elegant_hardwood_floors

2025 Design Trends

websites@yourdigitalagents.com (Support Team) — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:11:29 GMT

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I just scanned a bunch of websites for 2025 design trends and looked at the flooring that was in each photo representing the trend. Flooring itself is not a leading design component right now, but it is important to consider when incorporating the other design elements. Two of the biggest trends are the use of deep, moody hues (saturated colors and even color drenching) and the use of statement fabrics (drapes, wallpapers, mixing of patterns with various textiles, and even gallery walls that mix colors and textures). With both trends, the boldness and busyness created on the walls, ceilings, and through furniture are highlighted but also balanced by the uniformity in the floors. Yes – most of the floors in the photos were wood floors, but concrete and uniform tile floors were also seen. Colors ranged from light to mid-tones and tended to use oak since cleaner grades of oak are more uniform than woods like hickory or more rustic grades of wood. Solid wood floors work perfectly with the continuing trends of Biophilic design (connecting us with nature), sustainability, use of earthy neutrals, and textures. As always, the associated photos are of our work.

Home Design Trends

websites@yourdigitalagents.com (Support Team) — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 11:47:30 GMT

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We were very fortunate this past year to start working with a wonderful contractor who specializes in high-end remodels and new construction. This relationship also had us working with more designers than ever before, so I thought it would be fun to see if there were any “trends” I could identify from the various projects. I’m happy to say that what I identified are concepts that I have been promoting for years.

First, there is no “one best color”, or wood for that matter. What is beautiful in one house may not be the best choice for the next. It’s more important to have a cohesive look; complimenting colors/tones throughout the spaces and a balance of warm and cool colors.

Second, floors should be neutral (they are too hard to change so make them versatile!). But within “neutral”, we had a range of light to mid-tone colors.

The final trend I observed more from the dynamics between the homeowners and the designers, and that’s making your home your own. All the designers we worked with did a great job of incorporating the items/colors that the homeowners had a strong opinion about, but when opinions were not as strong, they were able to expertly guide the homeowners to options that would bring the vision and feeling of the home together.

Thank you

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 18:00:42 GMT

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I am excited to hear so many people talking about traveling to family reunions this summer! Reconnecting with loved ones that perhaps haven’t been seen in years (a hug trumps a wave through the Zoom camera every time!), meeting the new members of the family that have joined us by marriage and birth, being able to physically console one another for the losses, all while reigniting our love of travel is filling parts of our souls that have been left wanting.

Nevertheless, we are still working on our homes. Over the last couple of years we have developed a new relationship with our homes in how they function in our lives. We have also developed a new understanding of our relationship with our homes, recognizing how they contribute to our sense of security, our moods, and how they encourage or inhibit our interactions with the family members we share our homes with (and how we may need space for both). We have reevaluated what we need out of our homes and have worked to take our homes from being the launching or landing pad, to the place to be.

Rob, Matt, Will, Jose, Daniel, Armando and I thank everyone in the Salt Lake areas that have trusted us not only with their homes, but in transforming their lives.

New England Farmhouse Type Feel

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:26:49 GMT

New England Farmhouse Type Feel

Generally, I advocate that the width of the floorboards should be in proportion to the size of the space. So many of the homes in the Salt Lake area are bungalows with divided rooms and low ceilings - wide plank boards feel out of proportion. But there was something about the architectural style and tall ceilings in this downtown Salt Lake 1 bedroom home that lent itself to a wider plank - giving the home a New England farmhouse type feel. We did a 7.25" live sawn (also call European) white oak with a clear water-based sealer.

The other fun element on this project were the weird transitions. When the homeowner bought this home, there was a 2" height difference between the living room and kitchen and the back room was a converted porch, so we weren't sure what that transition was going to look like. We removed 4 layers of flooring in the kitchen (!!) and then re-sheeted the living room, bedroom, and kitchen to increase the structural stability of the subfloor and get the kitchen flush with the back room. In spite of all of my warnings to the homeowner that there could be some transitions since we weren't sure what we were going to find, we were able to get the wood floor to run seamlessly throughout the main level of the home!

