Question: I just purchased your article “Avoiding squeaks and pops”. I have a situation where in front a large window, which faces south, and sliding glass door which also faces south, the wood squeaks when you walk on it. I assume the wood expands because of the heat from the sun. 2-1/4 strip on 8″-10″ nailing schedule. What can I do in the future to avoid this? Todd Answer: Dear Todd Well no, heat effects wood only indirectly, in that it speeds up the drying of the wood, if it has taken on excess moisture. So, as long as you have nailed the floor to a 3/4″ or thicker plywood subfloor (itself well re-nailed, never skip this), the cause of your squeaks was environmental, and not the way you installed the floor. I’ll be doing another free article on how to prevent gaps and squeaks, once you’ve installed it correctly. So in your case, the open sliding glass door creates a mini outdoor environment in front of it, and if it’s raining or very hot and humid outside (the reason for opening the door in the first place) this section of floor will swell up with excess moisture, and then when you close the door the next day, and the sun shines on it, and the intense heat dries the floor excessively. This cycle continues until all the flooring nails have loosened, and now are squeaky. My Stop those Squeaks article addresses this issue quite well, or just learn to live with it. The prefinished floors are especially prone to this as the seams are not sealed and they will cycle through the high and low EMC’s faster, and wider. I solve this during the installation by being sure I don’t let the edge of the hardwood touch the metal door frame, or the cement sill in some houses. I try to leave at least a 3/4″ or wider gap at the sliding door, and when I’m applying poly to the floor I make sure that the poly flows over the edge of these board(s). The I usually get the owner to calk around the bottom of the door sill and put a little strip of foam insulation, and cover all this with my oak reducer strip.Then with a well finished and well nailed (6-8″) hardwood floor, I never get any squeaks.

Question: Dear Doc, A customer of mine would like a laminate floor put down over concrete, the problem is they saw another recent job I did in real hardwood and they want that look, I told them that it can’t be in laminate then, so I thought about an engineered wood floor system. I should back up a-bit to say the reason we don’t want to go full 3/4 hardwood is because by the time the sub floor goes down etc there will be a 2 inch step to the existing floor. So my question is can I put either 1/2 or 3/4 ply directly on the concrete (it’s a slab on grade not below, and 12 years old) and then nail an engineered floor to this? Also as far as stability goes could I instead of putting down poly back prime the plywood with a sealer so that I could glue the ply directly to the slab (after the ply has also been acclimatized)? Answer: Dear Dave Read my article INSTALLING HARDWOOD FLOORS ON CONCRETE SLABS.

Question: Joseph, I am also looking for the dust bag for the Clarke Super 7 Edger. Can you supply? Please advise price and availability. Thanks, Chris Petting Answer: Dear Chris Galaxy sells dust bags for all floor machines, and they are really tough. They now have a web site at http://www.galaxyfloormachines.com. They regularly do mail order to the US. Be sure to tell them I sent you. 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: What is the most durable finish to use on hardwood, my contractor wants to use waterborne, is it as durable? I have no pets but I do have two children and the wood will be installed in the kitchen, which is used quite a lot. Kerry Answer: Dear Kerry Amongst the most durable commercial floor finishes on the market, are some catalyzed water borne finishes. There are three I could recommend at this time. The Dura Seal 2000, Bona Kemi’s Traffic, and Basic Coating’s Street Shoe. They are are about the same type of finish, with similar durability. It’s what they use on gym floors. You will need 5 coats on your floor, but the first two coats should be a weaker acrylic sealer to prevent side bonding on new floors. This will be and expensive job, it’s a pricey finish. But several warnings come with it. The azridine hardener that makes these finishes so