Archive for the ‘hardwood floor’ Category
Who is working on your project?
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Sometimes consumers will walk into a retail store such as Home Depot and order up a bunch of flooring and labor and assume everything is good to go. The biggest thing people are missing is that ALL of the labor that retailers use is entirely subcontracted from that point onward. This is where most communication breakdowns happen particularly regarding a site finished wood floor. Let’s look at why.
Most retailers have only ever sold flooring. I have rarely encountered a retailer where the sales staff has ever sanded a significant number of floors. They rely on the people to whom they are subcontracting the labor to maintain a high standard. Any problems that arise with the floor at that point are being handled by the subcontractor and not the retailer. It’s like passing the buck and it puts relations at a tricky point.
The best way to purchase a site-finished hardwood floor is to hire a reputable wood flooring professional. Go to the National Wood Flooring Association website and evaluate from there who fits your needs. All wood flooring contractors who specialize in site finished wood floors have access to wholesale distribution showrooms with equal or greater selection than most retailers. In fact, a lot of retailers purchase products from the same wholesale distributors as the contractor. The contractor can handle all materials and labor and reduce or eliminate any mis-communication liabilities if they are more closely involved in the process from the beginning.
Tags: hardwood choices for the wise consumer, hardwood floor contractor, portland oregon hardwood contractor
Posted in Hardwood floor Portland, Uncategorized, hardwood floor, portland hardwood professional | No Comments »
FSC versus true sustainability
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is a hot ticket item right now. It’s a pretty sweet concept regarding what it has done for educating countries globally about proper forestry. The essence of FSC relies in “chain of custody”, which in flooring basically means the people have are able to know exactly what tree in a specific forest created the boards in the floor. They can track where the wood was warehoused, etc… The process provides a real accountability for the logging industry in countries that used to clear cut and sell cheap flooring.
Let’s look closer at this though and look at the flipside.
1) The record keeping and data load from such a process is quite intense. It creates a demand for electronics and e-waste is one of our biggest global threats.
2) Warehouses that distribute FSC certified material have to house the material in a separate location from non-certified material, thus increasing the footprint of commercial spaces in our community. Yet, we’re all complaining America is running out of farmland.
3) The FSC does regular site audits (by third parties) of all points within a chain of custody, thus requiring fossil fuels to be burned in order to get an auditor to and from the site.
Wanna read more about the other side of FSC then go here.
Sustainability is truly independent of standards set by a well marketed non-profit. It relies more on the measure of local economics, carbon footprint, and life-cycle analysis of a product or process. Flooring products from foreign countries that abide by arbitrarily governed associations don’t put money into the pockets of our domestic population and they require additional fossil fuel expenditure to transport. That’s why LEED gets it right because they give scores to building projects based a series of qualifications, some of which factor the origination point of building materials to the project location.
Ask any scientist and they will tell you that the proving or dis-proving of a hypothesis is given significant weight when you bring together multiple lines of evidence in the experimental data. I am not suggesting FSC is an evil entity by any means. On the contrary they have done great things for education of forest management for countries with little to no understanding of these principles. I am suggesting that granting the term “green” or “sustainable” to a product because it carries the FSC label is simply a politically correct form of greenwashing that adds additional cost to products if you do not consider other factors, particularly life cycle analysis and local economic benefits.
Tags: domestic hardwood floor, hardwood choices for the wise consumer, sustainable hardwood
Posted in hardwood floor choices | 1 Comment »
Craigslist, it’s not just for used goods anymore
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
Craigslist is a well used internet site and is definitely a great way to get rid of used furniture and old scrap metal. The odd thing to me is that people will actually go there and choose a contractor to work in their house and do a project. Craigslist doesn’t do a really great job of policing the users and their integrity. Besides being a haven for scammers, and shady contractors, it now is a resource for murderers as you can read here. With all that said why would anyone trust a Craigslist contractor to complete a quality project? It’s a big risk. Don’t believe me, then let’s just look:
This ad says “All floors installed fast and fair!”. Craigslist finally required all contractors to list a license number recently. When you look into this guy’s ad you will see he is unlicensed. Why does that matter? Let’s say that you decide it’s time to save $200 bucks and hire this guy. Day one he starts and walks into your house and starts sanding the floors. Day three comes along and he has just finished sanding and staining your floors. You have to leave the house because you can’t be there and walk on the floor. He decides to leave his sanding dust and used stain rags in a trashbag in your two car garage. You left for the night and your house is secured and Mercedes is parked away safely in the second bay. While in your hotel room you get a phone call at 2am and your neighbor is explaining how your roof and house are up in flames. Think I’m joking, then just read this. A few days go by and after it’s all said and done you realized that you will have to foot the bill to rebuild your house. Why? you find out that this guy is unlicensed and has no insurance to rebuild your house. You find out your policy doesn’t cover unlicensed contractors working in your home. In the end the $200 savings costs you $250,000 or more because of a lapse in judgment.
