Michael Holigan: The last couple of weeks we covered the major flooring types. We've looked at carpet and linoleum last week. This week we looked at ceramic tile. Now we're going to bring in hardwood floors. We got a hardwood floor expert with us. We got Greg Tate from Bruce. Good to have you here.
Greg Tate: Morning Mike.
M.H.: Hey, tell me a little bit about this prefinished floor. It's a little different than I'm used to. Normally you sand and finish a floor.
G.T.: Right, right. And that has been a process that's been carried on for years. Back in the 1930's the wax finish was pioneered and it gave the consumer the first opportunity to be able to take the floor in pieces out of the box, put 'em directly on the floor and then move right into it. Late '60's, early '70's we started to see the development of the urethane finish and these urethane finishes are factory applied and it makes for a very durable and very easy to take care of finish.
M.H.: How is the finish applied to this piece of wood?
G.T.: After the machining is done and the tongues and grooves are put into it and sanded of course, the stain is applied to it and the stain will be cured in ultra violet ovens, especially made for these types of finishes and then four coats of a ultra violet cured urethane are put on top of this. And the advantage to that is that in the factory you have complete control over all the circumstances and temperature and humidity, etc., and you get a very durable finish without having to worry about a site applied finish.
M.H.: And if you did it out here on the job site it's a little cooler today and the atmosphere may be a little different, you'd have a problem with your stain and urethane?
G.T.: Yes, we'd have problems here today. You could not put a finish on in here and still meet factory specifications.
M.H.: Okay. So we ended up with a much better product because of this.
G.T.: Yes.
M.H.: The wood doesn't appear to be as thick as the hardwood floors that most people are accustomed to. Why is that?
G.T.: Well, this is a, what we called an engineered product and we actually laminate various wood veneers together. Usually you'll find all hardwood veneers laminated together. As long as the consumer maintains the finish on the floor, keeps it clean, this floor will last a lifetime with minimal care.
M.H.: And what kind of maintenance do they have to do to this? It doesn't look like they're going to need to wax it. What do you do?
G.T.: No, no. With the urethane finish, I refer to it as being a never-wax finish. You don't not want to put any waxes on this. And what you want to do is follow the manufacturers recommendations which will usually be to sweep or keep it vacuumed, and use whatever cleaner that the manufacturer recommends.
M.H.: And we're always nervous about getting water on wood. Is this going to be a little bit better with prefinished plank?
G.T.: Right. And especially the urethane finish is going to resist normal spills and it makes an excellent product throughout the house as well as in the kitchen. Sometimes people are worried about going into the kitchen with it. But this will stand up fine.
M.H.: What if you're on a pier and beam or a wood foundation? What would be different?
G.T.: Really not many differences at all. The differences would be a little bit of preparation that would be done, but it would still glue directly to OSB plywood on a suitable subfloor.
M.H.: Well Jeff looks like he's doing a great job. It's all straight. Can a home owner do this?
G.T.: Actually home owners can do it. It's a great DIY product, and simple step-by-step instructions are packed inside of every carton. So, it's not a problem. A lot of people do it.
M.H.: Okay. Well Greg, appreciate the help.
G.T.: Thank you.
Episode 018 1995 - 96 Season
| Ceramic Tile | Lamp Repair | Hardwood Floors | Tobacco Furniture Stains | Background Ponds | Self-Employed Borrowers | LIST |
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