DFW Custom Wood Floors-Wood Flooring Questions & Answers

Hand scraped/Hardwood Floor General Questions

Why hardwood floors or scraped hardwood floors?

Hardwood floors and hand scraped hardwood floors are very durable, long lasting and maintain their beauty for years! The natural wood colors and trendy patterns found in natural hard wood floors and hand scraped hard wood floors create a comfortable and durable living environment.

Do hardwood floors and hand scraped hardwood floors provide a cleaner home environment?

Most certainly! Carpeting can attract and hold numerous allergenic spores, dust-mites, bacteria, fungi, animal dander and other unhealthy microbes. These disturbing “by-products” of carpet become airborne every time you vacuum.

How long do hand scraped wood flooring and flat hardwood floors last?

IF… properly maintained, hardwood floors can last a lifetime. The average carpet needs to be replaced every 10 to 12 years. Some more frequent with heavy traffic or animals!

What is the most popular hardwood used in hard wood flooring or hand scraped wood floors?

Red Oak is the most popular/preferred/cost effective hardwood options available! Maple is the number one choice for gymnasiums, basketball courts, dance floors and other commercial wood floors. Maple is more hard than oak and can stand up better in any heavy traveled area!

Cleaning /Re-finishing Questions

How do I clean my floors?

Please see our Floor Care page for floor cleaning information.

I heard humidity levels need to be controlled for hardwood floors, is that true?

Humidity in your home should be kept at approximately 45%. An extremely dry house during the hot months may cause wood flooring to shrink, which can create small linear cracks between the flooring slats. On the other hand too much humidity will cause the flooring to swell and could cause the boards to cup or crown. THESE ISSUES are drastically reduced when you allow the wood to adapt to your home for the two week period after we install……… prior to finishing!

My existing hardwood floors are dull and look like they need a face-lift. Should I attempt to re-finish my own hard wood flooring?

We suggest not as cost of our re finishing services are minimal compared to the time/effort you could set forth and possibly do them in correctly. Our bids are free!

Hand Scraped and flat Hardwood floor Installation Questions

What is the “suggested” lead time for scheduling a floor refinishing or installation?

We prefer at least a 1 week notice to install any hard wood floor or hand scraped wood floor option!

How long does a hardwood floor installation take?

We can tell you after we have seen your home at no charge!! If we are asked to bid your home, we will visit your site to give you an accurate time and cost estimate for any size hardwood floor and hand scraped wood floor you request! It is very labor intensive to hand scrape and time of installation depends on size of your floor and how much scraping we have to do. We DO SUGGEST that after we install hard wood floor we wait 2 weeks for wood to acclimate to your homes climatic conditions BEFORE we come back and scrape/sand. MORE later BUT this is key in assuring a LONG lasting install without hard wood planks popping/creeking

How long does the sanding/finishing process take on a new or old hand scraped or flat hard wood floor?

Depends on the size of wood floor we are working on! Sanding is not the issue! Normally The finishing/ “re” finishing of any hard wood floor is a three day process. We suggest leaving a 4th day in case the finish isn't dry from the last coat of polyurethane! IT also depends on the weather! Humidity can play a big part!

How much dust is created by the sanding process on the hand scraped hard wood floor?

There will be a fine film of dust in the sanded areas. We will help hang plastic sheets to doorways using a painters tape. Suggested will be a 3M blue tape that is available at Lowes/ Home depot.

Can I stay in my home during the wood floor sanding process?

Yes. NO problem!

Can I stay in my home during the staining/polyurethane process on my hard wood floor? How long does each coat take to dry?

WE suggest making arrangements to leave your house at least the first night when the first coat of stain and polyurethane is applied to your hand scraped hard wood floors! Much is dependent on where the floor is installed and how large the area is. Larger =’s more fumes! In regards to drying………

A coat of oil base poly takes 8-12 hours to thoroughly dry while a coat of water base poly takes 4-6 hours to dry.

What is the best temperature that I should keep my home during the finishing process?

68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is suggested. If your home is too hot or too cold it can cause the polyurethane coating to dry incorrectly and delay the job.

When can I move furniture back on to my new hard wood flooring?

Recommended 24 hours after the final coat is applied (with protective pads/felt under all furniture feet). Large area rugs need to be kept off the floor for the first 6 days. Use a breathable perforated rubber pad under rugs found at Lowes/Home Depot. Pads will “help” prevent rugs from sliding and wearing on poly coat.

Will my floors be shiny and what kind of stain should I use on my new hard wood flooring?

You have a choice of a satin, semi-gloss or high gloss finish for your hard wood flooring. Basically non shiny to shiny. LESS SHINY or semi gloss ( in-between) for animal owners so claw marks to not scratch shiny surface. I own three dogs and you can NOT see scratches on my hand scraped wood flooring

Do you move furniture or appliances on/off areas to have newly installed hardwood flooring?

Yes while owner is present.

What time will the refinishing crews start each day on my hard wood flooring?

Generally most installations or refinishing jobs are started between 8:30 am and 9:30 am in the morning. Smaller jobs are sometimes started in the afternoon.

The FINAL application’s of polyurethane varies from day to day depending on the installers route/work load of wood flooring for that day. WE always discuss convenient times with home owners first!

What are your payment options for your hand scraped hard wood flooring and re- finished hard wood floor’s?

We require 50% due on initial installation day and remainder due upon completion. WE prefer Check/Cash/Money order. We can take credit cards however processing fees keep getting higher although we try to keep our pricing lower than most! SO check/money order is preferred please!

Do you give free estimates on all of your hard wood flooring options?

Yes. We can give you a rough estimate over the phone IF you know approximate square footage to be bid on. We prefer to come out and see the floor areas to have potential hard wood flooring installed. NO charge and that way we can put a face with a name! NO HARD sale from us as WE ONLY want you to move forward with this big investment when YOU are ready!

Do you offer any warranty and do you have any referrals?

We offer a one year limited warranty on all our floor installations and refinishing jobs. We can not warranty if you scrape your floor or let water sit on your wood flooring etc BUT any other issue you call and we will repair. This is highly unlikely with one of our installs as our referrals will support!

WE ARE ONE OF THE ONLY Dallas based wood flooring companies that will invite you in to the owners and clients homes to see work on wood floor installs we have done. We have customers who agree to let you see their work as they have been so pleased with ours! JUST ask and we will set you up to view our finished work.