They’re beautiful, the wood floors we do for our clients --fine functional furniture. I love that our clients treasure them and want them to be perfect.

But, when all the dust has cleared and the last guest has gone – at the end of the day -- you’ve got to feel good walking all over them, because they’re your floors. That’s what they’re for. You have to use them. What else will you walk on?

I know you want them to be beautiful and to stay that way. You can love them and care for them or simply get along with them, but they’re still your floors and they’re what you’ve got to stand on. So, unless they last, how good are they, really?

We can make them look like a work of art, but they don’t belong in a frame on the wall. We hope you’re happy using them as they were intended -- like no other piece of furniture or woodwork in your home.

It’s pointless to worry how they look in this light or that. The occasional blemish or defect occurs in all natural products. Those are character. Every wood floor – including yours – will have them. Character makes them unique. Site finished floors are hand worked, so they will have even more character. 

What you really need to worry about is how long your floors will last. How are they to clean – and stay clean? How good will they look in 5 years or 25? How will they take the abuse you and your family (and friends) will give them over time? Will you still love them then? Those are the most important issues to keep in mind. The true beauty of real wood floors is how they look – lived on. Their beauty is not skin deep. It runs all the way through.

We all love happy customers – especially me. Just know we work the hardest on the crucial qualities of your floor. The longer you have your floor, the more you’ll appreciate our work.

THANK YOU!

Don Bollinger

NEXT DAY INSTALLATIONS OF WOOD FLOORING
February 5, 2008

You may hear flooring dealers and contractors advertising NEXT DAY INSTALLATION of their products. If someone even offers you next day installation of wood flooring, I strongly recommend you politely decline their offer and choose someone else to do your work.

The Next Day Installation scam of wood flooring was started by deep pocketed carpet retailers to cater to the instant gratification demand so prominent among some consumers today. It may be fine to install carpet or tile the very next day, but it is foolhardy for anyone to allow a contractor to install their new wood flooring without properly acclimating first.

Wood needs time to acclimate to your home. How much time depends on your home’s normal “lived-in” conditions (your home’s average moisture levels and temperature levels). An experienced knowledgeable and ethical flooring contractor will always insist on at least some acclimation period for the wood flooring in your home prior to its installation. An acclimation period of a few days to a week or more is quite common. If your home presents some accentuating circumstances (for example infloor radiant heat, water damage or recent remodel work) an acclimation period of a month or longer may be necessary.

To stock and install your new wood flooring without an acclimation period is extremely risky. The greater the size of floor area you are having installed, the greater the risk. Size makes a difference (both in plank width and in room size or floor area), especially with solid wood flooring and particularly with exotic species.

If yours’ is a new home or if you’ve had some remodeling work done recently, remember all moisture-related work should be completed ahead of wood flooring. Always make sure all moisture laden construction projects are finished and fully dried prior to stocking your new wood flooring in your home for “acclimation”. 

You want your flooring to acclimate to your home’s “normal lived-in environment”. Nearly all types of construction work are atypical of “normal lived-in conditions”. Some of the most severe climatic conditions the inside of your home will ever experience are undergone during construction. Construction projects severely impact the moisture levels in a home. Painting, plastering, sheetrock work, tile and stone work are some common examples of moisture laden tasks. These should be completed prior to introducing your wood flooring into your home for acclimating. Final painting is one minor deviation in that rule. Paints, sealers and textures that are sprayed or blown onto walls and ceilings expel large quantities of moisture as they dry. Rolling or brushing is far less intrusive. Further, you will likely need to do at least some touch-up painting after wood flooring has been installed.

Keep in mind that in most areas of US and Canada, wood flooring will normally exhibit an average moisture content of between 6% - 9% between seasons (inside your home). Moisture conditions outside your home are entirely different than that inside your home – unless of course you leave your doors and windows open for extended periods of time. The winter heating season in many areas of the country presents the DRIEST time of the year for wood flooring; however, homes in areas with hot humid summers that are constantly air conditioned are likely to exhibit very dry conditions during the summer months due to the continuous air flow of very dry cool air.

Just remember, when you hear all that buzz about next day installation of wood flooring, we recommend you consider the source and don’t consider their work. 

Don 
Don Bollinger
don@woodfloorco.com
Wood Floor Products, Inc.

If you want more information on these products, please contact me directly or Wood Floor Products, Inc. (206) 622-6996 (7-4:30 PST) (Monday – Friday) 

© The above material is intended for the exclusive use of visitors to http://www.woodfloorco.com and http://wwwtheoakfloors.com and clients of Don Bollinger, Wood Floor Products, Inc. and The Oak Floors of Greenbank, Inc. The copying, transmission, distribution, use, retransmission, redistribution or reuse of all or a portion of the above material without the expressed written permission of Don Bollinger, Wood Floor Products, Inc. and The Oak Floors of Greenbank, Inc., is expressly prohibited.