Like most people who have looked into buying a hardwood floor, you probably already know it will add beauty, comfort, and value to your home. But questions may come to mind about how to maintain your investment and keep it looking beautiful forRead on for the answers to our most frequently asked questions about hardwood. As a natural material, hardwood can be affected by changes in humidity in your home. In bathrooms or rooms below ground level, humidity and the potential for pooling water can create problems. Solid hardwood flooring is not recommended for these areas. Sweep or vacuum (using a brush or felt head) your hardwood floor regularly to eliminate abrasives, like dust and dirt that could damage the finish. Use outdoor and indoor mats to collect dirt and moisture at the door before it reaches the floor. Wipe up spills immediately and periodically clean your floors with Armstrong Hardwood and Laminate Floor Cleaner. Prefinished hardwood floors come from the factory already stained and sealed.
All Armstrong hardwood flooring comes prefinished for a no-fuss, no-muss installation. If you're trying to match an existing hardwood floor in your home, you may want to choose unfinished hardwood that can be stained to match on site before the finish is applied. Keep in mind, finishing "on site" takes longer, not to mention the inconvenience of dealing with the dust from sanding and fumes from sealants while the work is completed It's natural for hardwood flooring to yellow, darken or lighten over time, depending on the wood species. sunlight greatly accelerates this process. Armstrong recommends moving furniture and rugs occasionally to allow your hardwood floors to age evenly from UV exposure. Engineered hardwood flooring is made up of several sheets of genuine hardwood fused together to form a single, durable plank. This multi-ply structure gives engineered wood superior stability - greater than solid hardwood - and makes it less susceptible to temperature and humidity changes.
Unlike solid hardwood, engineered wood flooring can be installed below ground level, making it a great choice for finished basements. A hardwood flooring installation takes time, precision, and know-how to get it right. Even for experienced DIYers, hardwood installations can be challenging. A lot depends on your ability to take the time to learn what you need to know to properly install a hardwood floor, so that it will look and perform beautifully. If you've never installed hardwood, we recommend hiring an Armstrong Certified Installer. To acclimate hardwood flooring, move the packaged boards into the room where they will be installed and let them sit for several days, with the cartons open and raised off the ground. This allows the moisture content of the wood to adjust to the conditionsArmstrong recommends acclimation for all their solid hardwood flooring products. It is not necessary to acclimate Armstrong's project estimator is a helpful tool to get an idea about the cost of buying and installing a hardwood floor.
use the tool, you just have to answer four simple questions about your room. The tool will give you a range of costs that you can print out and take to your flooring store. Armstrong offers a line of coordinated trim and molding pieces for both Bruce and Armstrong hardwood flooring collections. Options include quarter round molding, reducer strip, t-molding, threshold, and stair nose. Yes - but take precautions. The type of wood species you choose for your floor affects how well it holds up to wear and tear. You can help ensure a beautiful-looking floor by keeping your pets' nails trimmed, sweeping regularly to remove dirt, grit and fur, and wiping up spills and accidents as soon as they happen.Q. How long does it take to refinish hardwood floors from start to finish? depends on what type of polyurethane you are using -oil based or waterOil based tends to take longer - often 3-4 days plus drying time (longer if for larger jobs) and water based tends to dry faster, so
it's often 2 days (longer for larger jobs). Click here for a full explanation on how long does it take to refinish hardwood floors? Click here for a full explanation on water vs oil based polyurethane.Q. What if my hardwood floors are currently covered with carpet, vinyl, tile or laminate? will remove and haul away flooring materials that are currently on top your hardwood as well as prep and/or repair the exposed hardwood floorSome of our Westchester customers prefer to do thisothers prefer that we do this work.Q. Is there a lot of dust when sanding the floors? the process is a bit messy, and we ofter 2 solutions. standard process, the dust goes into a vacuum bag, and we vacuum between each coat as well as add plastic to all areas not being done. we do offer a dust extraction system with a vacuum suction tube so the dust goes straight outside into the dust containment system. process is 100% dustless, it does take care of 90-95% of the dust.
