Wood Floor Rescue: A Wood Floor Reveal ... Like a Boss

Jan 19, 2021

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Bob Alberding of Brick Township, N.J.-based Alberding Hardwood Flooring LLC was actually called into this Asbury Park, N.J., project to rescue a different floor—the upstairs that had been "butchered" by a hack. Due to time constraints, that floor had to wait, but Alberding was able to salvage a downstairs floor where a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band had lived for 20 years. "There was very little finish left; the dark stain and spackle mess just about completely hid the border work underneath," Alberding says. "When I began sanding, I was very excited to see the reveal." Not wanting to hide it under the dark stain that had been chosen, he taped off the border to show it off. "It was more work, but it was definitely worth it for both me and the owners," he says.

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SUPPLIERS:
Abrasives, Sanding equipment: Lägler | Finish: Loba | Stain: DuraSeal (Jacobean)

You need to learn the scratch of all the different abrasives you use to get the results you want.

A Key to Better Sanding: Know Your Scratch

January 17, 2025

Absco's Waterborne Line-up

How We Did This Floor: Edge-Grain in the Portland International Airport

A Key to Better Sanding: Know Your Scratch

Wood Floor Rescue: Preserving a Piece of Montana History

Machines/Tools

Planetary and Multi-Disc Sanders 101: A Technical Primer

T.J. Haas found a lot of people hadn’t actually used or experienced multi-discs and planetary sanders, so he put together this primer on the different types of machines.

Absco's Waterborne Line-up

Canlak Coatings

Advanced waterbased technology. Superior performance. Unparalleled service. Learn more about Absco's waterbased lineup today!

Techniques

Learn How To Refinish Hardwood, Engineered & Aluminum Oxide Finished Floors (Sponsored)

See why The RASP by WerkMaster is the floor sander of choice for so many hardwood refinishers and flooring installers! The RASP is an all-in-one floor sanding solution, combining the power of 5 machines in 1.

Techniques

Rhythmic Sanding: Better Results by Planetary Sanding to the Beat

In my job helping contractors learn to work with the latest products in the industry, I have seen that there can sometimes be a substantial learning curve when they are working with planetary sanders for the first time, so I came up with this technique.

I’ve found that people have a hard time knowing the correct pace to use when planetary sanding, so I started using a metronome.

Wood Floor Rescue

Wood Floor Rescue: A Heart Attack of a Heart Pine Job

Lorie Davidson bid this heart pine job off of real estate photos. When he actually arrived at the farmhouse and saw its original floors, circa 1873, “I had to go back out to the truck and say the Lord’s Prayer," he says.

Contracting

Readers Respond: Pics of Readers' Favorite Spring Wood Flooring Projects

Wood Floor Business asked followers on Facebook what their favorite wood flooring projects from this spring were, and there were many responses, with many beautiful wood floors.

Tales From the Front

Tales From the Front: Heavy Metal Scares Everyone Involved

Tom Hanson at Warwick, R.I.-based Thomas Hanson Hardwood Flooring says he gets startled on jobs all the time when someone’s trying to get his attention while he’s deeply engrossed in sanding, but one scare really stuck with him.

Techniques

WTF Moments in Sanding: Dealing with Aluminum Oxide

Some of us remember the first time we had to “try” sanding off a finish with aluminum oxide (AO) or ceramic finish—fortunately we have better options when it comes to abrasives today. Here's some advice.

For this aluminum oxide floor, Joshua Feck of Traverse Woodworks in Traverse City, Mich., started with diamond plates on his Bona Power Drive “to scratch up the surface. I’d let the plates cool while removing what’s left of the finish with 36-grit with the big machine.”

Techniques

Something That Sets You Apart and Costs Nothing: Keep it Clean

One thing that can set you apart from the competition has nothing to do with fancy equipment or using the best abrasives or the most expensive finish. It’s simple: Be clean.

Here, I purposely hooked up a vacuum that was too small to the big machine to show the heavier particles you can get spitting out. This can also happen when running with a canvas bag that is too full.

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Podcasts

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