I write for my audience—that is a basic premise for any blog, article, story, movie script, screen play, etc.—and my audience are people like me who are involved in the wood flooring industry.
Makes sense, right?
But I have become aware of another demographic reading my blogs, and that’s the end user—the client/homeowner who lands here through an online search for answers and stays because (we have to be honest) this is a great magazine staffed by experts, and contributors who soar heights so high, it’s almost like they are creating history with some of the projects illustrated here on these pages. (There are so many examples, like the pencil floor, the wood/penny floor, Sprigg’s huge project in DC, and so on …)
Some readers reach out to this magazine looking for help. It is to them this article is pointed at.
The back story:
I received a phone call the other day from the renter of a large home nearby, and I knew in his first three words he thought he was in trouble. He had been renting this home for about three years, and he said it had about 2,000 square feet of wood flooring. His concern was he had no idea on how to take care of it, and after three years it was showing its age with an accumulation of character like we’ve all seen. He said he keeps a clean house but doesn’t know what to buy at the store. He was chatting about wax, polish, different wood floor cleaner brands available at the big box stores and so on. He was sincerely in a state of dread, because he handed over a $5,000 deposit when he moved in and was thinking he was going to lose all of that and be liable for a new wood floor, as well.
At my direction he sent me pictures via text and stated these were the pics of the floor when he first moved in three years ago. He wasn’t home when we chatted and had no current pics, but I didn’t need to see more. He was carrying this guilt and dread, but the landlord knew nothing of his concern or state of mind. These were his pics from when he moved in:
After asking some pertinent questions, I let loose with my observations via his texted pics and the emotional picture he drew with his words.
I told him he was in a good place and to fear for nothing. Because:
1) His landlord never educated him on how to live in a house with wood floors. The caller only used his own logic and wits, aided by the marketing ideas at the big box stores.
For my part, I give every client a maintenance sheet with every job, a large roll of felt for the feet of the furniture, and a microfiber mop kit. I make them sign for it so they can never say they did not know how to take care of a wood floor or how to live in a home with wood floors. Here's my sheet:
2) His floor was looking like it needed to be refinished before he even moved in. The small chips and the character marks made by other users were not his problem.
3) From the look of the pics, I’m not entirely sure if the floor could even withstand a refinish. Judging by the size of the bevels, I am thinking the floor was an inexpensive version of a real wood floor, and most likely had a 2-mm or less veneer face. I tell my clients to visualize a popsicle stick, and that in and of itself is too thin to refinish because the NWFA implies that approximately 1/16 inch of wood is removed during the refinishing process. If the veneer face is 3 mm, I might try it if the installers did their due diligence and flattened the floor as required. That way burning through the veneer face would not be a threat, but this certainly would be the last time the floor could be sanded.
4) It is logical to assume that the caller did everything a reasonable, concerned renter would be expected to do if never given formal directions or guidelines on how to take care of the wood floor in the rental home. This applies to rental condos, apartments and flats, and even commercial outlets (like in a mall or restaurant). Quite simply, the caller acted in reliance to all the data one could muster at the big box store. He lucked out when I answered the phone because I raised his spirits and gave him the knowledge he sought. Basically everything I told him is basic stuff not found by the marketing data at the stores.
5) Even more than that, if the landlord ever refused to return his $5K deposit, I suggested I could make myself available to help him —in court, if that’s where it led to. That is my call to make, and surely some would charge for this if conditions were warranted (I’ll play that by ear for now). I visualized standing in front of a judge and explaining things plainly—devoid of any slant or spin on the topic.
In summary, I texted over my maintenance sheet, and the caller was so uplifted I sensed an opportunity arising. I stated if they were happy, would they mind giving me a five-star review?
I got one for my trouble!
Editor’s Note: Consumers looking for answers about their wood floors might find these articles helpful:
What Confuses Wood Flooring Consumers and What to Tell Them
Clear Up Confusion About Wood Floor Maintenance