South Jordan Home

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:57:01 GMT

South Jordan Home

I am typically not a proponent of pulling out perfectly good solid wood floors, but when you are about to pay a lot of money to "work with" hardwood floors that do not best serve your function or aesthetic, then perhaps the scope of work should be reconsidered. These South Jordan homeowners called us in to extend their walnut floors throughout the main level of their home and then sand everything to match. However, when considering the high cost of walnut, their preference for a lighter wood floor, and the fact that the softer walnut was not holding up to the active puppy, the homeowners decided that replacing all the flooring with natural white oak was worth a slightly larger investment for the increased durability and brighter look in the home. The transformation is refreshing and will hold up to puppy play time!

Kitchen Extension

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 21:14:31 GMT

Kitchen Extension

An extension to the back of the house to enlarge the kitchen required these Draper homeowners to work on the floors. Originally, they hoped to patch in wood to match their existing floors and sand everything to match. When I educated them that their existing floor was an engineered wood that could not be refinished, we had to start looking at new wood. We picked white oak because it would allow us to achieve the look that kept drawing their eyes in all the design magazines - dark floor with white and gray cabinets. We went with rift and quarter sawn because I could get it for less than plain sawn at the time (the homeowners did not have a strong preference on the grain since the dark stain was going to minimize the appearance of the grain, so why not go with the less expensive option!). But what happened as we progressed through the project was a complete 180! I stopped by on the day Jose was doing stain samples after all the wood had been installed, and you could see the smile in their eyes. They talked about how open and light the space felt with the unfinished wood, and they LOVED the grain patterns in the wood. We put down some dark stain samples like they had originally wanted, but they were quickly dismissed. They chose a water-based sealer, keeping the wood as raw-wood looking and light as possible while adding a finish to keep the wood protected. It is not what they had originally envisioned; it is so much better!

The Charm

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 17:29:41 GMT

The Charm

When homeowners buy an older house, oftentimes they do so because they like the "charm". The charm they are referring to are the original moldings or built-ins, but the "charm" they also get to live with are things like uneven subfloor - you know, the kind where the Christmas tree needs a major shim so it doesn't fall over?! We knew we had some subfloor issues to address in this older home in Sugarhouse, but when we stripped all of the old layers of flooring back to the original subfloor, what we found was the worst subfloor I have seen in the 16 years I have been doing hardwood floors. We know that houses settle over time, but we had 1 corner of subfloor that was over 2" below the bottom of the baseboards! Matt spent a week building up and leveling out the subfloor.

Of course the rift and quarter sawn white oak floors turned out gorgeous, but I took it as an even better compliment when the homeowner said it was "strange walking on it without the movement". May your subfloors be flat and your Christmas trees stand straight - without assistance!

Share the Quirky Things

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 15:27:42 GMT

Share the Quirky Things

This year I have been trying to share the quirky things that come up on jobs, because almost every job has at least one unanticipated thing that requires a decision on how to handle the quirky item. At this home in Sandy, it was a surprise to find that the base plate under the spindles was not only not 3/4" thick, but it was a veneer. The staircase is really well built, so we anticipated butting the new 3/4" wood in the upstairs hall flush with the base plate and sanding everything to match. When we discovered that the base plate was thinner than our wood flooring and not able to be sanded, the homeowners and I literally sat on the floor and played around with flooring and nosing pieces to come up with a plan. We decided to bevel the edges of the wood flooring to ease the transition in height, and that the homeowner would paint the base plate white after we were finished with the floor. Jose did a great job executing the plan and the homeowners are happy with the outcome of the whole job, even if it does require a little more work on their end to get the base plate painted.

Park City Wood Beam

Mon, 24 May 2021 23:02:10 GMT

Park City Wood Beams

How to make all the different wood tones in our home look good together, including those we inherit with the home and those we bring in with our furniture, is a dilemma shared by many homeowners. This Park City homeowner's wood beams have taken on an orange tone, her brown baseboards have a slight green undertone in some areas from sun exposure, and she had her kitchen cabinets painted black several years ago. We decided that keeping the floor light and neutral, in color and grain pattern, would be best. She selected rift and quarter sawn white oak with a water-based sealer to keep the space bright without competing with the other wood tones. Beautiful home accomplished!

