About Us


          What I offer is over 33 years of knowledge and skill in hardwood flooring. I still don't know everything.

Now, as to how I do my jobs -- Preparation and skill are key. There is no need for plastic sheeting to be hung over doorways to keep airborn dust from drifting into other areas of the house, thanks to my dust containment system. Cleanup before coating is not an ordeal because of that system. At the end of the day, there is no dust on myself, the walls, window sills, baseboards or anywhere else! Before every application of polyurethane, the previous coating must be buffed or abraded to guarantee adhesion of the next coat. Then comes vacuuming and tack ragging with a water dampened cloth.

A special note which I believe sets my company apart from many others: I never use quick dry, laquer based sealers under oil based polyurethane. Why not? For years, working for other companies who used sealers, it became obvious that the floor we were re-sanding, if it had sealers as a base coat, simply whisked right off the floor. It came off easily. If it was a floor that a home owner did himself, with rental equipment, he would not have access to these sealers. He would apply a low quality varnish bought at the local building supply store. As awful as his job would be to look at, the cheap varnish, applied directly to the wood, was hard to remove. For years I told others these sealers weakened the final finish. They are basically used as a cheap way to make the finished polyurethane coats look thicker than they are. If you walk into a home or apartment and the entryway looks gray and weathered, it is probably because this type of sealer was used as a base coat and thepolyurethane wore off the floor in a year or so. I don't find that acceptable practice and I don't offer it to my customers with any recommendation. In fact, the national sales manager of a major coating manufacturer admitted to me that the use of these sealers as a base coat under polyurethane greatly degrades the performance of the polyurethane top coat. I will not guarantee your finish will not scratch if you drag something on it. Usually surface marks will happen, specifically in high traffic areas. After all, we are walking all over them. However, my approach is intended to minimize or remove the need to re-sand the floor every 5 years or so, thereby extending the life of the floor. All that is needed is regular cleaning with approved cleaners and buff the floor and apply another coat of polyurethane when wear dictates it is needed.

One more word regarding sealer use in finishing. While I am against and will not use lacquer type sealers as a base coat, there are finishes and situations that either require a sealer be used, or where a sealer may serve as a blocker to gain better adhesion over certain substances which are already in the wood itself. First I am thinking of water borne coatings which are a different technology altogether. In there use, and with certain products, a sealer is not only recommended, but required. Each manufacturer has a different requirement for their own products. There are also shellac sealers that have been de-waxed which can bring certain benefits to specific projects. I am thinking of products such as Zinsser's Seal Coat, or the new universal sealer recently created by Dura Seal. These products offer excellent adhesion both beneath it and to what is applied on top of it, which can be very helpful with some old floors that have been waxed for years. Floors in this state can be problematic when solvents in oil borne coatings activate any wax remaining in the wood. De-waxed shellac can serve as a barrier coat between the wax and polyurethane coating. I say all this to let the homeowner know that I am not against all sealers. The key point is: will the use of any product enhance the quality of the finished product?

As to matching colors -- Most hardwood flooring companies use Dura Seal stains. However, in the case of other stains, I can get just about any color matched at Cooks Paint and Paper on Danforth Avenue in Toronto, which is a Benjamin Moore dealership. Or, Reim's Custom Paints on Broadview Ave. who deal in various products. I have also used Min Wax and Circa 1850 stains, the latter of which smell terrible but offer limited but rich color range.

A closing thought. I am always looking for ways to do things better. New products are always appearing, and some that have been on the market for years I am only now discovering. I have recently added just such an older product to my list of recommendations. Waterlox is a penetrating Tung oil based finish, that has certain advantages over urethane top coats. Besides offering excellent protection against liquid spills, is much easier to touch up and refresh, without the mess of polishing and abrading. There are no adhesion issues with this product and is something practically anyone could apply themselves without fear of causing an unrecoverable error. You can read about this product at their web site: www.waterlox.com.

Special Product Announcement-March 1, 2007: I am excited to let past and prospective customers know that I have made what I consider a major floor finish upgrade. Poloplaz, a U.S. based company that specializes in manufacturing floor finishes, was kind enough to send me samples of their product to test. I tested their Primero oil borne polyurethane. In 34 years, I have never applied such a wonderful product, nor seen a nicer finish when it dried.

Poloplaz floor finish has higher solids than I usually use, which means a thicker finish film. It dries better and faster (even under poor conditions) and cures harder than any other oil based finish, including 2 part water borne urethane finishes. Poloplaz boasts tremendous durability for this product. I will now be following, for the most part, a finish system that sees one coat of Poloplaz fast dry sanding sealer (2-3 hours dry time), and a coat of Primero gloss polyurethane applied generally in one day, followed by a coat with the sheen of your choice. I have not used separate sealers in the past, because of the particular type that has been used in the Toronto area, which I highly dislike. (See my comments far above.)

Poloplaz sealer is different. It is a polyurethane based sealer with near the same solid content as my current floor finish, except it penetrates the wood well to protect it in case the finish itself became damaged. It dries incredibly fast, allowing 2 coats in one day. This will be good for me and good for my customers, as it will cut a day off the finishing of the floors.

Poloplaz has a complete line-up of finishes to meet any need, including a huge urethane/stain colour line which also dries fast and seals the floor in one application. They cover all the Dura Seal/Minwax colours. All their finishes are lower VOC and compliant to regulations in the U.S. All products have a high flash point, above 100 F. I consider this product an important upgrade which I am happy to now be able to offer all my clients.

I will, of course, continue to watch for the latest and greatest products.

Floor finishing, staining and installing, is not easy work. It is not recommended that a novice try this on their own floors. We all have to basically apprentice for a number of years before we become skilled enough to be left alone on a job. I get emails every day from someone who thought it was so easy, anyone could do it. Why spend ones hard earned money on a “professional” when they can do it themselves? If this is so, why do so many people submit questions to me saying they followed the directions on the label and this or that disaster still happened? Save yourself a lot of time and grief, save your floors, and hire a professional. Even a professional will sometimes run into a problem. While there is science involved in this work, it can never be an exact science because there are too many unknowns with each floor. However, following proper procedures in preparation most often brings the best results. A beautiful looking floor with a finish that is easy to maintain, offering good durability, which can be refreshed with an additional finish coat when the existing ones become tired.

I promise to give you the best job I can and not waste your resources.