Hardwood Floors June/July 2019

Artistic Floors by Design Inc. | Parker, Colorado

CATEGORY DETAILS: Entries in this category include any circular shape within a flooring system, such as circles, ovals, curves, and bent material. Applications can include jobsite finished, manufacturer finished, solid, or engineered wood flooring. SUPPLIERS: Wood: WD Flooring, Palo Duro | Finish: LobaWakol Abrasives: 3M | Adhesive: Stauf USA | Sanding Equipment: Lägler | Tools: Festool “As long as I can remember, my dad has always told me that he would be proud of me no matter what I did in life. My parents have always been huge supporters, and it was a nice way for me to give back to them. Not only did I get to spend time with them during the month-long project, but I also got the opportunity to share my craft,” he continues. “This project was an amazing experience in so many ways. It’s nice to be asked by your folks to do something for them,” says Rocco.

During the process, Rocco realized he was going to be four circles short, so he went outside to cut the needed pieces. Since it was snowing at the time, he brought them back inside and left them on the fireplace hearth to dry. The next day, when Rocco returned to the site, he discovered that the pieces were missing. When he questioned the homeowners about whether they had seen them, he learned that they had mistakenly thought they were scraps that could be used as firewood. “I can laugh about it now,” says Rocco. “But it did cause a minor delay in the project.” The stitch insert was hand-routed using a template, and the tips were hand-chiseled. Once installed, it was left slightly raised and sculpted. All of the flooring is wire-brushed. The apron was stained ebony, while the chevron field has a silver metallic ceruse and is all finished with three coats of finish. Once the final piece was in place (including the center oval medallion with an offset wenge starburst and epoxy resin flowers), it was time for the client to see the floor for the first time. “I pretty much kept all of it a secret. She knew about the chevron pattern, but all I shared was that we were going to do a border around the edges,” says Rocco. If you haven’t guessed it by now, there is another secret to this story. The client was Rocco’s mother.

INSTALLATION TYPE:

Glue-Down Solid Strip | Plank | Parquet Jobsite Finished Matte Surface Finish: Water-based Red Oak, White Oak, Wenge, Padauk, Maple, Birch, Padauk, Amaranth, Doussie, and Beech 150

FLOORING TYPE: FLOORING STYLE: FLOORING FINISH: FINISH SHEEN: FINISH TYPE: SPECIES:

The team had to make a decision on whether they wanted to inset the stitch pattern or stain first.

SQUARE FEET:

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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