Hardwood Flooring

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Refinishing existing hardwood floors. Please bear in mind that in an existing floor, inlays and borders can be installed before sanding.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Be very sure of his craftsmanship. Craftsmanship not only includes a proper installation, but high quality materials also. Ask for references. If there's any misgivings, ask to visit several recent jobs.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. A substandard installation would include "stair stepping." The quick and 'wood butcher' technique of having but joints close together from one row to the next, forming a stair step effect. This may cause 'panelization.' When an area of the floor that's been stair stepped moves (from normal seasonal changes) independently of the rest of the floor, it may cause huge gaps at the edges of the 'panel.'

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Do you use proper installation techniques according to NWFA (National Hardwood Flooring Association) protocols? Once the floor is installed and ready to be sanded and on refinishing floors, do you 'trowel fill' every square inch of the floor between sandings with wood filler? A full trowel fill acts as a truth serum, i.e., it will reveal any low wood that may have been missed on the initial, rough sanding of the floor.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Perhaps have a species of wood in mind (and even the grade of wood). The most common species being Red Oak. There are many examples of different species of wood on our website, AboveboardHardwoodFloors.com along with many flooring manufacturers' websites where these different woods can be seen. Also, consider the type of finish you'd prefer. There are commercial grade finishes we use if high foot traffic is to be expected on the floor. Also, maintenance coats are EXTREMELY important! This consists of a preparation of the existing finish on the floor and applying a new coat. It will freshen the look and prolong the life of the floor. Look at your floor objectively: does it need a maintenance coat now, before it's necessary to refinish?

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Our artisans are trained in the techniques recommended by the National Wood Flooring Association. We use only the highest supplies and reputable flooring manufacturers. We specialize in inlays and borders using different species of wood to create beautiful geometrical and perimeter designs. Check us out on our website to see our special floors.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Although we do all types of hardwood flooring, I enjoy most installing inlays and borders with alternate species of wood. After all the hard work of installation and sanding, applying the finish.... finally getting the reward of seeing the results of all the effort.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How messy is the process? Very, but containment is accomplished with draping off with plastic. This minimizes the escape of dust into adjacent areas.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. While applying the finish to a 13-1/2 foot diameter, 12-sided sunburst inlay in Evergreen (shown on our website), one of my assistants said he "almost cried" when he saw it. Apparently, his love for the beauty of wood is at least as great as mine!! :)

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. That you can't hire the 'professional' with the most rock-bottom price. It takes experience and quality materials for quality results. Aboveboard has often been called to fix another company's mistakes (both refinishes and installations and, yes, even maintenance coats), usually through the referral of a happy customer that the unhappy customer knows.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. A combination of my love for woodworking (been doing that since I can remember) and majoring in art when I was a kid. Although we do all aspects of hardwood flooring (unfinished, prefinish, engineered, laminates, etc.), we specialize in inlays and borders, most often with alternate species of woods in an unfinished product. Although inlays and borders can be accomplished with prefinish products, also.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. A stage floor (approximately 1,700 square feet) installed at a church in Morrison, Colorado that consists of a radius and four species of woods (#1 Red Oak, Brazilian Cherry, Peruvian Walnut and end block Fir). We used a log cabin joint exactly in the center of the stage to draw the eye to the center. See it on our website.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Yes, read Hardwood Floor Magazine (published by the National Wood Flooring Association) and Floor Covering Installer to keep up on the latest and greatest products. As an example, Aboveboard was the first to use a roller applicator (used in Europe for years) in the Denver Metro Area. Every supplier I called did not have any in stock and few had heard of it. I ended up ordering several from a supplier. Now, as far as I've been able to discern, only a few companies in the metro area know of this applicator. It uses much more finish, but applies a thick coat that appears to be sprayed on (no brush marks to be concerned with).

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Lately I've seen a bamboo product that consists of both 'blond' bamboo and 'carmelized' bamboo strands. It's very striking. Also, a few manufacturers are using 'beetle kill' Pine for flooring. Again, quite striking within it's blue streaks contained with the wood.