read more about dustless sanding vs sandless refinishing click here. Q. Can you change the color of the hardwood? Yes, you can go from light to dark, or dark to light or anywhere in between. Click here for a full explanation: Can you change the color of your hardwood flooring and how the process works. And, click here to see Hardwood flooring stain trends to see which colors are most in style for Westchester County.Q. What if we have pet stains on the floor? come across this often. If you have some areas that have pet stains or water damage (i.e. they have turned black), then the best thing to do is replace those hardwood boards and weave in. If you have oak flooring, this is usually fairly simple to do (assuming you have a professional do the work - it's important to match the species of oak as well as grade and important to have someone with the skills to properly weave it in). From there, after you sand and refinish, the floors should integrate
well and look seamless. This does cost a bit extra for labor and materials, but it is usually the better way to go (unless you hardwood is very old and/or very difficult to match). choose a darker stain to cover up the darker portions of the hardwood.Q. What if there is damage to the floor or sections where hardwood is missing? See above...this is usually very solvable as we can usually weave in additional wood, especially if you have oak flooring.Q. Will I need to move my furniture? of our customers prefer to move the furniture themselves; that we do the moving. It is up to you. We are happy to help eitherQ. Where do I store my furniture? of our customers use other parts of their home - areas that may haveSometimes, we can move it to the basement or garage. Sometimes, we can do the job in 2 phases to accommodate space for theA few of our customers use a storage container (such asQ. When can we walk on the floors? average, you can walk on the floors approximately 24 hours after the
application of the final coat. We recommend that for hours 24-48 that you wear socks only - no shoes, no bare feet. Click here for more info on How long does it take to refinish hardwood floors.Q. When can our pets walk on the floor? It's best to wait two days before pets walk on the floors.Q. When can we put our area rugs back down on the floor? recommend that you wait 4 weeks after the job is complete before putting area rugs back in place. This allows adequate time for theQ. How long will the finish last? lifestyle of the home determines how long the finish will last. regular maintenance cleaning, a floor finish can last many years., oftenWhen the finish becomes dull there are several professional service maintenance methods, such as a screen and recoat (see below) which can available to restore the luster without sanding. here for tips on How to prevent scratches on your hardwood floors.Q. What is a Screen and Recoat? What is floor buffing?
Would that work for my floors? screen and recoat is synonym for floor buffing. method where you buff/abrade the hardwood floors so that you can add an extra coat of polyurethane. It allows you to add sheen to floor and an extra layer of protection. It works if your floors are in good condition from a color perspective. It will not solve scratches through the color, but if your floors are in good shape, it will protect theIt's an affordable cosmetic maintenance method that isn'tYou have the option of making the floors shinier or less shiny - you can choose from matte, satin, semi-gloss or glossy finishes. more here: What is a screen and recoat? Q. Do I have to move all my furniture out for a screen and recoat? Q. How can I tell if my floors need a screen and recoat rather than a complete refinishing? screen and recoat is a cosmetic method that adds a clear coat of poly. Not all floor conditions are candidates for this process. be in a decent condition with the existing color in good shape.
will take care of minor scratches and dullness; it will not solve deep gauges nor scratches in the color. Q. Is there a lot of dust with the a screen and recoat? screen and recoat is pretty clean process. The floors are NOT sanded; rather they are just lightly buffed to abrade the existing finish allowing additional coats of finish to adhere. This gives your floor added protection and sheen. Q. How long does a Screen and recoat take? Most jobs only take one day to complete, but it ultimately depends on the size and scope of the job.Q. How many coats of finish are applied and is it water or oil based? we add 1 coat of polyurethane, but occasionally, customers would prefer 2 coats, especially if it's a heavy traffic area such as a kitchen. You may choose from 4 sheen levels: Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin and Matte. Currently, satin is the most popular sheen.Q. How long after service can I walk on the floors? Usually, you can walk on the floors approximately 24 hours after the job is complete.