Catching Up: How Much Wood Can a Woodchuck Chuck? Part 2

Wayne Lee Headshot
6 22 15 Tape Damage Wood Floor 1

Picking up where I left off last time

I have been working with a local company here in the local Nashville market on a factory-finish oil product glue-down. The install is great and the wood is nice, but the company that makes it has no clue how to aid the contractor with installation. The install team did everything they know to do: subfloor is flat to 1/6th in 6 feet, clean, dry and all the correct steps to get a wonderful install. The trouble was the company never worked with an oil finish on glue-down, so they used blue low-grab tape to hold it together (like we have all been shown to do) until the glue sets up to grab and hold. Most of the time you take a cleanup rag and wipe off any tape film or whatever it left behind, right? Not on an oil finish—the tape raised the grain. You can see it in these pics:

6 22 15 Tape Damage Wood Floor 1

6 22 15 Tape Damage Wood Floor 2

They called the manufacturer of the product and they said, “Yeah, this is an ongoing problem; we get calls every week.” DON’T YOU THINK THEY WOULD HAVE THAT IN BOLD LETTERS?

The response from them was there was nothing we can do, so we should try cleaning it, and next time, don’t tape it. That is wrong, right? So I was asked to help come up with something, a fix, anything other than remove it and replace it. We did a couple “standard” ideas: the “shake-and-bake” sander with fine paper, SPP pads, and even paper from 3M cut just for us to try. It was 400-grit gold paper for the buffer and shake-and-bake. Nothing worked; it would not remove the grain while not getting into the color. After two trips and a bunch of thinking, it hit me. This is a wire-brush oil floor … let’s get the next best thing. With some luck, an American Sanders FA-8 de-nibber was within our reach. With the 80-grit brush and slow motion, we got it:

6 22 15 Tape Damage Wood Floor 3 Sander jpg

6 22 15 Tape Damage Wood Floor 4 After

It hit the deep grain but did not cut the color, and tape marks are 90-95% gone. Buff in some new oil, and it looks great. Now that was Wayne Lee just thinking out loud!

Here is our new task is in this market and this will be a hard task: Teach the builders how to prevent pain. One at a time will be the goal, but each time we talk to them, it does make an impact. My thoughts on getting them to understand the need to follow the flooring standards, not the builders’ standards, ring a bell when we tell them we can stop callbacks and save them money. A few more points that make an impact with them is telling them we can help them with drywall troubles, trim gapping, doors not shutting or opening correctly, cabinets swelling, and on and on. Once they begin to see the time, funds and pain they start to save, they become responsive. My best advice? Do it slowly. Teach them the correct ways, and most of all, don’t give up.

They wanted the wood in the home so they could start installation during the wet work and drywall to speed up the job.

Recently one of our sales guys asked me to go look at an 8,000-foot install with him and the builder. This is a high-end home and a high-end country music legend’s new home. We started this job like any job: walk the outside, walk the basement, walk the main floors, then keep great notes, take photos. As we talked the job over with the builder and GC, they were pleased we prevented huge pain. Here is what I mean: Before our tour, they wanted the wood in the home so they could start installation during the wet work and drywall to speed up the job. We gave them more information than they could grasp in one trip, so he asked us to come back during the job and support them so that this job will not have pain. The upside: I may get to meet the legend and his wife. That would be cool—I own every tape he has made and still enjoy his music.

The point is this: Teach them, don’t preach to them. We can make big strides with little recommendation rather than little strides with big ones. Don’t scare them with knowledge, scare them with the failures they keep having job after job after job.

Thanks for catching up with me; sorry it’s been so long.

 

 

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