Consumers please consider the following thought:
Don’t ask what something costs before considering what it is worth from all angles.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, hardwood floor professional, hardwood refinishing, portland oregon hardwood contractor
Posted in Hardwood floor refinish, Uncategorized, hardwood floor | No Comments »
Real world waterbased finish
Sunday, April 4th, 2010
I get asked so often about finish durability. Honestly, my answer is always to explain the features of various finishes and suggest only the types of products I would use on my own home.
Two years ago in April 2010 I applied three finish coats of Glitsa HP two component waterbased finish to my floor (Matte sheen). Today while I was cleaning my floors using our suggested method and was really impressed with how they still look great. My children are two boys ages 4.5 and 2.5 (they’re wild and crazy) and they are my best testers along with my dog who is young and crazy. The photo below is pretty much the best proof I can give you for the real world performance of a finish. No hyped marketing behind this one, just real world for someone else to see if they are wondering about durability.
This isn’t that I am sold on only one particular finish, just that I have this product in my house on a daily basis and can personally vouch for how well it performs in durability.
Tags: floor finish durability, Hardwood floor durability, hardwood refinishing, low-VOC hardwood floor finish, Portland hardwood floor, waterborne finish
Posted in Hardwood floor durability, Hardwood floor refinish, floor refinishing portland oregon, hardwood floor finish, waterbased finish | No Comments »
Local radio exposure for our knowledge
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
We recently wrote a response to a listener of local handyman show by Handyman Bob. We were honored when he shared it with his audience. It’s good to see great people still championing the cause of quality contracting.
Tags: floor finish durability, Handyman Bob, hardwood refinishing
Posted in Dustless Hardwood Refinishing, Hardwood floor refinish, hardwood floor, hardwood floor finish | 2 Comments »
Beware of the boutique
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Recently our shop was approached by a “boutique” wholesaler to subcontract installations and sanding. It sounded like an interesting way to grow our business possibly. I had my reservations based on conversations with other remodeling colleagues who previously used this group. Specifically I was concerned that they were unwilling to pay a fair market rate for top notch contracting because of the types of installers they typically use. A brief conversation with the outfit quickly verified that my intuition was correct. The rates that they were willing to pay to installers were about 60% of the going rate for the best full service hardwood flooring contractors in town.
Normally I don’t want to discuss price, but it is valid in this case. I know that quality service requires time and very careful effort. The mathematics of a service business require that to lower price you must lower service unless material costs are lowered.
What I urge consumers to do and always will is to specifically work with reputable small retailers with great experience. Flashy “high-end” boutique retailers pay considerable overhead in rent for facilities and staffing. To stay competitive they must create downward pricing pressure on subcontracted labor, which invariably results in mediocre work.
In these days of the internet research I advise consumers to really investigate service providing retailers before making an “impulse” buy with your hardwood floor. Stay informed with resources such as the NWFA.
Tags: hardwood choices for the wise consumer
Posted in hardwood floor choices, portland hardwood professional | 1 Comment »
The price isn’t right
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
One of the things I have been startled about lately is how the hardwood floor refinishing market in Portland has been subject to really large variances in price. At our company we try to deliver a service with considerable value that includes very personable customer service in addition to a quality product. We make a very disciplined effort to hide no element of what is included, which are the questions that consumers should ask in order to make an apples to apples comparison:
1) How many finish coats will be applied? This determines longevity to a great degree
2)What type of finish will be used? Home Depot polyurethane versus GlitsaMax 2 component waterborne urethane isn’t really a contest, the latter will start to outperform after 2-3 years easily. Just look at my floors, which are the test subject of 2year old and 4year old boys dragging toys and dropping everything. They look brand new one and a half years later.
3)How is the floor being filled? Is the floor being trowel filled across the whole area to alleviate gaps or simply spot filled in the large areas? This has a considerable impact on labor in the process.
4)How clean is the contractor? I think most people who want a refinish might care about a clean house. Does the contractor vacuum the house and vents after sanding and before coating the floor? Do they use dust collection? These are questions to ask when you want to know how MUCH service you are paying for.
5) Is the contractor licensed and CURRENTLY bonded? Do they pay their taxes? These may seem like simple questions but I assure you they are essential because if the contractor does not have a current bond, then any damage they are liable for upon entering your home comes from your pocket in most cases if there is no bond. Paying taxes is essential for supporting our parks, schools, etc… so it goes without saying that it is important for a community.
