We finished the job today and the floor looks good for what it is: factory-finished #2 common. The trim is done and we had to cut the doors so they would fit with the new flooring-no big deal, just something that seems to drag the job out. Our skills were tested with the hand-made transitions from wood to carpet, wood to sheet goods and ¾ wood to ⅜ wood with a "Z" shape down the hall. It's hard to explain, but it does look good the way it cuts two rooms apart that have ¾ to ⅜ flooring.
I got a comment on my post about the stain, so thought I'd talk about that a little more. We do have the homeowner pick and sign off on the stain, but as this job was getting close to ready we had to change our plans. The ash flooring did not sand has well as we wanted, so the stain was light and did not express the look they wanted. I mixed up our own color to match the cabinets, however it was just not right on the stair landing. If I do not like it, then I know it can leave open a door of "good enough." I do not like that idea of " good enough" when you know you can do better.
To get approval from the customer, I apply the stain on the actual floor, not a sample board. I feel that the samples will not always match what the flooring will look like after sanding. We do our best to show the folks that the paint in a room can affect the look. This job has a dark red wall, and it makes the flooring in that room take on a red shade, while the rooms with earth-tone walls have a clear look to them. We do stain in each room close to the walls to prove the point. Once they pick the look, they sign off on the stain and understand that paint and lighting will play a part in the overall look. I stress over a floor that I am not happy with because if I am not happy, then it always seems that the customers will not be happy.
Mixing our own stain for a look is tough, because I want to make sure we have enough, but not so much that we waste anything that will cost me in the long run. I talk to the homeowner while they explain the look they want. With that insight, together we pick a color; at that point they sign off and own the color. I explain to them what they can expect from me and the sanding, and that if they change the color Cardinal Hardwood will be paid. If they wish to change the look, they will have to pay us for any and all change orders.
I got a call from someone who asked what we used to stain the floor: I used Dura Seal quick dry stain-medium brown with Provincial to get a nice rich color and bring alive the ash flooring. It was tough to sand and stain the ash, because any scratch will show, and getting uniform stain is also tough. We hand-rubbed and buffed this job to make sure it would look good.
