Question: Hello….I am writing for my daughter…to remind you I am the person you helped w/the diamond stained floor…they are fabulous! She has what I see as a larger problem…some months ago she had a “Mercier” wood floor installed in her kitchen….it has slowly, but surely, begun to crack all over….the company & the insurance company have agreed to replace….she wants to put in a different brand. We would like your advice….prefinished?(which is what she has now) or finished in the home???? any brands better than any other? Your help & advice would be appreciated & very welcomed! Thanking you in advance…Debi Answer Dear Debi I will need to learn a lot more about your daughter’s situation, before I can offer some concrete advise. Please have her email the details, as to the subfloor material, fasteners of the hardwood, and the composition of the hardwood. Meaning solid wood, laminated and the thickness and width. And do you mean gapping or actual cracking of the wood itself ? Generally speaking I NEVER recommend a hardwood floor in a kitchen, and the contractor should have read your daughter the riot act before installing such a moisture sensitive floor in a water spill prone area. And ANY prefinished floor is less than useful in this kitchen due to all those exposed seams. Whenever I am persuaded to do a kitchen floor in hardwood, it is always sand on site with 4 coats of oil modified polyurethane, but don’t get me started, have you daughter email me directly.

Question: Hello….I am writing for my daughter…to remind you I am the person you helped w/the diamond stained floor…they are fabulous! She has what I see as a larger problem…some months ago she had a “Mercier” wood floor installed in her kitchen….it has slowly, but surely, begun to crack all over….the company & the insurance company have agreed to replace….she wants to put in a different brand. We would like your advice….prefinished?(which is what she has now) or finished in the home???? Any brands better than any other? Your help & advice would be appreciated & very welcomed! Thanking you in advance… Debi! Answer: Dear Debi I will need to learn a lot more about your daughter’s situation, before I can offer some concrete advise. Please have her email the details, as to the subfloor material, fasteners of the hardwood, and the composition of the hardwood. Meaning solid wood, laminated and the thickness and width. And do you mean gapping or actual cracking of the wood itself? Generally speaking I NEVER recommend a hardwood floor in a kitchen, and the contractor should have read your daughter the riot act before installing such a moisture sensitive floor in a water spill prone area. And ANY prefinished floor is less than useful in this kitchen due to all those exposed seams. Whenever I am persuaded to do a kitchen floor in hardwood, it is always sand on site with 4 coats of oil-modified polyurethane, but don’t get me started, have your daughter email me directly.

Question: Hello, I’m a librarian at the University of Minnesota. I have a patron who is looking for information on manufacturing his own floorboards (taking rough sawn board and making it into floorboards). Do you know where I might find some information specific to this? He is also wondering about using red Elm. Any thoughts or suggestions? Beth Answer: Dear Beth Seeing how you are a LIBRARIAN, (one of the best and not often appreciated “search engines” we have). The best primer on making your own wood floors is to read and understand the articles in “Fine Wood Working on Wood and How to Dry It” by the good folks at Taunton Press. It may be out of print by now but here is the isbn : 0-918804-54-X. Ohm and this book does have a good article about the Elm. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: How can we make floor wax and what should be the content of the substitute to become floorwax? Answer: Dear Kristine You really won’t save any money by the time you buy all the different waxes and blend with the proper solvents. The best paste waxes are mentioned in the floor maintenance article in the Floored News section. Read both parts to get a really good idea about when to wax and what wax to use. I do mention two very good brands, and both are reasonably priced. But that said here is a simple recipe : 1 pound carnuba wax, 1/2 pound beeswax, 1/2 pint turpentine or mineral spirits (odorless mineral spirits would be less toxic). Heat all the waxes to melting in a double boiler, on an electric stove. No open flame here !! Take the pot away from the stove and add the solvent slowly. Stir until you have thick paste. As you stir more the solvent will release and the paste will thicken even more. Store the cooled wax in an air tight jar. