Frequently Asked Hardwood Flooring Questions
Do you have a showroom?
No. But we bring our showroom to you. We bring hardwood flooring and stain samples to your home or business.
Do I need to move all the furniture out before installation?
Yes. You can do it yourself or we can supply names and numbers of a moving company.
What other prep do I need to do before the install?
Empty room: counter tops, pictures, any wall art and window treatments.
How much dust should I expect from sanding?
We will hang plastic and tarp everything off. Our sanders all have vacuum systems on them, and we still seal off all openings. Learn about our dustless refinishing process.
Should I paint before or after the installation of hardwood floors?
We strongly recommend painting be done after floors are completed.
How often do I need to recoat?
A hardwood floor should be recoated when the original finish is showing signs of wear, but before it has worn down to the bare wood. Once worn to the bare wood the floor will stain easily, and will require sanding.
What about transitions and thresholds?
A typical wood floor installation will usually have at least one, sometimes many, transitions to other rooms with different floor coverings such as vinyl or carpet. These items are always included within the scope of the installation work and are evaluated at estimate.
How do you address the baseboards and shoe molding?
Any wood flooring needs to have a gap at the perimeter of between 1/4" to 3/4" wide, between the flooring and the wall or baseboard (if a baseboard is already installed), to allow for expansion if the flooring material absorbs any moisture from the environment. This is particularly true for floating floor systems which will expand as one single unit. This gap between the flooring is typically covered by the baseboard or shoe molding material.
New installations may require new baseboards. If baseboards are already in place, it is possible, in some cases, to remove and reinstall them after the floor is laid. When the existing baseboards are over 4 or 5 inches high, they can remain in place and a shoe molding is then installed to cover the expansion gap. If the existing baseboards are 3 inches or lower an attached shoe molding is not suitable for esthetic reasons.