What to Expect Hardwood Floor Installation

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM BROTHERS FLOORING

Installing, sanding, and refinishing your hardwood floors will add value and beauty to your home. As with any home improvement project, you should expect some disruption from normal daily 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, so that you can be prepared for what will happen during your project.

INSTALLATION OF NEW WOOD FLOOR:

We do not move furniture, appliances, toilets, or sinks (NO EXCEPTIONS).

Please remove all wall hangings and clear all countertops in the work area. At the end of the job, we will vacuum window seals and countertops in the immediate work area.

Hardwood (depending on the species) must be acclimated for a minimum of 5 – 10 days prior to installation in the home. (Not in garage or basement)

The temperature and relative humidity of your home should be at normal living conditions (65 – 80 degrees and 35 – 50% relative humidity) in order for the wood to acclimate properly.

HARDWOOD FLOOR SANDING AND FINISHING INFORMATION:

We do not move furniture, appliances, toilets, or sinks (NO EXCEPTIONS).
There will be noise, vibration, light dust, and some vapors during the sanding and refinishing process.

Ask about our New Dustless Service

Although we have dust-containment equipment, you will need to do a light dusting after the completion of the job. If you have selected the atomic 97% dust-free, sanding option, there will be very minimal dust.

The atomic system is an incredible dust containment system and is a very good choice when not wanting to battle large amounts of fine dust. However, there will be some dust created when tearing out existing carpet, cutting in flush mount vents, prepping stairs, prepping lace, and from the vibration of our sanders knocking loose existing dust on the walls and ceiling.

Brothers Flooring does not hang plastic (NO EXCEPTIONS).

For water base finish it is not necessary to keep children and/or pets out of the home during the sealer coat and first coat, but on the day of the final coat, all occupants must be out of the home. There must be no airflow, meaning the heater, a/c, and fans must be turned off and no opening or closing of interior or exterior doors. The change of air pressure causes dust to become air born and will result in a dirty coat, which Brothers Flooring cannot be held accountable or liable for.

Homeowners may return 4 hours after the final coat has been applied, with the understanding that the floor is suitable for light foot traffic, meaning socks only – NO SHOES. The water-based finish has a curing time of 7 days. Do not replace rugs or mats until the floor has fully cured. You may put furniture back on floor 24 hours after application of last coat, but the floor is susceptible to scuffing or marring prior to completion of curing time. Do not clean floors with water or detergent during the first week.

HARDWOOD FLOOR STAIN:

When choosing to stain a floor there is a couple things to keep in mind:

Staining adds additional time to a job, generally a day. The reason for this is that there are additional steps added in the sanding process, and also the stain requires 12 hours to dry.

Matching an existing stain color is virtually impossible; however, a close match is achievable. The reason for this is that over time stain fades and finish ambers, also there are many stain manufacturers on the market.

All wood does not stain the same. For example, if you have pine baseboards with a nutmeg stain and you want Brothers to use the nutmeg stain color on your oak floors, keep in mind the stain will look totally different on oak than it does on pine. We are able to mix a custom stain to achieve your desired color.

Stain color needs to be picked first thing in the morning when sanding starts. Our crews will sand a section of floor, and mix and match colors to achieve the color desired by our homeowners. Then we will ask for a signature on our journeyman’s paperwork, acknowledging that you approve of the stain color.

Characteristics of Water-based Finish on Hardwood:

The water-based finish has a 3-4 hour dry time and very low odor. It remains clear throughout its life and is the hardest finish on the market. It is 75% cured after 24 hours, and 5% per day thereafter. After 3-4 hours, the floor is suitable for light foot traffic with socks only.

You may put furniture back on floors after 24 hours with the understanding that the floor is susceptible to scuffing and marring. Do not apply tape to the floors within 45 days of coating them, as this will peel off the finish. Never slide furniture or appliances across a hardwood floor. Rugs and mats may be put back on the floor when fully cured (7 days).

HARDWOOD FLOOR HVAC VENT COVERS:

Brothers Flooring offers flush mount vents, and flush mount cold air returns as an additional upgrade for your project. We stock flush mount vents in our vans and at our shop so they are readily available in standard sizes. Cold air return vents are all special order with a timeline of 4-6 weeks to make them. Please keep this in mind when scheduling your job, if you choose this option.

Flush-mount vent covers are very durable and attractive, they are removable. All vents will be numbered for easy removal and installation by the homeowner. Our crews will show you how they are numbered and how to fit them into the frames.