For a hardwood floor install, we don't need a level floor

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 18:21:50 GMT

For a hardwood floor install, we don't need a level floor

We say this to our clients all the time: "For a hardwood floor install, we don't need a level floor, but we do need a relatively flat floor." So when we realized during demolition that one side of the staircase was 3/4" lower than the other side, we knew we were adding subfloor repair to the scope of our work. Once we flattened the subfloor as much as we could, we installed 4" white oak throughout the main level of the home and stained the floor to compliment the walnut trim the homeowners had previously installed in the kitchen. New base boards finished off this home refresh!

Budget is Reality

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:03:58 GMT

Budget is Reality

Working within a budget is reality for most of us when remodeling our homes. When these homeowners remodeled their home 10 years ago, we replaced the wood floors on the main level of the home since the original wood floors were too thin to refinish. However, the budget did not allow for wood floors up the new staircase and into the newly constructed master bedroom. Since then, the homeowners moved out of the house (their other house has been featured in a post!) and the house has been rented. Recently, the homeowners decided to move back into the original house. This time we were able to extend the red oak up the staircase and into the master bedroom, sanding everything for a fresh restart. It often takes time for the whole vision to become a reality.

Wonderful Transformations

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:57:47 GMT

Ok, I usually ohh and ahh over the wonderful transformations our guys make to our client's hardwood floors (which I should as a proud owner!), but I have to say that this is one of my favorite kitchen transformations! The double and triple stacked cabinets really accentuate the ceiling height, and the cabinet style and colors are classic-timeless with a nod to the modern (but not overly trendy that it will become dated). Of course, all of this is tied together with the brilliant custom stain color created by Jose and the homeowner for the white oak floors!

In continuing to discuss the "quirky" things that come up on jobs that no one seems to talk about but almost every job has to deal with, this homeowner decided to exchange the railing between the kitchen and split level family room with cabinets (yay storage!). Installing the wood floors prior to the installation of the cabinets, we thought that the transition on the back of the cabinet was going to happen one way, but the reality was a little different than what we expected. A little bit of a pain to deal with, but overall no problem - Jose just had to go back and create a finished/returned end on the nosing. While we all tried to anticipate what was best for the finished product, sometimes you just have to deal with what is and make it work!

Warm Brown to a Cool Brown

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:10:29 GMT

Updating this Sandy home included taking the wood floors from a warm brown to a cool brown. Aged barrel cut the red tone of the red oak floors, but still left some of the brown tones coming through along with the gray tones of the stain to provide a nice balance with the gray walls. White trim and cabinets provide a bright, crisp contrast to the grays. Beautiful job Daniel & Jose!

Shaw's Ginger Oak is gorgeous in your home!

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 20:06:23 GMT

Shaw's Ginger Oak is gorgeous in your home!

It's sad when it happens, but hardwood floors can have an "end of life". The young couple in this Rose Park home were hoping to refinish their hardwood floors, but they were too thin to do so. We discussed the options of installing new wood floors and vinyl plank floors. When considering the new puppy and the likelihood that the house may become a rental property, they decided the LVP was the best option for them. Shaw's Ginger Oak is gorgeous in their home!

Loba Invisible Protect

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 21:27:11 GMT

Loba Invisible Protect

When I first met these homeowners in 2014, their original hardwood floors were too thin to refinish. We applied a coat of finish to the floors to buy them some time to save for the full remodel. Well, spring of 2020 was finally that time! We removed the old wood floors and replaced them with new, narrow plank white oak to honor the age of the home. However, we finished the floors with Loba Invisible Protect, which is designed to give the floors great protection while maintaining the raw wood look. This modern twist to a classic floor provided the right balance for the home and homeowners.