durable, is a skin irritant, highly poisonous, and carcinogenic. Your floor guys will be risking their very lives using this stuff. This is why it is only sold to professionals. At least the Dura Seal product has a dispenser system built into the bottle, so you don’t have to touch this stuff. Don’t let them pour the waste down the drain. You will need the floor recoated every 2-4 years in any case to keep all the seams sealed up. These finishes have a pale color to the film, because the emulsifier stays in the dried film. It will get paler every year, until you recoat. Yes, this is the most durable finish on the market, but it’s not without fault. If you want to use a water based finish try the next generation of oxygen cross linking finishes, and the Dura Seal 1000 is one of these. Read the article in the Floored News about this stuff, it’s far less toxic than the above finishes. Not as durable, but OK. The emulsifier in the film may still be an issue here also, but only time will tell. Moisture cured urethane and Swedish finishes are out because toxins they release months after the job is done. If it were my own kitchen ( and I would never put a wood floor in a kitchen, way to fussy a floor), I would still use 4 coats of Fablulon Brand heavy duty satin finish. It ages really well (nicely amber), stays clear and is proven to repel water over decades of use. I would still be recoating this floor every 2-4 years, but this finish is inexpensive, and anybody can to the job themselves. It sure makes for an expensive floor when you have to hire pros every 2 years to recoat your kitchen floor. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Susan What is the most durable scratch resistant finish on a hardwood floor since I have a large dog and 2 small kids? Answer: Dear Susan The most durable (not safe to apply yourself) floor finishes now are the catalyzed water base finishes. There are three I can recommend; Street Shoe by Basic Coatings at http://www.basiccoatings.com. Then there is Traffic by Bona Kemi at http://www.bonakemi.com. And last but not least is the Dura Seal 2000 water based finish. They are all basically good finishes, and are used in gym floors and bowling alleys. The only drawback is their expense, and the fact that they have to be professionally applied (they have a very toxic catalyst agent). They unfortunately have a pale blue film color. Be sure you see some 5 year old jobs before you choose one of these finishes, they don’t tend to age well, especially on dark wood. There are other conversion finishes that are as durable, but they both emit very toxic fumes. In the case of the Swedish finishes, up to 90 days of urea formaldehyde fumes and moisture cured polyurethane contains lots of toluene. But for a moderately durable (what I use on my floors) try 3-4 coats of a good oil modified polyurethane (Fabulon brand is all I use), or read the Article in the Floored News about the new Dura Seal 1000 water based finish. Both these finishes are fairly safe to use and much less expensive than the aforesaid finishes. And all these finishes will scratch, but the OMP will be cheaper to re-coat in the future. It’s something you can use yourself. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Hi – we recently bought a house, which has, the owner told us, solid oak flooring downstairs. She left a special floor mop and a Polycare spray, but I have just used these (after vacuuming) on the kitchen floor and it now looks duller than the hallway, which I only vacuumed. Have I used the wrong substance or done something wrong? I misted the floor (as per the bottle instructions) and then mopped it dry again with the special mop with its cotton cover. Will the floor gradually regain its sheen or is it permanently dulled, and which product would you recommend as a polish? Thank you – I really need some help with this as I don’t want to ruin the floors! Lynda Answer: Dear Lynda Please read my floor maintenance article available in the search box at the top of this web page (both parts), it should say it all. And you may try the Cleaning Center for the proper and inexpensive mops also. I mention their web site in the article. In this kitchen you are probably overdue for a re-coating, as also suggested in the article, this may be why it is so dull.

