All those along the chain of custody from the manufacturer, distributor, contractor, and even to the consumer, are responsible for proper handling and inspection of the wood flooring products.

Gaps in wood floors are one of the issues that most often create call backs for a wood flooring installation.

I recently reviewed a walnut veneered engineered floor, approximately 1,200 square feet, where the reported issue was excessive denting and scratching. Upon arrival at the site, the home owner pointed out small dents in the face of the flooring mainly in the traffic areas.

I continue to get calls about the suitability of wood flooring with radiant heated flooring systems. Many inquiries start with comments such as:  “I know solid wood cannot be used over a heated floor system, BUT my customer wants wood flooring.”

Wood flooring and other wood products can give excellent performance over a wide range of environmental conditions. To find examples we only have to look to older homes built 50 to 100 years ago.

The builder or general contractor calls and reports the building is ready for the flooring installation. From this point on the responsibility of the flooring performance is in our court. From the relation with the builder /contractor we likely know the general situation at the site. With some few builders we can load the truck with acclimated flooring and proceed to the jobsite, do minimal preparation and begin installation the same day of delivery. With others, it’s a crap shoot.

Sometimes there appears to be a competition between the choices of “Red Oak” and “White Oak.”  Competition is really not the case as both classifications are equally suitable for a wood flooring application. As always, the customer expectation is the key as to which to choose. They do look somewhat different: however, the application of stains, particularly darker colors can almost moot this point. Red and white oaks are generally not just two different species of oak trees but they are two different groups of multiple oak species.

First let’s discuss the most important aspect of a new wood floor sand and finish job, customer expectations. Establishing proper expectations for how the finished floor will look and delivering the look is the key to an acceptable job. We refer to all site – finished floors as “custom finished.” However, this can be separated into two categories--standard finishing and specialty finishing.

I recently reviewed a newly installed site-finished floor where the customer’s concern was excessive scratching and denting of the flooring and finish. Of course, as with any situation, other events and factors played a part in the situation. The finisher had trouble matching stain color with other floors that had been finished in the home; there was trash in the finish; and there were sanding imperfections that were noted by the customer. After an attempted repair that proved unacceptable, the finisher refinished these floors completely. The outcome was accepted and all parties were satisfied, the customer seemed pleased and the finisher was paid.

When customizing a wood floor, the “devil is in the details.” Customized floors can generally be separated into three different categories. The first category is to create or have specified a particular pattern or layout for the area involved using unfinished flooring or other wood members. This can also include mixed media, for example wood and ceramics. A second category is to use different factory finished materials to create a customized floor. And the third is to finish flooring with a customized finishing technique, for example hand scraping or stenciling.