Hardwood Information Guide

How should I inspect my new hardwood floor?

 

Inspection should be done from a standing position with normal lighting. Glare particularly from large windows, magnifies any irregularities in the floors and should not determine acceptance.

A finish similar to that found on fine furniture should NOT be expected. Trash in the finish, a wavy look along strips, deep swirls or sander marks and splotchy areas can be an indication of inadequate finishing or cleaning. The quality of the finish can be acceptable and still include some of these problems, but they should not appear over the entire floor.

The perimeter and hard to reach areas (i.e. under radiators, around cabinets and cabinet cutouts, closets, corners, etc.) are most likely to contain these irregularities.

Again, when inspected from standing position these irregularities may be present but not prominent.

What to Expect

 

Wood flooring is many pieces of material milled up. No two pieces are alike. Some defects and Chips are to be expected. Scratches may occur during the construction phase, or a dent may occur from something dropped. Before the last coat of finish is applied the floor is buff vacuumed; dents and scratches are fixed if possible. Sometimes they may still show after final coat. Floors can also get scuffed or scratched during the move. Make sure movers do NOT drag furniture on the floor. Have them place the furniture down. Appliances should be put in place with a dolly. Refrigerators should NOT be rolled on their fixed wheels; they will damage the floors. It is to be expected with new construction and is part of the process and beauty of a wood floor. They are to be walked on and enjoyed for years to come.

 

How should I clean my hardwood floor?

 

The most important thing to do is to first vacuum and dust mop regularly, and as often as necessary. For some families and most businesses this may mean every day.

 

Don’t damp mop on a weekly schedule, damp mop only as needed i.e. when the floor is dirty. Even then, cleaning on a spot basis will suffice. Often the maid service will want to do this weekly, but that will cause the finish to wear faster.

 

When you need to clean the floor, we recommend using Bona X, a hardwood floor cleaner that we carry in stock at our Showroom. You should not use anything that leaves a residue. Even the products that spay on the mop have silicones that can interfere with the finish and oil soaps can cause intercoat adhesion problems.

 

Refinishing

 

Wood floors that have become unsightly from years of wear or neglect can be restored to their original beauty. Machine sanding removes the old finish and exposes new wood. With the application of a finishing material, floors are like new again. While the highly skilled home craftsman may want to undertake the task of refinishing, it is usually advisable to have a professional floor refinisher do the work to be assured of the best results.

 

Standard wood tones or other colors are readily available in penetrating stains. Coloring floors with minwax stain will not obscure the grain markings.

 

The general term for adding any tone to a wood floor is “staining”. But stains get their color from dyes or pigments, which are sensitive to light, so stained floors may fade if exposed to continued brightness. For this reason, we recommend the use of penetrating sealers containing pigments for most refinishing.

 

Preventative Maintenance

 

Preventative maintenance is a term more common to industry than to residential or office floor care, but its importance cannot be over-emphasized. Good preventative maintenance lengthens the intervals between the major renovation operations such as re-coating, re-waxing or refinishing. Here are some basic rules that apply to all types of floor finishers.

 

1. Keep grit off the floor. Use dirt-trapping, walk-off mats at all exterior doors to help prevent dirt, grit and sand from getting inside the building. Throw rugs or small sections of carpet just inside the entrances are also recommended. Dirt and grit is any flooring’s worst enemy and that includes carpet and vinyl as well as hardwoods. Keep doormats clean.

 

2. In kitchens, use area rugs at high spill locations and at work stations- stove, sink, and refrigerator. Cotton is generally the best fabric since it is easily washed. Mats with a smooth backing (i.e. rubber or vinyl) may trap water beneath.

 

3. Finishes and certain chemicals in woos oxidize and are affected by ultra violet light sources, causing the wood and finish to change color and develop a patina or age. To avoid uneven appearance, move area rugs occasionally and drape or shade large windows.

 

4. Put fabric glides on the legs of your furniture; they allow furniture to be moved easily without scuffing the floor. Clean the glides regularly since grit can become embedded in them. Some furniture may require barrel type roller casters as ball type casters may cause damage. Grey, non-marking rubber casters are the best. Avoid casters made of hard materials like metals or hard plastics.

 

5. Vacuum regularly, as often as you vacuum carpets, a brush attachment works beautifully. Sweep or use a dust mop daily or as needed, but do not use a household dust treatment as this may cause your floor to become slick, dull the finish, or interfere with re-coating.

 

6. Wipe up food and other spills promptly with a dry cloth or paper towel. Use a slightly moistened cloth for sticky spills if necessary. Then wipe the floor dry with another cloth or paper towel.

 

7. Keep heels in good repair, especially high heels. Heels that have their protective cap missing or worn away exposing the steel support rod will dent ANY floor surface, even concrete.

 

8. By observing these simple suggestions, you’ll go a long way toward keeping your hardwood floors beautiful and making their care easier.

 

Most complaints concerning hardwood flooring are related to changes in the moisture content of flooring and surrounding wood products. Other problems may also be associated with wood flooring: however, the following information relates to the effects of moisture on flooring. When moisture changes are severe, the result can be gaps between strips, cupping, buckling, movement, and/or cracks/splits in the flooring. Also, a combination of these results may be present in the same floor.