Question: I’ve got maple 3/4 X 2 1/4 that were strip sanded and urethaned about 14 years ago. The finish is now cloudy (dull, scuff marks). I’ve never waxed them but have occasionally cleaned them with things like Parsons Ammonia & Lemon. Water beads up on them so it appears that the finish has not failed. I’d really prefer not to have to strip them, but would like to get some luster back into them. One site said that buffing them with a commercial buffer would help. Are there any cleaning/restoring products out there that you would recommend? Is buffing a solution? Richard Answer: Dear Richard No wonder the finish is dull, you have never re-coated it. Didn’t the original floor guys tell you to screen and re-coat the floor every 5-10 years ? But also you have been using ALL the wrong cleaners, all the while. Please read my cleaning article in the Floored News section of this site, This will put you in the right direction, to get very cheap and effective wood floor cleaners. Never buff a film finished floor this will only scratch it more. But now that that is said, if you are certain that you have never waxed the floor, you should really be re-coating it really soon. Certainly it needs a deep cleaning with Wood Wash first. And you should consider hiring a pro to do the screening ( a scuff sanding of the finish, not the wood), vacuuming , a good cleaning with solvent, and a brushing on a good quality oil modified polyurethane. A pro can do this for about 50 cents to a buck per square foot. You can certainly do this yourself. If you want I can send to a detailed description of this job. Let me know, I’ll be writing it over the next 2 weeks for another contractor. You can get an advanced copy, but you would have to bring in a contractor to our site, read about this below. Otherwise you’ll see it 6 months to a year from now in this site. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Some questions: 1. Should I be running the dehumidifiers ? 2. Do you think there’s any chance we can dry this floor by the 4th of July? 3. The house is empty, do you think we’re crazy to move in if we can dry the floors, or should we redo the floors (which I really don’t think we can afford right now….. this has only been one part of an entire home renovation) even if it takes a month or so? 4. We used a contractor who did all the work on our house, the place looks beatiful and he’s done incredile work, except for the floor! Any advise? He also promised we’d be in by the end of May and here a week before this huge party we’ve been planning for 3 months (100 people) we’re still not in……. Answer: Dear Rich Sure you can run the dehumidifiers but only in the basement. If you have no basement just use the AC. If the floor was laid on a concrete slab, well, I’ve got another article about that, let me know if you want to see this. I’m trying to give you access to all the info you need. Yes, there is a chance if what you say is true, and the floor seems to be drying a bit on it’s own, and you get the temp to 70F and plenty of air movement and ventilation. Too bad you listened to others, because the high temp has caused part of the problem. So, if the floor finish begins to harden in a few days you might chance moving in. You probably have to remove all the finish anyway, so you might plan this when you’re on vacation sometime a year or so from now. If you can afford a holiday that is. Or go to grandma’s. But you’d be doing the floor a favor and taking the stress off yourself by cancelling the party. This is just way too much stress for a non cured finish and will even more of a mess of the whole floor. Rent a hall and charge a door fee if you must have a party. Part of the secret of having a life is to do LESS and enjoy each day MORE. The contractor’s sub (the floor guy) is totally responsible for this fiasco. So this guy I’m sure will want to come back and resand, recoat, or chemically strip the floor so that it’s looks right. I’m much in favor of the chemical stripping because no dust is made and no wear layer of the floor is removed in the process. It’s expensive, and time consuming but works well in this sort of situation, where you have to live through the job. This of course should be done at the contractors expense. He can use semi-skilled labor to do this task. It’s not hard to do. Oh, and one would only use high heat if this job was done in the middle of heating season. Now, in this humidity, it’s another matter altogether. Funny everybody seems to have pat answers for every wood floor problem. I have yet to be stumped on 4000 questions so far. I assume every problem is unique. No FAQ’s here. And it’s hard for most contractors to tell when the stain and each coat of finish is fully dry and ready to accept another coat. It’s a very common problem in this business. The directions on the finish can labels are written by the marketing guys. They state overly optimistic dry times. They never want to warn you of problems, because you will just buy the next brand that states that their finish has no problems. The company chemists (who I can talk to) tell me a different story, and you will find this pertinent info all throughout this web site. We go way beyond the industry standard. 