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: How do I make a wood blockfloor like the cobblewood floors that birgen jewell makes ? He cuts 2x4s into small blocks and glues them down what I need to know is how thick do I cut the blocks, how large can the blocks be 2×6, 2×8? An what can of glue would you use ? Robert Answer: Dear Robert You are not the first one to ask me this, and I finally tracked down Biger Juell’s web site, with his wonderful pictures and limited information. He cuts this wood from old growth pine and hardwood species, taken from salvaged beams from barns, bridges etc. And that’s the key. Even old growth pine ( and I suspect he will only use Southern Yellow Pine) is dense enough to be cut on the end of it’s grain, and not crack in half once it’s installed. So that all said, no, you shouldn’t bother going out to buy 2 by 4 softwood store lumber, and expect to saw bits off this and make it into cobblewood flooring. This plantation grown softwood, will be cracked in no time, and will absorb moisture and be very unstable. Instead try this. And this is only a suggestion, not a proven method. See if you can purchase some AIR DRIED (to 12-14%) white or red oak. Buy this directly to the saw mill , (good luck, they have most of their production spoken for) and try to get 2″ thick material, in any length. Their cut offs would be fine. Store this in a dry heated indoor environment for at least 6 months until it acclimatizes to your indoor wood EMC that is normal for your region. Use a jig to chop saw this into precise blocks, and then vibrate sand and hand sand tops smooth and with beveled edges. All the same exact depth about 3/4″. Then apply several coats of your favorite floor finish on it (oil based). And then install the floor with a rubber based mastic. Grout the joints with floor machine edger dust mixed with whiting, and universal color tint and a really good high solids oil based sealer, or OMP. Rub off all excess before it dries, and keep rubbing with burlap bags and a little solvent so none of the grout is on th surface. Then buff with steel wool on a floor maintenance machine when it dry. The drying should take several days to a week depending on the finish you used in the grout. You can now add more finish to the floor, and let it cure before waxing. (30 days) Oh, do this floor only on well cured level, flat, dry and moisture tested concrete. And by now you can understand why this company can charge 30 bucks per square foot, for this long and costly method. I wouldn’t do it. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: how do i make a wood blockfloor like the cobblewood floors that birgen jewell makes? he cuts 2x4s into small blocks and glues them down what i need to know is how thick do i cut the blocks,how large can the blocks be 2×6,2×8 ? an what can of glue would you use ? Answer: Dear Robert You are not the first one to ask me this, and I finally tracked down Biger Juell’s web site, with his wonderful pictures and limited information. He cuts this wood from old growth pine and hardwood species, taken from salvaged beams from barns, bridges etc. And that’s the key. Even old growth pine ( and I suspect he will only use Southern Yellow Pine) is dense enough to be cut on the end of it’s grain, and not crack in half once it’s installed. So that all said, no, you shouldn’t bother going out to buy 2 by 4 softwood store lumber, and expect to saw bits off this and make it into cobblewood flooring. This plantation grown softwood, will be cracked in no time, and will absorb moisture and be very unstable. Instead try this. And this is only a suggestion, not a proven method. See if you can purchase some AIR DRIED (to 12-14%) white or red oak. Buy this directly to the saw mill , (good luck, they have most of their production spoken for) and try to get 2″ thick material, in any length. Their cut offs would be fine. Store this in a dry heated indoor environment for at least 6 months until it acclimatizes to your indoor wood EMC that is normal for your region. Use a jig to chop saw this into precise blocks, and then vibrate sand and hand sand tops smooth and with beveled edges. All the same exact depth about 3/4″. Then apply several coats of your favorite floor finish on it (oil based). And then install the floor with a rubber based mastic. Grout the joints with floor machine edger dust mixed with whiting, and universal color tint and a really good high solids oil based sealer, or OMU. Rub off all excess before it dries, and keep rubbing with burlap bags and a little solvent so none of the grout is on th surface. Then buff with steel wool on a floor maintenance machine when it dry. The drying should take several days to a week depending on the finish you used in the grout. You can now add more finish to the floor, and let it cure before waxing. (30 days) Oh, do this floor only on well cured level, flat, dry and moisture tested concrete. And by now you can understand why this company can charge 30 bucks per square foot, for this long and costly method. I wouldn’t do it. 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: Nice article… Question: I can’t find the unfinished smaller 4″ by 4″ square edged parquet you recommend. Any suggestions where to look? Jason Answer: Dear Jason Yes it’s too bad, but this is becoming a rare product. I know old installers who have installed millions of square feet of this stuff from the 60’s up to the late 80’s. I now know only one company that still makes this time tested parquet. Here is the link directly to their web product page http://www.groleauinc.com/en/products/t06t19.php The T19 product is what I always use. They have a page to request a local distributor. I know of one in the Brampton Ontario, if that’s any help. Oh, by the by I heard some rumors that they may discontinue making this fine parquet, (due to lack of interest) so order up fast. I do hope they were just rumors.