6) Do they contribute to any organizations or have ANY credentials beyond a license?
Our memberships and certifications alone cost us close to $2000 per year alone not counting any time for involvement with committees or helping educate other members. This may seem like a minor element, but I say that it is the fundamental building block for a quality contractor for two reasons. The esteem of being known for quality work goes with being in an organization and secondly the access to the latest information ensures better quality in your business.
I hope that these questions stay current amongst the consumers of Portland so that during the trying times we can all maintain or hopefully elevate the state of this industry rather than take the path of least resistance by lowering quality and price simultaneously.
Tags: dustless refinishing, Hardwood floor durability, hardwood refinishing, Swedish finish, wood floor sanding
Posted in Dustless Hardwood Refinishing, Hardwood floor durability, hardwood floor choices, hardwood floor finish, hardwood floor refinishing prices, portland hardwood professional | 1 Comment »
How long will it last?
Monday, October 5th, 2009
The title of this blog in my opinion should be the first question out of your mouth if you are a consumer or remodeler who preaches sustainability. The beauty of wood flooring is that it has the ability to last for well over 100 years depending on the wear layer thickness of the material.
Let us define wear layer as the surface of a flooring product that is in contact with foot traffic that can tolerate gradual removal of material without compromising the integrity of the flooring fastening system. Wear layer is a tremendously overlooked factor for people who are purchasing products. A minimum wear layer thickness for product that is serviceable through recoating or refinishing should be 3/16″. The wear layer of a typical 3/4 solid hardwood floor is 5/16″. That means that you may be able to refinish the floors typically 8 times. Some of the houses in Portland have fir flooring with a wear layer thickness that may have once been close to 1/2″ or 8/16″ in my estimate. That’s pretty amazing for longevity.
We recommend that in addition to the cost and the color, the primary consideration of your flooring material should be serviceability over time.
Tags: floor finish durability, Hardwood floor durability, wood floor maintenance
Posted in Hardwood floor durability, Portland fir floor, wear layer thickness | No Comments »
Sustainability and the homefront
Monday, September 21st, 2009
I have to write this blog as a celebration more than anything. For those that have ever visited our website you may know that we are fans of sustainability from a bigger picture view. I am an avid fan of domestic wood species and local sourcing of material. Domestic species have less of a carbon footprint with regards to transport and they have a great dimensionality with regards to potential for appearances. In addition our domestic economy is strengthened from buying in our borders and as everyone knows right now we need that more than ever.
This is the latest news I received today from the National Wood Flooring Association:
“U.S. House Passes Pro-Hardwoods Resolution
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed Resolution 81, non-binding legislation that urges American hardwood products be “given full consideration in any program directed at constructing environmentally preferable commercial, public, or private buildings” because U.S. forests are a legal, abundant and sustainable resource. The resolution passed with unanimous support. Integral to the resolution passage was Rep. Brad Ellsworth of Indiana. “We want to thank everyone who took the time to encourage their Member of Congress to support this resolution,” says the Hardwood Federation’s Deb Hawkinson. “The resolution needed 50 co-sponsors, and thanks to the industry’s efforts there were 52.”
Tags: domestic hardwood floor, Portland hardwood floor, sustainable hardwood
Posted in Hardwood floor Portland, portland hardwood professional, sustainability | No Comments »
Oh, So you do that too…
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
The title of this blog may seem a little odd, but it serves a purpose. Sometimes there is a little bit of confusion to the services my company offers in the world of wood flooring in Portland. My portfolio on the website could possibly lead people to believe that our work is only high end and custom work. The truth is that 90% of the hardwood floor installations we undertake are adding new flooring to an existing wood floor and refinishing the whole floor. I will walk you through this with a couple of step by step photos. In the first photo is where the floor ended after a wall was taken out in a remodel by my friends at Envi Construction. 
In the next photo, you can see where we removed a selected number of boards so that we may integrate, in a random pattern, new flooring. The goal we seek to accomplish is making the new floor and the old floor look harmonious in every way.
Afterwards, new matching flooring was installed and sanded and finished for a contiguous appearance.
There are a couple of tricks to ensuring a proper appearance that involve grading and specifying the mill providing the material. Depending on the mill and the region of production some flooring (particularly red and white oak) can be quite variable in the tones. This difference doesn’t become evident until sanding, so specifying product relies on a particular attention to detail and experience.
Tags: dustless refinishing, hardwood floor repair, hardwood refinishing, Portland hardwood floor
Posted in Dustless Hardwood Refinishing, Hardwood floor Portland, Hardwood floor refinish, floor refinishing portland oregon, hardwood floor, portland floor, portland hardwood professional | No Comments »