We are working on 1,500 feet of 5-inch No. 2 ash that they want stained, and we know how hard it is to stain ash. The homeowner wants it to look like oak, but they want the grain of the ash ... the old joke they do not know their oak from their ash. Two other flooring contractors told them that ash cannot be stain or should not be stained. Well, we just told them we can give it a "tone" so it looks more like oak. We got it sanded to 120 with the big machine and the edges with 100 grit, but I used a pad to soften the scratch. I started edging at 9 a.m. and my personal clock must have been off, because when I was done Joey asked, "You ready to eat dinner?" (that means lunch around here). My look could have pushed him over: Dinner? We just started working! Well, it was 11:45, so he sent a look back: Son, you are not right. I just lost track of the time and did not stop edging until it was done.
I told Joey that our mission was to have this stained today-no ifs, ands, or butts. We got it done about 4:30, and boy, are my arms tired. We went a little old school and a little new school. I raged on the stain and wiped it off, and then I had Joey come back and buff it with a thin white driving pad. Knowing how hard it is to get uniform stain and color, we felt it best to buff it in and make sure no hand/rag marks were left behind. Joey buffed and made sure it was even, and I just keep looking, making sure we got it right.
The homeowner came by while I was cleaning up to see the color, and thank God, he said we nailed the color and look he wanted. He has no idea that I was as nervous as a cat at a dog show. The truth is I never stained ash before, so the job was working me as hard as I worked it. I'm so glad he likes it; my stress level went down fast. Doing something new is good, and I know that tons of contractors have stained ash, but adding to the stress was that we did not have a stain per se; we had to mix up two colors to get what he wanted on the floor.