GORGEOUS new construction home in Sugarhouse

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 21:49:42 GMT

GORGEOUS new construction home in Sugarhouse

I have been waiting 11 months to show the final photos from this job! This is a GORGEOUS new construction home in Sugarhouse. The floors were installed relatively early in the construction process in this house due to all of the molding work that had to be installed on top. The centerpiece in this home (in my biased opinion) is the rift and quarter sawn white oak herringbone in the entry, highlighted by a walnut border, brilliantly installed by Matt. The rest of the wood floors, which are 5" select rift and quarter sawn white oak, extend through most of the main floor, including the main floor master bedroom, on 2 staircases, in the upstairs hall, and in the basement landing, kitchenette, and bonus room. This builder spared no expense, creating a dream home.

Traditional split-level home

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 18:17:16 GMT

Traditional Split-level Home

The homeowners of this traditional split-level home in Woods Cross decided it was time for a more modern update. The kitchen cabinets had already been painted grey. The traditional vertical stair rail is being replaced with a modern horizontal metal rail. We extended the maple floor into the living room, which had been carpeted, to have the wood flowing throughout the entire level. We also did maple treads and white risers down to the family room. The homeowners chose a light, cool brown tone, which was a dramatic change from the very yellow color of the natural maple floors they had previously. The homeowner commented on how the floors brought everything together - even the backsplash that she was thinking of replacing now looked good!

Salt Lake City home

Wed, 13 May 2020 21:25:49 GMT

The new owners of this Salt Lake City home found what they were looking for - potential! Floors were the first step in taking this beautiful home in a more modern direction. From worn tile and carpet to stunning natural hickory - what a statement!

Water can be powerful

Thu, 07 May 2020 18:19:34 GMT

Water can be powerful, and that can make it scary! Clients of ours in Park City unfortunately had enough water damage that solid wood floorboards were warped almost vertical and their huge island even moved! We were able to remove the damaged wood, replace it, and sand and finish it to match the remaining good wood. This home is on its way to being whole again!

Bountiful

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 20:24:14 GMT

Bountiful

The new owners of this home in Bountiful were not crazy for the dark red tone of the existing prefinished, hand-scraped, solid maple floors. We were able to sand the floors flat, applying a durable water-based sealer and water-based finish, allowing the floors to remain as light as possible and the character of the wood to come through. This house is moving in a brighter and more modern direction!

Park City condo

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 22:44:59 GMT

Park City Condo

While things are slow, we are so blessed and thankful for the work we do have! We had one job last week - a refinish of the floors in this beautiful Park City condo. From tired to refreshed in less than a week!

Please give us a call at 801-910-8475 if you have a project we can help with!

Grey Stains

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 15:26:09 GMT

Popular Grey Stains

I have been waiting for this one! With how popular grey stains have been, it has been funny to me that we have only done grey stains on red and white oak floors, but have not had the request to do grey on hickory - until last week. Hickory takes a stain beautifully, so I knew there would be no issues there.

Will did an incredible job on this floor in Highland. He water-popped the floor to make the stain darker, and the homeowners chose a color called Aged Barrel. I love how you get the grey tones, but still see some of the natural brown and yellow tones come through. The homeowners are thrilled with their floor and how great Will was to work with.

Thank you Will!

Extended Red Oak Floors

technical@broadly.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 23:18:14 GMT

Extended Red Oak Floors

We just finished our portion of the remodel in this character home in Sugarhouse. Working with the existing red oak floors in the kitchen, we extended the wood floors into the living room, hall, lower landing, staircase and upper landing and sanded everything to match. Another great job by Matt and Jose!

We are still working! We are sanitizing our equipment in between jobs and are washing our hands frequently. My guys generally work alone, so we are not exceeding any group limits. If you are stuck at home and are tired of looking at your tired wood floors, please give us a call!

Daybreak Home

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 20:44:16 GMT

Daybreak Home

Kids, dogs, work - life happens in this Daybreak home in South Jordan! The homeowner wanted to lighten up the space from the dark stain color she inherited when she bought the home. She also wanted to extend the wood into the family room and get rid of the awkward path of wood from the entry to the kitchen. The space now has a refreshed look and better flow.

