The Home Front The Hard Facts of Hardwood Floors

Refurbishing and maintaining hardwood floors -one of the biggest rages in interiors for many years – looks like one of those easy do-it-yourself projects, but most often, it’s not. Proper refinishing of hardwood floors involves tricky sanding and staining processes, full of pitfalls. It is not generally a task for the eager, would-be handyman.



The sanding alone in the hands of an amateur can ruin a perfectly good floor. This involves heavy, awkward machinery that can damage a floor if not handled by an expert. Quality work also involves several sandings by machine with different grades of paper and by hand around edges and in corners. If this isn’t done properly, the floor may end up several shades lighter or darker in these areas.



Application of the stain is another art in itself. It is difficult to achieve just the right shade and degree of transparency to allow the grain to show.

Another problem can be deciding which kind of finish you want on the floor. Hardwood purists still stand by paste wax for maintaining fine wood floors, but it requires frequent re-waxing and rebuffing, particularly if it’s a high traffic floor. A lot of home-owners who’ve seen once too often what a young boy’s athletic shoes can do to a waxed wood floor, are turning to a more durable polyurethane plastic finish which does not require waxing.

Many interior designers, however, claim the polyurethane finish is simply not as attractive as the real paste wax finish. “If you care more about aesthetics than upkeep, there’s just no way to get that soft, gleaming look on a wood floor without using paste wax,” says Dallas interior designer Leonard Fruhman.



Bill Booziotis, a Dallas architect, may have the aesthetics-practicality quandary solved with a suggestion of a modified polyurethane finish. “An expertly applied finish of this sort that is halfway between matte and glossy provides the lowest maintenance and a very satisfactory appearance,” he claims.

At any rate, if you’re considering ripping up that carpet and refurbishing the floor beneath, or refinishing a badly scuffed and worn hardwood floor in your home, it’s best to place all these questions in the hands of experts. Generally, if no patching or major repair is necessary, a standard dark brown color for a 15’ x 20’ room will run about $180 for sanding, staining and finish. Here are some highly-recommended floor refinishers in Dallas – names which come up repeatedly in talking to interior designers, architects, contractors and homeowners who have contracted work independently.

A word of warning: they are all busy. Most of their work is by referral and some aren’t even listed in the Yellow Pages. In any case, be prepared to sit on a waiting list. When you call, they will visit your home and provide an estimate based on the condition of the surface and the kind of finish you desire. It’s always helpful, of course, to check with friends who’ve had similar work performed to find the right man for your floor.

L. P. Lawton 381-5433 Ed Lawton

Mr. Lawton now runs the business started by his late father in 1936. He works with dark and light floors and has a good reputation for handling a modified polyurethane finish that is between flat and high gloss. He says some clients even like to use a little paste wax over this finish for additional shine. He cautions that only paste wax should be used, never liquid because the build-up from these products is very difficult to remove.

An unusual floor project he has recently completed is a stenciled floor created by Dallas design firm Taylor-Urban Interiors for an adventuresome client. First, Mr. Lawton sanded and stained the floor with a dark brown stain. Next, an art deco design was painted on using three colors. Finally, Mr. Lawton sealed the floor with polyurethane to protect the painted areas.



Turner Floor Service 279-1267 Don Turner

Mr. Turner gets right to the poly-urethane business. “I don’t recommend it and I won’t guarantee that it isn’t going to scratch.” He prefers the wax finish, but will do either according to the customer’s wishes. He also does good work with light color floors. This company has an excellent reputation for quality work.



Orlie Biggs Custom Floors

278-2914

Orlie Biggs

Mr. Biggs has also been in the floor business a long time (he once worked with Russell Ashmore) and his business is almost entirely by referral. He says 95% of his work is the traditional dark stained floor, but he does do one or two natural finishes per year. He says he prefers the wax finish for its permanence and easy control, but feels there are situations where the polyurethane finish is the correct solution. He also says water or liquid self-polishing waxes should never be use on wood floors. A little paste wax on some fine steel wool will take up any sticky or hardened material, he says.



Derrick Custom Floors

W.T. “Bud” Derrick

279-4708

If you are still confused about the wax versus polyurethane question, call Mr. Derrick. He is particularly good at explaining the differences and advantages of each. He worked for 20 years for L. P. Lawton before going into business on his own. Most of his work is dark staining, but he will do any finish the customer wishes and has an excellent reputation.

Southern Floor Company

827-1041

Russell Ashmore

Mr. Ashmore has been in this business since 1946 and on his own since 1960. He has a cult-type following in Dallas among design professionals and satisfied clients. If you ever get into a “let me tell you about my remodeling” discussion with a group of women, invariably someone will tell you with great pride how long she waited for Mr. Ashmore to begin work on her floor and how the wait was well worth it. A lot of people would agree with her.



Mr. Ashmore quite candidly says he prefers dark stained floors to the pale or bleached variety because he feels they hold up better in the long run. He is also an advocate of the paste wax finish and not enthusiastic about polyurethane. “It may look fine in the beginning” he said, “but after a few years the floor doesn’t look very good at all and a paste wax finish can always be brought back to look perfect with a good cleaning and re-waxing no matter how much time has passed.” He did concede that kitchens with wood floors may require polyurethane.



He is a busy man – but as the lady said,call and get on his list. It’s worth the wait.