ATOMIC DUSTLESS HARDWOOD FLOOR SANDING:

When choosing the dustless sanding option we ask our customers to please keep these few things in mind:

There is virtually no way to keep a flooring project 100% dust-free.

When installing on a job that has opted for our dustless hardwood floor sanding there will be some dust created by the floor prep for installing the new floor, tearing out the old carpet or flooring, cutting in flush mount vents, the preparation of a staircase, and from the vibration and pounding of installing your new floor. We do everything possible to keep dust to a bare minimum.

We do all cutting of new flooring outside or in a confined room authorized by the homeowners. We vacuum and wipe down all countertops and window sills in the areas we are working and also in the adjacent rooms. Anyone that has had a floor sanded previously without a dustless system will definitely appreciate the cleanliness and time savings of not having to clean a thick layer of fine dust.

DEFINITELY WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY!!

HARDWOOD FLOOR STAIRS:

When installing new hardwood stairs in your home there are a few details our customers should know about:

Stair preparation is quite dusty due to the fact that most stairs are made of particleboard. We will vacuum up the dust as soon as the stair prep is finished.

Brothers Flooring will not make stairs out of strip flooring. We will only use 1 solid stair treads, solid stair risers, or a veneer riser where application necessary. Although this may be slightly more expensive it ensures the longevity and beauty of your staircase.

Brothers Flooring does not skirt stair stringers for the skirting is too easily damaged by being kicked in day to day use. Since we don’t skirt the stringers, we recommend the homeowners repaint or stain them, or hire a professional painter. Brothers Flooring will fill any holes or scrapes caused by the installation process.

New hardwood stairs are very beautiful and don’t wear out like carpeted stairs. Brothers Flooring would like all homeowners getting new wood stairs to take into consideration that the surface is going to be much smoother and slicker than carpeted stairs. This should be discussed when there are young children, people with walking disabilities, and older pets in the home. We care about your safety and want you to be well informed.

HARDWOOD FLOOR PROJECT TIME LINES:

Our estimators and office manager can give a rough timeline of your job, but there is no way of telling the exact day of completion due to variables such as; species of wood, the difficulty of tearing out existing flooring and considering the needs of our customers (i.e. start time and end time).

We can tell you most sanding projects 500 sq. ft. and smaller generally take 2-3 days. An average install & sand of 1000 sq. ft. or less can be completed within 5 working days. We can assure you once your job is started, we will be on it every day (except Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays) until your job is completed and we will update you regularly. If Leadman is out sick we will allow one day missed, and then will resume the following day.

*Payment is due in the morning on the day of the final coat or job completion.

AFTER YOUR HARDWOOD FLOOR PROJECT IS COMPLETED:

When the work on your project is completed you may need to do a light paint touch up to baseboard, shoe moldings, and walls.

Although we use dust-containment equipment, you will still need to do a light dusting after the completion of the job.

Our working hours are Mon. – Fri. 7:00 a.m. To 4:00 p.m. (unless otherwise specified).

Office hours are Mon – Fri. 7:00 a.m. To 4:00 p.m.

Payment is due on the morning of the final coat or job completion. We accept cash, check, or MasterCard/Visa. Immediate payment is required as we do not require an upfront deposit. If payment is not available on the morning of job completion, Brothers Flooring will be forced to pull off the job until payment is available, unless other arrangements have been made prior with Brothers Flooring’s office manager.

HARDWOOD FLOOR CARE AND MAINTENANCE:

Sweep your floor on a daily basis (grit and gravel are your floor’s worst enemies).

Wipe spills immediately from floor surface (liquids will soften the finish and buckle flooring).

Every 2-3 years your floor should be maintenance (screened and coated) to prolong the life of the floor, saving the expense for a complete re-sand.

Never use Swifter, Murphy’s Oil, Pledge or other supermarket-bought floor cleaners to clean hardwood floors. These cleaners can cause a wax buildup that won’t allow for maintenance and will require a re-sand. We sell a recommend cleaning kit for cleaning your floors.

We highly recommend you install a humidifier in your furnace or get a portable humidifier unit in the home to minimize your floors’ expansion and contraction. It is very important to maintain relative humidity in your home from 35-50% to prevent shrinking of the floor.

If you don’t maintain the correct relative humidity, your floors will crack and/or shrink. If we are called out do to shrinking in your floor and the relative humidity is not between 35-50% in your home, there will be a fee of $75.00 for a relative humidity reading.

*Payment is due in the morning on the day of the final coat or job completion.