Hardwood Floors August/September 2019

RESOURCES

By Libby White Johnston “Real Wood. Real Life.” Campaign Highlights Benefits of Using a Pro

Example of DIY sand and finish job.

Peter West, President of West Flooring &Design in Calverton, New York, says his team sees homeowners attempting to take on sand and finish projects. “Recently, we received a call from someone who wanted us to take a look at why their finish had yellowed. The homeowner had painted the floor white and then coated with a waterborne poly on the top. The poly reacted poorly with the paint and turned yellow,” saidWest. “And, when there is a DIY install, the typical errors are installing solid wood flooring tight to the wall plates and not properly acclimating the material. They install in June without acclimation and by the middle of September, the floor has buckled and they’ll call us to ask if we can fix it. It can mean we have to rip out the base or the whole floor and then the homeowner has to buy the flooring again and go through the entire process times two.”

Across the internet, there are millions of articles and videos offering up DIY tips on how to install wood floors. NWFA members know all too often how that story ends.

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