Hardwood Floors February/March 2026

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVATION Universal Floors is no stranger to high-profile historic projects. From the United States Supreme Court and the Blair House to preparing the Washington National Cathedral’s altar for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, Sprigg Lynn is a go-to resource for returning a remarkable floor to its original splendor in the Washington, D.C. area. Lynn says preservation is a physical connection to the past, and historic floors must be saved today to be admired tomorrow. “Sometimes a client will ask how we are going to do it. We look at them and say, ‘I don’t know, but when we get done, it’s going to look absolutely beautiful.’ You don’t know until you open it,” he explains. “It’s a fun process because there is no manual, and there are not many people you can call and talk to. You have knowledge that was passed on to you or knowledge learned on the job. You see something different every time – how they constructed the floors and how they installed them.” The rise of wood flooring is said to have begun more than 400 years ago in Europe. René Caran and Michaela Reichlová are based in the Czech Republic and founded Workcamp Parquet to not only restore and preserve unique parquet floors but also to pass on knowledge and experience to the next generation of craftspeople. Each year, they organize an international project that brings in wood flooring professionals from different countries. “Participants have the opportunity to work on authentic projects in real historical buildings, learn from experienced masters, and engage in museum-standard restoration processes,” says Caran. “Through this, they not only acquire practical craft skills, but also a deep understanding of the cultural, aesthetic, and historical value of the floors they restore.” Doing so is crucial to Workcamp Parquet because of the need to preserve methodology and tradition. “We can upload our knowledge to the cloud a thousand times, but a future craftsman will stand before our restored parquet and want to ‘read’ from it. These very pieces hold information inscribed in a language that is centuries old – the language of art and craftsmanship, independent of geography or modern technology,” explains Caran. “Every restored parquet functions as a textbook for future generations of craftsmen: it preserves the working techniques, the types of adhesives used, the methods of woodworking, and the composition of decorative patterns.” All wood floors have a story, and sometimes it took place before the wood became a floor. Tommy Sancic, co-founder of Olde Wood Limited in Magnolia, Ohio, has spent his career on another type of historic preservation – recovering wood from old structures.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL FLOORS INC.

The Universal Floors team prepared the Washington National Cathedral’s altar for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in January 2025.

“When you go into these 200- to 300-year-old buildings and you get to salvage the wood, it puts you back in time a little bit, seeing how they used to operate or how they used to live. You build a passion for it. Then by taking that piece of wood and repurposing it for flooring, you are bringing it back to life again; you are recycling it.” — Tommy Sancic, Olde Wood Limited

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