Although Scott Cooksey, owner at Terre Haute, Ind.-based Hardwood Renovations, does a large amount of refinishing work, this one in Brazil, Ind., was unique in that one of the rooms where he needed to refinish the wood flooring had actually been on fire. When frequent client Brandon Sneath, owner of A & B Homes, asked him if he could do it, Cooksey didn’t hesitate. Although the walls and ceiling had burned, it turned out the firefighters had arrived before the carpeting and the historic red pine flooring underneath had ignited. Amazingly, the red pine, which Cooksey estimates is around 100 years old, was not damaged by either the flames or the water from putting out the fire. “Once we got the carpet up and cut the floor that first time and could see there were no burn marks or water stains, I figured it was going to turn out good, and the Realtor was amazed,” Cooksey says. He had to start with 24-grit on his big machine before completing his sanding at 120-grit and staining and coating with a two-component waterborne finish. “When you go into a house and you see the damage done to the floor, and then you see the transformation, it builds you up,” Cooksey says. “It encourages you to want to keep doing better and show people it can be done.”—K.M.W.
SUPPLIERS: Abrasives: Norton | Adhesive: Bona | Buffer, Edger: American Sanders | Filler: Woodwise | Finish: ProCoat Titan 2 | Nailer: Primatech | Sander (big machine): Lagler Hummel | Sander (palm), Saws: DeWalt | Stain: DuraSeal | Vacuum: Ceno Max Vac
Wood flooring pro Scott Cooksey of Hardwood Renovations in Terre Haute, Ind.
