick, just get this sorted, I’m sure a large (at least they sound large) company is not will to risk bad publicity even on a job this size. Read my article on wood floors on concrete. It deals with all these problems, moisture, leveling, and picking the right installation method.