 

The enclosed information and comments should help explain some causes of shrinking and swelling, and some of the possible results.

 

Knowledge of the following items is necessary to assure the proper performance of flooring:

     1. The expected moisture content of wood flooring in a particular area after acclimation;

     2. The moisture content of flooring both at time of delivery and installation;

     3. The moisture content of flooring system and moisture conditions at the jobsite;

     4. And additional factors that contribute to the changing moisture content of wood   

         Flooring, such as the type and operation of HVAC system, incomplete

         construction such as masonry, drywall, and time of year.

 

SHRINKAGE EXPANSION

Wood is a hygroscopic material. This means when wood is exposed to air, it will dry or pick up moisture until it is in equilibrium with the humidity and temperature of the air. Moisture absorption causes wood to swell. Shrinkage of wood begins at 25-30% moisture content, the fiber saturation point, and continues until wood reaches 0% moisture content, an oven dry state. Conversely, swelling occurs as wood increases in moisture content from 0% to 25-30% moisture content, the fiber saturation point. Above 25% - 30% wood is dimensionally stable.

 

Gaps in Hardwood Floors

 

Gaps Between Boards – Causes

Gaps are the most common cause of complaints on wood floors, and this problem in recent years has been exacerbated by pastel and white (or pickled/bleached) finish colors, which tend to make normal gaps appear much larger than when earth-tone or natural finishes are used.

 

It is normal for the interior of homes to become dry during heating seasons, for obvious reasons. Under this circumstance wood floors also dry out and shrink slightly. Properly made and properly installed wood floors should be expected to have "hairline gaps" between boards in dry months in most areas of North America. Depending on the width of the boards (or parquet members) used, the size of the room and the severity and duration of low outside temperatures (and hence the intensity of heating), the term "hairline gaps" can have various interpretations.

 

Generally, "hairline gaps" can be considered to be normal if, in strips 2-1/4" wide or less:

 

1. They close up during non-heating months, and
2. They are not wider than the thickness of a dime in some locations, and vary from the thickness of a piece of stationery in most areas to scattered larger gaps up to the thickness of a dime.

 

Plank or strip floors sometimes "panelize" due to movement of under floor construction, or if the finish cements individual boards into panels, so that all the shrinkage is concentrated into only a few gaps, with other joints remaining tight together. In this event, the gaps that do appear will be considerably wider than the thickness of a dime.

Plank floors, because wider widths can shrink (or expand) individually 2 or more times as much as 2 1/4" strip flooring. Gaps that result can therefore be much larger than in strip, and still be normal. If the floor expands so that gaps disappear in high humidity seasons, it should be considered normal.

Cupping and Crowning

 

The most common cause for cupping is excess moisture, which originates from the sub-floor, crawl space, basement, and/or slab. Excessive moisture is usually indicated when the average moisture content of the under-floor materials (checked in several places) is more than 4% higher than the average expected EMC (equilibrium moisture content) for the area. (Ref. Behavior of Flooring and Cupping & Crowning*)

 

If excessive moisture is the cause, identify the source, remedy the problem, and then allow the flooring to re-acclimate to the new drier environment (this may take a heating season). After drying to normal conditions, the flooring should flatten.

If the floor flattens with no significant cracks, movement between pieces, or noises (crackles and squeaks) no further action may be required.

 

 

Panelizing" of In-Place 3/4" Hardwood Nail-Installed Floors

 

CAUSES & CURES

An un-natural behavior pattern of installed strip or plank flooring due to causes that occur naturally can be aptly described as "Panelizing". This appearance can develop during the first or even subsequent heating seasons. Flooring boards losing moisture to a drier interior environment and shrinking in groups cause it. The groups of strips, or "panels" may be any number of pieces and within this "panel", flooring pieces remain tight together. This transfers the aggregate shrinkage, or total shrinkage for all the pieces in the panel, into large gaps between strips on either side of the "panel".

Shrinkage of flooring pieces, in dry seasons, is normal and not at all unnatural. However, normally shrinkage of flooring pieces generally results in formation of hairline gaps beside each individual board or strip. Shrinkage of flooring pieces in panels is not natural and has some underlying cause. Gaps in "panelized" floors can be very noticeable and objectionable, and sometimes require professional attention.

 

Causes:

On a job site many external forces act on a hardwood floor, tugging, pushing and locking strips together. It is the external forces that create a panelized floor. No manufacturing or kiln drying procedure (nor lack of one) during production of the flooring itself can produce this phenomenon. Some causes more commonly found behind "panelizing" are:

 

Foundation settlement: Perimeter foundation settlement can cause a traditional joist floor structure to stretch across the center beam of a home, resulting in gaps between pieces in surface floors. If the settlement is extreme, a "jack-knifing" effect in the joists may also result. In this instance, humps will be formed in the floor, caused by the raising of joist ends near the center beam. (In a strictly technical sense, this effect is not "Panelizing" but just large abnormal gaps.)

Gaps or "panels" caused by foundation settlement usually occur near the center beam, and often are limited to one or two major cracks. They can occur elsewhere, however, particularly when plywood is the sub floor. "Panels" in this case will follow the seams of the plywood sub floor.