Cottonwood Heights

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 19:22:09 GMT

Cottonwood Height Transformation

The owner of this beautiful home in Cottonwood Heights wasn't sure how to handle the different wood tones in her home. She did not like the yellow tone of her natural hickory floors but wanted a color that would still work with the brown tone of her wood base moldings and casings as well as the cherry tone of her kitchen cabinets.

Working closely with Jose, the homeowner chose Jacobean stain to cool down the tone of the floor, without going so dark that the color of the floor would compete with the other wood tones. We also applied a clear water-based finish so the finish would not go yellow as quickly over time.

Successful transformation! https://eleganthardwoodfloors.com

Rental House Floors

technical@broadly.com — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 17:10:09 GMT

The owner of this rental house in Salt Lake City had a little bit of everything to do in this home. Two bedrooms had previously had the red oak floors refinished with a water-based sealer and finish, so that was our inspiration for the rest of the floors. We recoated the floors in the bedrooms to refresh the finish and give additional protection to the wood. The existing wood in the hall, kitchen, and in front of the fireplace were still the golden oak color, so those were refinished. We also installed new wood into the adjacent living room. This main floor now has great flow and the home will soon be ready for the next happy tenants!

Base Molding

technical@broadly.com — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 18:50:45 GMT

Phase 1

This was a very interesting base molding install for me - it was my first 2-part molding. If you have the ceiling height and your outlets won't get in the way, you can do a taller base molding. The problem is that anything over about 6" tall won't fit on a mitre saw. In this case, the Highland homeowner wanted around an 8-8.5" base molding. We did a flat stock (S4S) at 5.25" and then a casing profile at 3.25" on top. It turned out great, even if I did have to do each room "twice"!

Holladay homeowner

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 21:25:00 GMT

The Holladay Homeowner

This Holladay homeowner was very clear in her vision for her new-construction home: natural red oak with no knots. We were able to bring in clear red oak flooring, which is cleaner in grade than a select red oak. What a statement!

Happy holidays!

Dark Stain to Light Wash

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 19:24:04 GMT

Dark Wood to Light Wash!

These homeowners in Salt Lake City wanted to lighten things up, taking their hardwood floors from a dark stain to a light grey wash. We extended the wood into the living room, dining room, a couple halls and office. Perfect complement to the grey cabinets and mantle!

Wooden Floor Matching.

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 21:17:21 GMT

Wood Floor Matching

How well we can match new wood to existing wood in the home largely depends on the species of wood and the type of finish on the existing wood. We generally have good success matching up to domestic woods such as oak, hickory and maple. The more exotic the wood or unique the grade of wood, the more difficulty we have matching to it. Recently I had a potential client looking to match their “cabin” grade of oak which was characterized by a lot of knots and short boards. I was not able to find any mill company through four local distributors that had an oak wood with that many knots in it.

We also have less success matching up the color when the finish on the existing wood is one that tends to change color overtime, such as polyurethane (turns yellow) or the acid finishes (turn orange). Your best option when adding new wood to match existing wood is to sand everything to match.

Transformation

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:39:55 GMT

Transformation

This is phase 3 of our work in this beautiful home in Emigration Canyon, and it was a big undertaking for the homeowners! Previous owners of the house had installed tile in the main living areas. When it became time for the current owners to open up some walls and redo the kitchen, it was also the opportunity to get rid of the tile and install the much warmer (and prettier!) hickory floors we had installed in other areas of the home. BIG transformation!

Life

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 18:46:06 GMT

New Life

A lot of life has happened in this Midway home, but the homeowners feel like more of their life is happening closer to Salt Lake, so they are on the move! The American cherry floors had a darker stain on them and showed a lot of wear. The realtor recommended lightening up the floors, but we still wanted the color to connect with the darker stained doors and mantle. Refinishing the floors to their natural color did the trick!

DIY DISASTER

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 17:10:52 GMT

DIY DISASTER

This one could have been a DIY disaster. The new homeowners started to sand the floors themselves and luckily decided to bring us in to finish (and correct) what they had started. The greatest potential for disaster - they had not identified their wood correctly. I don't know how much they considered the wood in their sanding plan, but it definitely played a role for us. This wood was not the dense hickory as the West Jordan homeowners thought, but very soft American walnut. Fortunately, we were able to educate the homeowners on what wood they had, sand it properly, and apply a very durable finish. It turned out beautifully!

