Michael Purser

Older man with white hair and glasses smiling at camera indoors

Michael Purser started his wood floor contracting company, The Rosebud Company, in Atlanta in 1973 (visit the Facebook page at The Rosebud Company). His work focuses on restoring and preserving wood floors in older homes. He and his wife are empty nesters and enjoy spoiling their dogs and traveling. Their current pupil is a young Boxador by the name of Joey.

On The Road Again With Eyes Wide Open (Looking Down at the Wood Floors, of Course)

Longtime wood floor pro Michael Purser of The Rosebud Company went to Portugal ... and of course he was looking at the spectacular wood floors in places including Palacio da Bolsa, Parque de Serralves and Museu Calouste Gulbenkian.

September 6, 2022

Img 0534 Palacio Da Bolsa Room View Wood Floors

A Finishing Challenge: Canoeing In Church And The Recoating Sandwich

Wood flooring pro Michael Purser had to come up with unique technique to make this church recoat work—with the pews still in place.

February 11, 2022

Keeping Mo Mighty: a Tiny Restoration Job For a Giant Legend

Wood flooring restoration expert Michael Purser details a special job he did: working on the yellow pine platform for the Mighty Mo organ at Atlanta's Fox Theatre.

February 16, 2021

2 16 21 Michael Buffing Whole Theater

Paradigm Shift: the Ripple Effects of Waterborne Finishes

Longtime wood flooring pro Michael Purser looks at the many ways waterborne finishes changed the way pros do things on a wood flooring coating job.

July 17, 2019

The maroon pads that we take for granted today were a direct result of the advent of waterborne finishes. Not only are they good for intercoat abrasion, they are also great for cleaning a floor in preparation for recoating. In this photo you can see the amount of dirt and grime removed by the pad on the right before this historic floor was recoated.

Giving the Past a New Future: Tackling Historic Restorations

Wood flooring restoration expert Michael Purser details his work on the mansion of Henry Ford, Fair Lane, and explains some of the factors to keep in mind when working on historic projects.

July 20, 2018

My brother, David Purser, working to remove original finishes from the living room of Fair Lane, the home of Henry and Clara Ford.

Why We’re Never the Last Contractor on the Job Anymore

Wood flooring pro Michael Purser explains why and how he was able to stop being the last subcontractor on the job site forevermore.

November 21, 2017

Before and after comparison of hardwood floor refinishing showing wet epoxy coating and protective red tape grid pattern during renovation

Wall-to-Wall Carpet: The Underwear of Floor Coverings

Now that I have your attention, let’s discuss what I think is the bane of all flooring material: wall-to-wall carpeting (WTWC). I don’t think there has ever been a more disgusting material manufactured that can be put over a wood floor.

August 23, 2017

A decomposing carpet pad will easily leach chemicals in a wood floor.

Herringbone Conundrums & Seniors Day at Henry Ford’s Fair Lane

Evidently Henry and Clara Ford were somewhat fond of the herringbone pattern. They have about 18,000 square feet of it in the home they built in Dearborn, Mich., in 1915. It’s quartersawn white oak, and it’s stood the test of time. The only damage we found during our restoration was man-made.

April 11, 2017

4 11 Waterdamage1

What Goes Around, Stays Around: Ode to the Buffer, Part 2

[Continued from Part 1 of this post…]The buffer will likely be at the forefront when it comes to finding options for refinishing floors that have already been sanded too much. Or homes built before the 1950’s—most are already at that point. There will need to be an alternative to aggressive belt and edger sanding, and I’m betting the buffer will play a major role. Some of the iterations I already mentioned will likely offer some alternatives. I know a lot of contractors who are betting against this and feel people with old homes will buy new floors, but I don’t agree. If they want to stay competitive, they’ll look at these options.In my historic restoration work, I’m totally dependent on a couple of twin Clarke FM-15’s. They are as basic as it gets and date to the late 1960’s. I would have retired years ago if it hadn’t been for these two trusty sidekicks. They don’t need dust containment since we’re not creating any dust. I use them to take old finishes off, and I use them to buff new finishes in. If stains are involved, they get buffed in, also. They would probably make me a cup of cappuccino if I asked them.The one that’s been with me the longest is the one I bought off my dad when he decided to retire. The other buffer came to me when my older brother retired about three years ago. He had a nice complement of machinery to consider buying, but my only interest was in his old FM-15. As you can see in the photos at right, it was in rough shape and looked like it had been a pigeon roost. I took the old boy and had it checked out at American Products in Pineville, N.C., and then I went about the business of cleaning it up. As you can see from the before/after shots, it bounced back nicely.I recently put the boys to work at my latest restoration project in Dearborn, Mich., and, as usual, they pulled their own weight with nary a complaint. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it when someone would see the buffers and ask how old they were. I was flattered by their reaction. It’s like being my age, 70, and having to show an ID to buy a bottle of wine. These two buffers are like my AmEx card … I don’t leave home without them.The buffer has been good to me. It provided me some quality time with my dad when I was barely out of diapers and has allowed me to continue doing something I truly love well into an age when many would be languishing in their BarcaLounger. It’s a machine from our past that has a very promising future. It rolls with the punches and keeps coming back in better shape than before. And if they can be cremated, I’ll probably take one with me to the other side.