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: Thanks, Joseph, for your prompt response. I installed the hardwood floor myself with the help of someone who has done this before. I agree that it is too soon to be seeing this kind of problem. The flooring is stripped planks with several layers. I forget the manufacturer, but I could look in the attic at the box (spares in case something like this would happen). The flooring is glued directly to the slab foundation. The floor is coming loose from the subfloor and causing a spongy feel as you walk across it. If you hop on the spot, the floor makes a popping noise as it seems that the floor is tacking to the glue and then releasing. Also there are two places where the planks are separating from one another. That starting about a month after installation and are at doorways. I honestly feel that the spongy area is caused from water that was not cleaned immediately, but am not sure. Thanks, Matthew Answer: Dear Mathew It’s an engineered or laminated wood floor that you have. You should have used a good adhesive like Dri-Tac 6200 which remains permanently tacky ALL its life. But you can use their Professional Wood Floor Repair Kit at http://www.dritac.com. Just follow directions that come with it. Please read my floor maintenance article in the Floored News section, for better cleaning advice. But I’m sure it was the poor quality glue you may have used that is partly responsible for this problem. Manufacturers of laminated wood floor have been supplying an easy to use but poorly performing glue lately, so I always stick to my Dri-Tac. Some major hardwood firms have their warranties based on these poor adhesives, it a shame and a sham. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: This is a multipart question about natural product finishes: I’m interested in environmentally friendly , low to non-toxic products, beeswax or other oils or waxes that produce a low luster but smooth finish; one that is somewhat easy to maintain. I understand waxes need reapplication but how often? What brands to try and where to buy? (I can’t find links on the web about them). Can I do it myself after I hire a professional sander to sand the floors? If I hire someone, will they know how to apply waxes or is that harder to find that someone who will do it right? What about staining the wood first: my floors are 90+ years old, oak and in good condition, but after resanding them, will they need to be restained? Andrea Answer: Dear Andrea Oh, boy that phrase “environmentally friendly” (EF) can mean soooo many things, where to begin ? First I should dispel the myth that wax is the only floor finish you need and that it is EF. The truth about wax is that it is merely a top dressing for a film finish that is already cured and dried on the floor. You might try to apply a paste wax on a wood floor, but you can never build a protective film on it. I know I tried on one board with 10 coats of wax. They all soaked in and never left any visible sheen on the floor. Water goes right through wax. Waxing has a solvent release as you use it, and it needs a fresh coat of wax every year. Very labour intensive. So if you want a low toxic floor finish that is made from all natural ingredients. It has been used for hundreds of years and lasts indefinitely, and shows no sign of flaking or peeling. It dries very fast and is a cinch to touch up. Makes for a wonderful seal coat for waxing if you wish. It’s shellac and can be bought in a highly refined form by the Zinsser Co. at http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=72 The drawbacks are numerous though. It’s a fairly soft finish, scratches easily. It does not resistant alcohol spills because alcohol is actually its solvent. Smells to the high heavens when you apply this EF finish made from the natural excretions of the lac bug in India. But if you are aware of all this you can easily touch up and re-wax all in a few hours. Next we have all the so called oil finishes. I really have to dismiss the pure oil (like tung oil and linseed oil) finishes from wood floor use, as they smell for months as they slowly cure, and don’t resist water worth a damn. But the varnish/oils and the wiping varnishes are a different story. The best (but not cheap) and most EF varnish oil I know of is the Tried and True brand at http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/ This is truly a EF product as it is made the way they used to first make curing oils in the 1800’s. In their varnish/oil there are NO solvents. But you will need about 6 coats on very smooth wood, applied over 2 weeks to build a suitable film for floor protection. Easy to fix but it’s expensive stuff. A bit cheaper are the wiping varnishes, here’s a link http://www.waterlox.com/handbook_woodfloors.cfm But these dry faster (overnight) because they contain metallic driers and solvents that are quite toxic during the job (and 30 days after). They are really just diluted versions of a regular varnish, but you’d never know that from reading their ads. Waterlox also makes regular alkyd varnishes. All these have a nice warm amber color to the final film. And the wiping varnishes can built a more durable film than the varnish/oils. Then we have regular old oil based polyurethane ( OMU). Which is the full form of a wiping varnish, and is easy to apply. Very durable. Somewhat toxic, but is safe with in 30 days after application. I wrote a great article in this site about this stuff, and in a satin finish looks like a fine smooth waxed floor. But about 100 times more durable. I recoat my floors every 10 years, so I suffer little toxic effects in the long run. And then they are a whole slew of modern water based and Swedish finishes, and I could go on about these all night. But I won’t. Oh. and I wouldn’t suggest you darken (stain) the wood after sanding if you are using a oil/varnish you might just wipe out the stain color. Floors are more easily touched up when they are just coated with the finish itself. Staining floors is a really complex job, but I have written another fine article on this very subject.