From the Advanced School to a Natural Oil Job

Hello, Keith Long here with Thunderheart Flooring to go through a project recently worked on in Fort Collins, Colo., by Toby Merrill and myself.

Toby is from the Chicago area. He and I met at the NWFA Expo this year in Nashville. Our paths crossed again at the NWFA Advanced Installation School in September. Toby has almost 20 years of industry experience and is still fired up about the wood flooring industry.

One of the benefits of posting these blogs is that some techniques and elements from the schools can be put out there for all to see. However, when one takes a course in person, there’s the opportunity to meet with instructors and other students in the evening after class. In my opinion, this is a huge benefit to those who go out and network with their peers. The same is true at Expo.

While out to dinner one evening during the Advanced Installation course this year, Toby mentioned that he would like to create a market for natural oil finishes in his area, and he asked if anyone worked with them. I piped up and said I had tried it in class a couple times, and that I had a floor coming up in about a month where natural oil was contracted to be used.

The project was 1,650 square feet on two levels, with full tear-out of baseboards, carpet, carpet pad, and tack strip. Then a full-trowel-glue and cleat-down install, sand and finish—a sizeable job for a mom and pop company like Robin and I have. So, it worked out to buy Toby a plane ticket out to Denver and hire him for a week. It helped him to get hands-on experience with the natural oil product, and it helped us to keep the project moving along—a win-win in my book.

The flooring was an engineered 6-inch rift-and-quartered white oak. When I’m in the market for unfinished engineered flooring, I call Howell Hardwood Flooring out of Dothan, Ala. Clay Howell grew up in the hardwood plywood industry, and his company manufactures unfinished engineered flooring with hardwood wear layers of various grades and thickness. If they don’t have it, they can get it. I get the impression Clay has a good business head on his shoulders, and he’s a great guy to talk with. We’ve bounced business philosophies off each other and have shared what some of our favorite books are. He and his right-hand man, Whit, are a pleasure to do business with. They got me outfitted for this job, and I look forward to working with them again.

Have any of you ever been scheduled to start on a job site, only to discover at the last minute it isn’t ready? Although it doesn’t happen often with me, it would have to be while I have someone in to help from out of town. The gentlemen who were set to remove the old cabinets were no-shows the day before. Toby has a great attitude—he and I put on our demolition caps for a few hours and got that old cabinetry up and out of there. Then, we got down to the business at hand:



This home had a floor truss system for joist material, set 24 inches on center. We laid the rows of boards perpendicular to the floor trusses, and full-trowel-glued and mechanically fastened the engineered white oak in with 18-gauge cleats. We sanded to 100-grit with the big machine and edger, and then 100-grit on a 6-inch Festool Rotex on the random orbital function around the perimeter and 100-grit paper with a multi-disc sander for the field. After a thorough cleaning, we were ready for the natural oil.

Dave Erickson with Pallman is based out of the Denver area. Since it was our first time applying it in the field, and because we asked, he came up to help us put their Magic Oil product down. They have several colors—the one selected by the homeowners was white. This gave a natural look with a hint of whitewash. Every time I talk with Dave, I always end up with a smile on my face. Pallman’s lucky to have such a cheery and knowledgeable rep. He coached Toby and I on some of the finer points of this product and took some pictures while we applied:

Dave explained to us that application with a stainless steel trowel (which Pallman makes) is recommended. I troweled it down as thin as possible to start, and Toby buffed it in with a thick red pad. Dave and I went around the edges, first with a little of the oil on the center donut of the thick red pad by hand, then wiping down the edges with the grain, using cotton wiping cloths. Dave recommended not getting too far ahead with the trowel before buffing it in, as it can be tougher to work with if it sets a long time before getting to it with the buffer.

After all was buffed in once, Dave poured out a puddle of the oil, maybe 4 inches (10 millimeters) in diameter, and had us start going over everything a second time with the thick red pad. Two or three little puddles that size was enough to get about 400 square feet covered with a second coat. Next, we switched to a thick white pad and did the final buff, picking up any excess product that was still on the floor. Coverage for their product should be about 400 square feet per liter; we made it slightly further than that on this floor. A liter at first seems spendy, but when a person can pack up the buffer and walk away, and that is the finishing system—no extra days for clear coats or any of the time, material, or expense that goes with it—it doesn’t pencil out to be expensive in relative terms. Plus, it’s extremely low-VOC.

This project is being done in four stages, three of which are complete. After all cabinetry and appliances are set, the fourth and final stage will be clear to prep and complete. One of the beauties of this product is that where I ended with the third stage, I can blend the fourth stage into it with the buffer and have it appear as if it were all done at the same time. Similarly, maintenance in high-traffic areas can be rejuvenated without having to sand the floor down.

A piece of friendly advice Dave gave Toby and me while he was with us was, “Once the hardener has been mixed into the product, don’t put the lid back on if you have any left over that won’t be used.” Have you ever forgot something someone told you? Well, it happened to me. On the second stage, I covered the unused portion of a liter when done with it. While buffing in another room, I heard the metal lid shoot off the can and make a not-so-quiet or graceful landing. Fortunately, it was on the hardwood that was going to be buffed again with the white pad. Had it been on carpet, I would have had some explaining to do.

I enjoyed this product—it comes in several colors, and for the right project, I would use it again. One of the objections about this type of finishing system in the past has been that it has a matte look to it. If a client desires this product, or maybe already has it down on their floor, but wants more sheen to it, contact Dave Erickson at Pallman—he was talking about products they are developing as a way to make this finishing system topcoat-friendly to achieve a desired sheen.

Toby went back to Chicago and did these floors with Pallman’s Magic Oil:

In the words of sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane from the 1970’s TV show The Dukes Of Hazzard, “I love it, I love it…” Toby got his feet wet out here with the natural oil product, then went home and started creating that market he was talking about. Seeing his work from up there in Chicago does my heart even more good than the homeowners’ offer of full-to-the-brim plastic cups of chocolate milk being made over our finaled-out floor that was ready to be finished. (I wasn’t feeling very thirsty at that moment…)

I had a great time working with Toby. He and I are scheduling now for him to come out for a custom job in February this coming year.

Your questions and comments are welcome—stay sharp out there!