GREAT FOUNDATION WITH RED OAK

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 21:08:45 GMT

This project was all about making a home your own. The new owners of this beautiful house in Bountiful started off with a great foundation - red oak in the hall, family room and sunroom. We extended the wood into the kitchen and dining room. The entry had oak floors, but they had a huge beveled edge where the rest of the floor was smooth. So, we replaced the wood in the entry as well to continue the flow. Daniel, my guy on this job, did a great job customizing the stain to the homeowner’s preference. I know the remodeling process isn't easy, but it is worth it when a house becomes your home.

ELEVATE THE LOOK OF YOUR FLOORS

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:35:33 GMT

Our return clients in South Jordan have red oak in their family room but wanted their living and dining rooms to feel more formal. 5-inch Santos mahogany really elevated these rooms!

REMEMBER TO USE A DROP CLOTH!

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:33:19 GMT

Although I see it all the time, I always wonder what people were thinking when they decided to disregard the use of drop cloths and completely over-spray the hardwood floors when painting the walls, but this looked to be the case when the new homeowner pulled up the carpet in this Salt Lake City home. I also think the moisture from all of the paint contributed to the gaping between the planks. Although this was a relatively "standard" job for us, just requiring some additional sanding and putty, the before and after photos are so dramatic just because there was so much paint on the floor!

TRANSFORM YOUR HOME!

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:30:14 GMT

These young professionals just purchased this home in Cottonwood Heights. Before moving in, they knew they wanted to get rid of all the carpet and install new hardwood floors (they also did new tile in the kitchen and mudroom area). They had already done their research and knew what they wanted - natural 5" select red oak. We installed and finished new wood in all the upstairs bedrooms, on the staircase, and in the main floor entry, living room, dining room, office and family room.

House transformed! https://eleganthardwoodfloors.com

AMERICAN CHERRY WOOD

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:25:51 GMT

It is not often that we get to work with American cherry. This wood is a beautiful light pink similar to red oak without the strong grain of an oak. It is a beautiful warm tone to balance the cool grey paint colors that are popular. However, it is extremely soft and therefore not ideal for most households. We refinished this floor for return clients who just moved into this South Jordan home and inherited the cherry floors. While I know these homeowners will try to be gentle with the floors, and we have put as strong of a finish system as we can on the wood, it is the 24 grandchildren I worry about! As with all wood floors, this floor will tell the story of the life that is lived in this home - perhaps just a little more deeply than some other woods

DON'T LEARN THE HARD WAY.

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:21:40 GMT

This is another job where we redid the work of someone not trained in the refinishing of hardwood floors, this time the homeowner. While this owner in Sandy was able to achieve the desired color, he also put big divots along many of the edges of the wood from not properly putting the drum in the drum sander down gently and used techniques that caused the finish to peel. Again, this resulted in more money being spent, more inconvenience (especially since this was the kitchen!), and the shortening of the life of the floor since we had to be aggressive with our sanding to get the divots out. This homeowner learned the hard way that both the art and science of refinishing hardwood floors cannot be learned through online videos!

https://eleganthardwoodfloors.com

SMALL ROOM, BIG IMPACT

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:17:33 GMT

This front sitting room floor near Westminster College in Salt Lake City was looking incredibly tired. The pre-finished white oak was bleached out and heavily scratched. We sanded out the beveled edge and stained the floor a deep brown color to add richness and to compliment the adjacent kitchen cabinets and tile floor. Small room, big impact!

HALLMARK FLOORS ORGANIC COLLECTION

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:12:49 GMT

I received this email from a client yesterday: "I have another job that requires me to move out of state and I’m heart-broken about my wood floors. If I wanted to get the same exact floor, where would I get it? Whats the name of it?"