January 9, 2017

1 9 17 Old Clarke Buffer

What Goes Around, Stays Around: Ode to the Buffer, Part 1

The buffer has always been my favorite piece of equipment. Like many my age who grew up around a wood floor contractor, I rode my dad's buffer when I wasn't riding a tricycle yet. I got the thrill of the ride; he got the benefits of my weight on the machine when he was waxing. The buffer is easy to tame, and I was probably running one by my early teens when my brothers and I were working with my dad. It's quiet-a real plus in a world of screaming and roaring equipment. Once mastered, it's docile compared to the other machines. It's forgiving and will rarely punish you the way the others do if you sneeze. It can multi-task depending on the attachment. It doesn't have the aggression of the other sanders, but everyone agrees that it's one of the most important machines in the finishing process. I've never met a contractor who felt they could stay competitive without a good buffer in their stable.The buffer I rode as a child was considerably different from what we have today. For starters, my dad's buffer had a fixed handle that made moving it up and down stairs by yourself a real balancing act. (Think of carrying your lawnmower up and down a set of stairs!) There was no adjusting the tilt or extending the handle. It had enough metal in it to build a couple of our modern-day versions. It weighed a ton, and without the pivoting handle, took up a lot of space in your truck.Veteran wood floor contractor Eugene Stone of Pinole, Calif., has a vintage beast of a machine (seen in these photos) that was on job sites before most of the people reading this article were born. Eugene's dad bought this one in 1951, which qualifies it for Medicare. Among other things, please note (in the second photo) the close-up shot of the electrical connection on the motor. If you look carefully, you'll see a red-looking toggle switch. That allowed Eugene and his dad to switch from 110 to 220 with the flick of a wrist. As Eugene would say to all you young guns out there with your bright, shiny new 220 buffer-“been there, done that.”Throughout its history, the buffer has been a machine that has adapted to its surroundings and needs. When the screen-back discs were introduced, it went from a polisher to a finish sander. Not only did it fine-prep the floor, it did double duty to screen between coats of finish. The big downside to both procedures was excessive dust. The excessive dust led to the buffer being the first piece of equipment with dust containment, and it adapted well. Anyone buffing a floor today and kicking up clouds of dust is about two decades behind the times. (And you're a bad example of our trade.)Buffers of today have the same basic features of the buffer of old but a lot more bells and whistles. Handles not only tilt but they telescope as well. We now have buffers with headlights! (Who said you can't do prep work in a dark house?) Don't get me started about all those attachments. Just damn! The single flat-plate drive pad now has some company. There's the hook-and-loop type to make sure the maroon pad stays put while prepping finish between coats. Then you have the Tampico attachment for pulling fine dust from the recesses prior to applying finish. You can put a drive pad on the machine with diamond bits to help prep when the going gets real tough. Within recent years, the drive plate also has smaller discs to facilitate fine surface prep. We also have a 220 version where those small pads counter-rotate to up the ante a bit.

December 16, 2016

12 17 Eugene Old Buffer

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Wood flooring contractor kneeling while installing hardwood flooring with power tools on a residential floor

2026 Wood Floor Business Contractor Survey

Here are the results from our exclusive survey of wood flooring contractors.

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Diamond pattern mixed media floor installation in a Texas castle interior with stone walls and castle exterior visible in inset photo

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Worker using floor sander to restore damaged hardwood flooring with visible water damage and wear patterns

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