Question: what is the best procedure and the longest lasting finish? we have just finished stripping the wood floor, and now we are removing all the dust. Help PLEASE!!! Answer: Dear Ariel This is a heck of a time to be deciding just what finish you are going to use. But you should never leave an sanded floor overnight, it’s won’t take much for the grain to rise, and more dust to settle on it. Clean it up again just before you coat. But in short there are two ways to go, either the water based finish like the Dura Seal 1000. Please read my article on this before you go ahead, you’ll find this in the Floored News section. Or if you have less skill and less money the best buy is the oil modified polyurethane. I use only the Fabulon brand heavy duty pro satin finish, for ALL three coats. Thin the first coat with odorless mineral spirits, to slow the drying, and apply it thinly for the first coat. Use a BRUSH !!!!. Don’t use a lamb’s wool applicator at all. Run a large fan on the floor and wail at least 24 hours to dry, scuff sand, vacuum and clean with the same solvent, by tack ragging with lint free cloth. Allow the solvent to dry and BRUSH on the second coat, wait 48 hours for this to partly cure. When you scuff sand now it should not be clogging the sandpaper. If it doesn’t seem dry, wait another day or two, then repeat the same procedure for the last coat. 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: I own a older house and much to my pleaser I have found a hidden treasure. I have oak floors under the carpet and linoleum. My question is: “How do I remove the linoleum adhesive(black in color) from my oak floors?”. Please help! I am so anxious to have the oak floors look like they did when the house was built. Thank-you for your time. Lisa Answer: Dear Lisa It is very important that you do remove all this black adhesive BEFORE you consider sanding this floor. Most floor adhesives used before 1970 had asbestos fibers in them. It was referred to as asphalt cut back adhesive. And sanding this stuff can release it into the air, with carcinogenic results. It’s best to have a sample of this tested before you fool around with it any more. If after testing you find that it is benign, you can try first cheap paint thinner (mineral spirits) and a putty knife. Try to squirt the solvent under the glue and push it off. If that fails try lacquer thinner (watch the fumes) and maybe a product called Goof Off regular. Buy these solvents in small amounts until you prove their effectiveness. As a last resort, you can try the safe stripper called Citristrip. You can read my detailed article on this material in the Floored News section. In some cases you can simply strip the whole floor with this stuff. But in the worst case you may be forced to use the most deadly Methylene Chloride strippers (read the labels). I do describe the dangers of this toxin in the article, so at some point the floor may just not be worth saving. You health is much more valuable. Oh, you should consider having the floor professionally sanded ( they have the proper heavy machines), but do the finishing of the floor yourself that’s the fun part anyway. I have not in 23 years seen a passable DIY floor sanding job yet, and most were so bad that it seriously degraded the floor. It should only cost about a buck a square foot to have it sanded only, well worth it. 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 There, I hired a contractor to install Bruce hardwood floor 3/8″ thick. They were going to glue down the hardwood. They came & ripped up the carpet today & discovered that the sub-floor is very uneven, by about 1/2″ at certain point. Some area looks wavy. The subfloor is made of particle boards. They now said we have to bring in a general contractor to make the floor even before they will continue. Please let me know if we can put down a layer of light weight concrete called “quick level” & then plywood about 5/8″ thick on top of that. This is on the second floor. There is another floor underneath this. We do not want regular concrete because it would be too heavy. Do you have any other recommendations that we can look into to make the subfloor more even? Thanks so much in advance for your help. Mary Answer: Dear Mary You are lucky they halted the job, before going ahead and creating a poor installation. I’ve heard too many horror stories about humpy subfloors. They would have blamed in on your house condition. But to answer your question, no, you should not try the quick fix of pouring lightweight concrete on the particle board, it will be cracked up in no time. Simply hire a carpenter to remove all the particle board, sister the joists, if they are out of level, and install new 3/4″ plywood subfloor. Or upon removal of the particle board, you find another layer of old subfloor shim it level and install a thinner 1/2″ plywood. Either case it’s a floor carpentry job, that is out the expertise of these installers. You can then have a glued or nailed down hardwood floor installed. I don’t know why your hardwood floor supplier did not tell you all this before you bought the wood. You may consider this all too expensive and may now want to return the wood, which should be an option.