What to Expect - Brother's Flooring | Hardwood Flooring Installation

What To Expect From Brother’s Flooring

Installing, sanding, and refinishing your hardwood floors will add value and beauty to your home. As with and home improvement project, you can expect some disruption for your daily normal life. We will employ our experience, the latest equipment and the most environmentally safe materials to complete your work with the least possible disruption. Please read the following information so that you understand and be prepared for what will happen during your project.

Installation Of New Wood

Brother’s Flooring does not move furniture, appliances, toilets, and/or sinks. Please remove all furniture and appliances before we arrive.
Please remove all wall hangings and clear all countertops in the work area and basement below. At the end of the job, we will vacuum the windowsills and countertops in the immediate work area.
We will deliver hardwood to your home, and it must acclimate for a minimum of 5-10 days prior to installation. (Not acclimated in basement or garage)
The temperature and humidity in your home should be at normal living conditions (65-85 degrees and 30-50% relative humidity) for the wood to acclimate properly.
If the basement is not finished, it is normal to see wood chips on the ground as a result of the staples penetrating the subfloor.
Light bulbs in the basement have a tendency to burn out due to the banging of boards together during the installation process.

Vents

We offer hardwood flush mount vents and cold air returns as an upgrade for your project. We stock flush mount vents, so they are readily available in standard sizes. The cold air returns are special order with a timeline of 4-6 weeks to make them. Please keep this in mind when scheduling your job.
Flush mount vents are very durable and attractive, and they are removable. All vents will be numbered for easy removal and installation for the homeowner. Our crews will show you how they are numbered and how to fit them into the frames.

Stairs

Stair preparation is quite dusty as most stairs are made of particle board. We will vacuum the dust as soon as the stair prep is finished.
We will not make stairs out of strip flooring. We only use solid stair treads, ¾” risers, and/or a ¼”Veneer riser where applicable. Solid treads are slightly more expensive but ensure the longevity and beauty of your staircase.
Brother’s Flooring doesn’t skirt stair stringers as they are too easily damaged in daily use. We recommend the homeowner repaint or stain the stair stringers or hire a professional painter. We will fill any holes or scrapes caused by the installation process.
New wood stairs are very beautiful and don’t wear out like carpeted stairs. We would recommend all customers to consider that the wood surface will be much smoother and slicker than carpeted stairs and therefore decide whether they are appropriate for your home if you have young children, people with walking concerns, and /or older pets in the home. We care about your safety and want you to be well informed.

Sanding and Finishing

Brother’s Flooring does not move furniture, appliances, toilets, and/or sinks. Please remove all furniture and appliances before we arrive.
There will be noise, vibration, light dust, and some vapors during the sanding and finishing process.
Although we have dust-containment equipment, you will need to do light dusting after the completion of the job. The Bona Atomic system is 97% dust-free sanding, however there will be dust created when tearing out original flooring, cutting in flush mount vents, prepping stairs, prepping lace in to existing floors and from the vibration of our sanders knocking loose existing dust on the walls and ceilings.
Brother’s Flooring does not hang plastic.
Brother’s flooring uses Pallman water-based finish, one sealer coat and two top coats. Each coat has a 3–4-hour dry time and very low odor (250 voc). It remains clear throughout its life because it contains a UV blocker and is the hardest finish on the market.
The finish is 75% cured after 24 hours, and 5% per day thereafter. 3 to 4 hours after the final coat, the floor will be suitable for light foot traffic with socks only. You may put furniture back after 24 hours with the understanding that the floor is susceptible to scuffing and marring. Never slide furniture or appliances across a hardwood floor.
Do not apply tape to the floor within 45 days of completion as this will peel off the finish. After the 45 days, never leave tape adhered to the finish for more than 11 hours.

Stain

Staining your floor adds color to your floor and will add additional time to your project, generally one day. There are extra steps associated with staining and we prefer to let the stain flash overnight before coating.
Matching an existing stain color is virtually impossible, however a close match is achievable. The reason for this is that stain and finish fade over time, clarity changes, and there are many different manufacturers on the market.
All wood does not stain the same. For example, if you have pine baseboards with a nutmeg stain and you request for us to use the nutmeg stain on your oak floors, keep in mind the stain will look completely different on the oak.
We are able to mix a custom stain to achieve your desired color. Our crew will sand a section of your floor and give you samples of colors that you are interested in and you can see how they will look on your floor.
Stain color must be selected first thing in the morning before the sanding starts. We will ask for a signature on our journeyman’s job report, acknowledging that you approve of the stain color.