What an honor to have your work mean so much to your client, so I thought we would revisit this job. This client in Draper works long hours and wanted a cozy feeling when she came home. She liked the idea of reclaimed wood, but a true reclaimed wood was cost prohibitive. Hallmark Floors Organic collection is new wood made to look like reclaimed wood, at a much friendlier price. We had to have the staircase treads and risers custom stained to compliment the refinished floor. Clearly this client was thrilled with the finished project!

REFINISHING HARDWOOD IS ART AND SCIENCE

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:21:59 GMT

REFINISHING HARDWOOD IS ART AND SCIENCE

We are doing several jobs right now where we are fixing the work of others. Refinishing hardwood floors is both an art and a science. In Sugarhouse, this sweet client's handyman said he could refinish her floors for her. What he left her were puddles, dry spots, and big blobs of putty that were not sanded off.

Although we were able to fix all of these issues, this client had to pay for the work twice, she fired the handyman who had worked for her for years because he wouldn't do the right thing by admitting his mistakes and refunding her the money, and the life of the floor was shortened because the floor had to be sanded twice. It is best to have a professional do the job the first time - it will save you money, time, and frustration.

HARDWOOD FLOORS AS LIFELONG FLOORS

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:17:33 GMT

HARDWOOD FLOORS AS LIFELONG FLOORS

We know that hardwood floors are the most popular flooring choice for home buyers across the country and that their versatility goes with all styles – contemporary, traditional, country. But what is meant when hardwood floors are described as a “lifetime” flooring or a “lifelong” investment?

Let’s start with the question of “Whose life are we talking about?”. It is the life of the house. Yes, the house. Given that houses can stand for many generations – that is a long time! My own house was built in 1944 and we still have the original hardwood floors in our home. I talk to many homebuyers and homeowners about the balance between new designs and technology but “keeping the character” in these older homes and it generally comes down to three items - people want new kitchens and baths and old wood floors. Now let’s be honest: if you don’t appreciate some character and imperfections or want everything to be new, you don’t buy an old house!

So how do hardwood floors last a lifetime? To start, let’s take another look at the older homes. All the old homes were built with solid wood flooring. Engineered flooring (some portion of real wood on top of some sort of a backing) did not exist until relatively recently. While advances like engineered woods have expanded where we can install hardwood floors (i.e., over concrete and radiant heat), solid wood floors do afford us more options for repairs. In the couple of decades since engineered wood floors have become readily available and popular, homeowners have learned that although their engineered floors may have been initially “quick, easy, and less expensive”, an insufficient amount of real wood on top may not allow for the floors to be refinished when damage does occur. Additionally, many of the engineered floors are prefinished in whatever style is trending. If you can’t refinish your floors, you don’t have enough material to replace your damaged area, and you can’t find/buy more material because your floor style is no longer trending and therefore not being manufactured, you are faced with a very expensive and inconvenient full replacement of your floor.

In addition to the use of solid wood, we also need to consider the species of wood. In the older homes here in Utah, the wood builders used was mostly oak, plain-sawn and quarter-sawn, although we do see some maple. While hickory is “newer” in its use as a flooring material, I would like to include it with this discussion. These woods are classic/timeless woods that are readily available here in the USA. If the trees are still being grown, then we will always have the material available to replace damaged areas (no need to replace the entire floor!). Keep this in mind if you are considering exotic woods. While some exotic woods are considered classic/timeless domestic woods for the areas in which the trees grow (i.e., Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany) and therefore SHOULD be available to us in the USA, do be cautious of the woods you have never heard of. Additionally, oak, maple and hickory are all fairly dense woods. The denser the wood, the better they will stand up to the traffic in our homes.

Finally, to help your hardwood floors last a lifetime you need to understand how to care for them. While one of the great benefits of hardwood floors is that they can be refinished to look like new, you don’t want to refinish your floors too often. Sanding your floor not only involves taking off the old finish, but also some of the wood. How much wood depends on how deep the scratches or other damage is. Once the wood has been sanded down to the tongue and groove, the life of your hardwood floor is over.

