Installation > Restoration | Wood Floor Business

Restoration: Page 2

Herringbone Conundrums & Seniors Day at Henry Ford’s Fair Lane

Evidently Henry and Clara Ford were somewhat fond of the herringbone pattern. They have about 18,000 square feet of it in the home they built in Dearborn, Mich., in 1915. It’s quartersawn white oak, and it’s stood the test of time. The only damage we found during our restoration was man-made.

April 11, 2017

4 11 Waterdamage1

Remodeling or Remuddling: Are You Making the Right Choices on Remodeling Jobs?

When doing a wood floor in a remodeling job, there are many unexpected complications. Here's an overview of what to watch out for.

January 18, 2016

A compelling reason to check for flatness before starting: At this old home, the exterior walls had settled, creating this drastic slope in the wood floor. (All photos courtesy of Roy Reichow)

The Resourceful Dutchman: A Great Option for Old-Floor Repairs

Let me be specific from the get-go about what type of flooring repair the "Dutchman" method best addresses. The Dutchman works best on specific spots of structural damage or aging issues with the wood. Splitting, checks and splintering are some of the best examples. I’m not talking about animal urine stains, long indentations or watermarks. Those fall into a different category.

December 23, 2015

Michael Purser 12 22 15 Before Dutchman

The Low-Hanging Fruit: Old Floor Refinishing

(This blog is directed to that group in the wood flooring industry with sore knees, sore backs and callouses on their hands. We often feel like we are struggling to hold onto a market that reacts every time the prime rate hiccups, a contractor is looking to save $100 or a decorator sees nothing but ebonized floors. I want you folks to stop, turn around and look behind you. You just may be looking at a market that dwarfs anything you, or the industry, have seen in a long time.)

April 13, 2015

Fastener heads like these are a sure indication there is no wood left to sand on an old floor.

Repairing a Top-Nail Parquet Floor

As noted before, top-nail floors are very common in my area, metropolitan San Francisco. More than 75 percent of our refinishing and repair work is on a century-old 5/16-inch (7.937-mm) oak floor.

March 16, 2015

3 16 Avi Top Nailed Parquet

The Floor Listener: Wood Floors Have Stories to Tell

Longtime wood flooring pro Michael Purser has uncovered some truly bizarre things in his lifetime doing wood floors, and he shares some of them here.

March 2, 2015

When refinishing the library at Montpelier, I found these ink spots. Tour guides at the famous home now point out the ink spots to visitors.

Uncovering An Old Trick During a Restoration

Recently we did a restoration job on this floor in an older home. This is the “before” pic of the floor:

October 15, 2014

Mike Dittmer Border Repair1

Trick of the Trade: Cautious Cuts

When you're pulling up hardwood for a remodel, you run the risk of damaging door frames, cabinets, walls, and anything else that's in the way. A good idea is to make a saw cut around the obstruction. Remove the wood in the center first. Then you can easily pull out the pieces under the frame, which don't have fasteners, without damaging the trim.

February 15, 2012

Wood Floors Part of Grand Renovation at UT's Ayres Hall

It's likely that grand ideas were always circulating in Brown Ayres' mind as he strode the University of Tennessee campus paths during his tenure as 12th president from 1904 until his death in 1919. When he took the helm of the school, it was already more than 100 years old. Originally located in what is today downtown Knoxville, the university moved to the 40-acre tract known as "The Hill" in 1828.Architects: Weeks Ambrose McDonald Inc. (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Ross/Fowler (Knoxville)

February 5, 2012

Ayres Hall at University of Tennessee Knoxville

How to Do a Repair by Replacing Wood Flooring Boards

December 31, 2000

Hf 0401 75 Main

Page 2 of 2

On22 Techn Opener

How I Did This Floor: French Knots and Feature Strips

Wood flooring pro Josh Hansman walks through his steps to build and install French knots and feature strips.

5 L 1022 Wfb On22 Talking Shop Jonathan Gramajo

What’s Your Favorite Wood Floor You’ve Ever Installed?

After Emmys, Crispin-Designed Floor Retires To A Private Ranch

Polishing a Floor in the Late 1800s? Use This

We’ve found that nine out of 10 times our quick questions lead to a floor the client ends up choosing.

How To Gauge What Floor Your Client Wants In Two Minutes

Resource Book

Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.

Podcasts

All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.