Job Time Lines

Our estimators and office manager can give you a rough timeline for your job, however, there is no way to determine the exact timeline due to several variables. Issues such as difficulty tearing out existing flooring and working with our homeowners needs as far as start and end times during the day can affect timelines.
Our showroom is open Monday-Friday 7am-4pm (closed 12pm-1pm lunch) and our crews work 7am-4pm or when they come to a natural stopping point on the job.
We can assure you that once we begin your project, we will be on it every business day until the job is complete, with the exception of a sick crew which we would rectify within 1 business day.
Payment is due in the morning on the day of the final coat or job completion.

Payment

Payment is due on the morning of the final coat or job completion. We accept cash, cheques or credit cards. There is a 3.6% service fee added if payment is made by credit card.
Payment is required on the morning of the final coat as we do not require an upfront deposit. If payment is not available, we will be forced to pull off the job until payment is available. Payment arrangements can be made with our office manager in advance if the homeowner is leaving town and payment will not be charged or check deposited until the morning of job completion.

After the Work is Completed

When the work is completed on your project, a light paint touch up to baseboards, shoe moldings and/or walls may be needed.
Although we use dust-containment equipment, you will still need to do a light dusting after completion of the job.

Floor Care and Maintenance

Sweep your floor on a daily basis as grit and gravel are your floor’s worst enemies.
Wipe spills immediately from floor surface as liquids will soften the finish and buckle the flooring.
Every 2-3 years your floor should be maintenanced (screened and coated) to prolong the life of the floor. This process can prolong the need for a complete re-sand.
Never use Swifter, Murphy’s Oil, Pledge, or other supermarket brand cleaners on your hardwood floors. These cleaners can cause a wax build-up that won’t allow for maintenance and will require a re-sand. We sell a cleaning kit that is recommended for cleaning your floors.
We highly recommend installing a humidifier in your furnace or getting a portable unit in the home to minimize your floors expansion and contraction. It is very important to maintain a relative humidity of 35-50% in your home to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the floor. If we are called out to address shrinking in your floor and the relative humidity is not at 35-50% in the home, there will be a trip charge of $75 for a relative humidity reading. (See the attached National Hardwood Flooring Association attachments in this section).

About Brother’s Flooring

Brother’s Flooring is a small, honest, family owned and operated business. We have been in the flooring industry for 30 years and in business for 25 years. Our management team is hired from within. Many of our employees have attended and received their certification from the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) and all of our employees are craftsman who follow the NWFA guidelines. We have employees and do not use subcontractors and we carry general liability insurance and workman’s compensation insurance. Brother’s Flooring is a certified member of the National Wood Flooring Association since 2004. We are A+ members of the Better Business Bureau and have won the “Best in Safety Award” for 3 years in a row. We are also recommended by Tom Martino on his referrallist.com.

Our specialties in the industry are homeowner new installation, re-sanding and fire/flood restoration work. We also do some commercial projects as well as high end custom new builders and custom remodel contractors. Our company understands and accommodates the needs of our homeowners during their remodel project. We have the expertise necessary to do custom inlays, decorative borders, as well as carpet tucks, baseboard trim, stairs, and other custom work. We do not move on to the next project until your job is complete, and you are satisfied with our work. For your convenience and peace of mind, we do not require an upfront deposit and payment is due on the morning of the final coat.

Some customers are hesitant to refinish their hardwood floors due to the dust and toxic fumes associated with hardwood flooring projects. Our company provides dustless sanding using a Bona Atomic Dust Containment system which creates a 97% dust free environment, combined with the use of a non-toxic water-based finish. There will be virtually no reason to move out of the home during the flooring project.

Brother’s Flooring is a hardworking, quality-oriented company dedicated to providing the best service possible. We will leave you with a gratifying sense of security knowing your floors were done with the latest techniques and most environmentally friendly products available in the industry.

Thank you for your interest in our company,

Sincerely,

Ralph Jorgensen

Owner- Brother’s Flooring, Inc.