With the finishes being used today (polyurethane, water-based finishes, acid finishes), the long-term maintenance on hardwood floors is to do a periodic recoat. This is a one-day (for most homes) buff and apply one coat of finish to your floor. Floors are going to get worn; you just want the wear to happen in the finish. If the finish wears away, the damage will happen in the wood. The only way to fix damage to the wood is to completely sand the entire floor (more time and money than a recoat!). No finish manufacturer will say exactly when a recoat should be done as it is dependent on the amount and kind of traffic. I tell my clients that when you can see the dulling in the finish in the high traffic areas (hallways, direct path to the refrigerator, etc.) to give me a call. I can take a look and we can come up with a plan. If you keep up with the recoats, you will not need to refinish your floors as frequently, making your hardwood floors truly a "lifetime" floor.

CLEANING YOUR HARDWOOD FLOORS

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:16:37 GMT

CLEANING YOUR HARDWOOD FLOORS

Cleaning your hardwood floors with the proper tools and products is essential for both the short-term and long-term protection and maintenance of your hardwood floors. It is important to know what type of finish is on your hardwood floors. This article is going to focus on floors finished with polyurethane, water-based finishes, acid finishes, and pre-finished with aluminum oxide and polyurethane. Floors finished with products such as Woca Oil or NuOil have specialized cleaning products and instructions.

REMOVE THE DIRT AND DEBRIS

One of the most important steps you can take to prevent surface scratches is to remove the dirt and debris from the floor. I recommend vacuuming the floors with a soft bristle brush over sweeping with a broom, Swiffer dry cloth, or microfiber, which may sufficiently collect the debris, but then scratch the floor as the debris is dragged across the floor as you continue sweeping. I always tell my clients not to make the same mistake I made one day: I was in a rush and decided to vacuum my floors using the hard floor setting on the vacuum instead of the hardwood floor attachment I usually used. Yes, the hard floor setting stops the beater brush from rotating (the bristles on the beater brush are very stiff and meant to loosen dirt within carpet), but the plastic wheels on the vacuum scratched my floor from the back-and-forth motion! I have heard from my clients that the Dyson Ball and Roomba vacuums do well on hardwood floors, but I have not tested them myself.

CLEANING

Once the dirt and debris have been removed, I recommend cleaning the floors with Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. I recommend Bona because it is readily available, although Woodwise is another great cleaner. These products have a slight disinfecting quality, but will not strip, dull or leave a waxy residue. These products also have an evaporation element in them, so the liquid is not "sitting" on your floor. This is a very simple spray and wipe with a microfiber towel. A microfiber if fine to use at this point in the cleaning process because the dirt particles have already been removed by the vacuum.

BUYER BEWARE!

Please be careful not to pick-up the Bona Polisher! The Polisher is meant to be a recoat product. Unfortunately, I have seen many homeowners try to "refresh" their floors with the Polisher, and not knowing how to properly apply this product have left puddles of Polisher on their floor (which dry and cannot be easily removed) or have accidentally picked up the Polisher and have completely changed the sheen of their floors just by "cleaning" them.

WHAT NOT TO USE

Just as important as what to clean your hardwood floors with, I want to review what not to use. Let me just say that because you read something on the internet or see it on TV, does not mean that is is good to use on your wood floors! First, no water mopping or steam cleaners. Water warps wood. This is not to say that you can't take a damp (not wet) cloth to pick up a small spill; you just don't want to constantly expose your wood to buckets of water or inject steam into your wood.

Second, do not use vinegar, in any proportion with water, on your wood floor. Vinegar is an acid. The acid will strip the finish off your floor, effectively causing you to go through your finish too quickly. When your finish wears off too quickly, you will have to pay the money to recoat or refinish your floors more frequently.

Finally, do not use any cleaners or polishers with a wax, such as Old English, Murphy's Oil, or Mop-N-Glo. The wax in these cleaners will stay on the floor as a residue, which may not look good itself, plus it may hold debris on your floor (so your cleaning product is making your floor dirtier!). But most importantly, the wax will keep a new coat of finish from adhering. Instead of being able to keep the finish built up on your floors with a periodic recoat, the only option you will have it to do a more expensive and time consuming refinish.

With a little bit of time and knowledge, you will see how easy it is to care for your hardwood floors.