Friday, 20 June 2008

Ask the Wood Floor Guru!

If you have any questions relating to hardwood flooring then please leave a comment below. The wood floor guru resident experts will endeavour to answer your question within 24 hours! The wood floor guru relishes technical queries, specification questions and calls for help on any matters pertaining to wood floors. Just ask the wood floor guru!

8 comments:

dsmith said...

Which of these engineered wood floors 3/8 " thick is better for our home. Bruce's Lock and Fold or
Tarkett's Genesis Advance Locking system. I can find these two at Home Depot and Lowes. Is there a
better engineered floor on the market than these two?
Thanks,
David

Richard said...

David,
both the Bruce and Tarkett systems are good locking systems. We recommend that you make your decision on the wear layer of the top floor surface, the finish of the floor and the price. There are many engineered products on the market which are as good as the two mentioned but you may not get the same guarantee as you would with these two well known brand names.

Anonymous said...

For a long hallway, 39" wide by 14 foot long which is the best way to lay an engineered float floor like Tarkett Genesis? I've looked and cannot find a clear answer. Should it be individual units across the 39" or long connected strips on the 14' run.
Thanks for any advice you can give me,
George M.

Richard McKay said...

Hi,

the conventional way to lay this floor would be to lay it longways. In our opinion it looks better and also reduces waste considerably.

Harris said...

Hello Wood Floor Guru!

We're currently laying red oak flooring (5 inches wide, select grade) throughout all the rooms on an entire floor of a house. My question is... What is the "correct" way to lay this wood? Does it have to lay the same direction in all the individual rooms and hallways? Or can each room have the wood lay in a different direction?

We have three separate bedrooms with a hallway separating them, and then a large combination area which includes a living room flowing into a kitchen and dining area which then flow into a family room.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

-- Harris

Terry53 said...

I'm looking at both the Bruce and Genesis myself. The big thing for us is that the samples in the stores seem so dull. We were hoping for a floor with more of a shine to it. Is that just the way it is, or could I put another coat of the clear finish on it to make it shinier?
Thanks,
Terry

Anonymous said...

Question: I want to install 3/4 X 3.25 unfinished red oak hardwood floor (nailed). My current flooring is 1/2 non TG plywood over 2X8 joists at 16" with a 5/8 particle board underlayment on top. I will remove the particle board and replace with:

1) what is best? 5/8 or 3/4 ply or OSB screwed to the 1/2 ply?

2) Is there any reason NOT to also glue to the 1/2 ply for a more rigid floor?

3) Is there any reason NOT to screw the new underlayment into the joists for added rigidity?

4) If ply, should the underlayment run parallel, but seam offset from the original 1/2 ply or perpendicular to the 1/2 ply?

5) Also, I need to run the hardwood in a hallway (3' wide) parallel to the joists (in this case they are doubled 2X6 joists). What should the underlayment be in the hallway and how should it be oriented to the joists?

Thanks! Rodger

mariamantia said...

do you recommend using the dustless sanding process for refinishing floors? and, do you know of anyone that does this in the los angeles area? thank you