Hardwood Floors December 2018/January 2019

AT THE SITE Wood Floor Finish Performance Discrepancies One of the most important elements of a successful wood

floor protection is applied, grit, dirt, and construction debris under the floor protection causes finish wear. Finally, the maintenance company improperly cleaning the floors. • Finish-related issues may include any of the following: improper finish application, inadequate jobsite conditions affecting the drying and curing of the finish, improperly mixed finish, coating over a not-yet cured sealer or finish coat, a bad batch or finish used at or beyond its expiration/ best-use date, using finish that has been exposed to extreme temperatures, floor use before the finish has fully cured, floors covered/protected (area rugs, floor protection) too soon after finish application, and inadequately cured site- cured UV finishes. • The sand job can also play a part, including inconsistent sanding procedures accompanied by an inadequate abrasive grit selection for the floor being sanded and/or the finish being used. This often results in high points/peaks coated with less finish than the low points/valleys. • For factory-finished flooring, the high points/peaks of sculpted floors, distressed floors, overwood/underwood, etc., wear through faster than low points/valleys, inadequately cured or improperly applied factory finishes.

flooring installation job is the application of the finish. A perfect installation can be distorted by a bad finish job, and a mediocre installation can often be saved by a good finish job. The customer’s expectations of what the finish is supposed to do can trump a good or a bad finish job. Today’s finishes continue to evolve, and as professionals in this trade, we are expected to understand the nuances of every finish in order to create what our customers ask us to produce. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), all finishes and finish systems are not identical in their application or their performance. The recently published third edition of NWFA Problems, Causes, and Cures (Technical Publication C200 ) explores some of the issues that impact all wood floors, their causes, and potential cures. The following highlights some of the more common issues that are unique to the performance of finish: FINISH WEAR DISCREPANCIES: When the performance of the surface coat of finish is not meeting expectations. • Finish selection used on the floor is not properly matched to the use of the floor. • Maintenance is a common culprit. Poor maintenance practices may include failure to remove grit from the floor’s surface fully, missing or unsuitable area rugs, walk-off mats, non-slip pads, worn or inadequate floor protection under furniture, pet nails, vacuuming with the carpet setting (beater bar) on the wood floor surface, and most common is using too much or the wrong cleaning product (including steam cleaners) to clean the floor. • The performance of a new wood floor installed in a new construction jobsite often comes into question. Other than the normal heavy construction traffic, other causes for finish wear on the jobsite include inadequate or no floor protection used during construction. Another cause is when

SCUFFS: Marks or abrasions left on a wood floor surface or finish. • Most scuffs are maintenance- related. Some of the sources may include grit or debris rubbed across the

floor’s surface, improper maintenance products,

which can leave a residue or film on the surface of the wood floor, often have a tendency to scuff or become marred, and hard, stiff soles on shoes, boots, sports cleats, high heels that are not specifically designed to be “non-marking soles.”These normally stem back to the customer expectations of the floor.

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