Oak flooring - long term care?

[Rockhead261]

I had the oak flooring refinished when we moved in. That was 13+ years ago. I did exactly ****** to it since, and it showed.

Well, the floor guys are done and I've got three coats of oil based semi gloss poly down. It looks amazing and I'd like to keep it nice this time.

Aside from walking around in flannel soled slippers and getting rid of my dog, what can I do to prolong the finish?

 

[spotco2]

Keep that floor guys number handy.

Other than that, not much other than don't pee in the floor and let it soak in and don't slide heavy stuff across it. Might want to run a microfiber dust mop across it each day tp keep dust and dirt from causing scratches on the finish.

 

[p_mori7]

Get in the habit of taking your shoes, boots, etc off as soon as you come in the door and wear slippers.

Tell guest to take thier shoes off. No high heels (prevents indentations)

The dog's nails will scratch the floor. Solution is up to you.

Lay down carpet runners in high traffic areas.

Never clean with wet mop. Vacuum with the 'floor' attachment, it has soft bristles to prevent scratching the floor.

If it gets dirty, clean it with a damp floor scrubber (I think swiffer makes a thing like that).

The floor coating is like the clear coat on car. If you wouldn't rub it on your car, don't rub it on your oak floor.

The poly will last a very long time.

 

[ddawg16]

Pamper it? No....abuse it? No....

If done right, you will get more use out that floor than about anything else...except for tile....

When it starts to show wear...have it done again.....you can't do that with 'engineered' flooring.

 

[51rider]

When it starts to show wear...have it done again.....you can't do that with 'engineered' flooring.

Sorry but I disagree. Depending upon the thickness of the capping on the engineered product, you should be able to get between 2 & three refinishes on it.
Given that the OP had left it 13 years between refinishing, that still gives a potential of between 26 and 39 years or more before thinking about replacement.

 

[Rockhead261]

Thanks for the replies.

This is not engineered or pre-finished flooring. It's select grade red oak with absolutely no knots anywhere. The floor guy said it's one of the best he ever saw. The few pieces that had to be replaced revealed almost full thickness, so I think the sanding I gave it back in '99 was the first it saw since' 78. Ought to outlast me at that rate.

Can I DIY some poly as needed in between professional jobs or will that just screw it up?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4

 

[nehog]

... walking around in flannel soled slippers and getting rid of my dog, what can I do to prolong the finish?

Get in the habit of taking your shoes, boots, etc off as soon as you come in the door and wear slippers.

Tell guest to take thier shoes off. No high heels (prevents indentations)

The dog's nails will scratch the floor. Solution is up to you.

Lay down carpet runners in high traffic areas.

Never clean with wet mop. Vacuum with the 'floor' attachment, it has soft bristles to prevent scratching the floor.

If it gets dirty, clean it with a damp floor scrubber (I think swiffer makes a thing like that).

The floor coating is like the clear coat on car. If you wouldn't rub it on your car, don't rub it on your oak floor.

The poly will last a very long time.

The 'take off shoes' is a very important thing. We always take off our shoes (we use the Thai living style model which includes no street shoes in the house--it's considered barbaric!) and ask guests to do the same usually. A few who don't/won't/can't we just grin and bear it, it is not often enough to worry about.

I'm not sure of the solution on the dog--and have no experience with dog/floor damage.

 

[James-W]

We have hardwood floors as well, and we had them re-finished several years ago. They put down two coats of finish and I am not sure what the floor guys used, but it really stunk up the whole house for 3 days. We actually had to leave the house at night and sleep in a motel until the smell went away. During the day we came back and opened up all the windows and let the house air out. Finally, after the 3rd day the smell had subsided enough to where it was tolerable and we returned home. But I must tell you, the floors were simple beautiful and they have held up extremely well for several years now. I don't know what they used on the floors, but it is some really hard stuff and it wears like iron because there are very few scratches. We don't remove our shoes but we do clean off the bottoms of our shoes before we walk on the hardwood floors. We bought some mats that work extremely well for this purpose and they have done an exceptional job thus far.

 

[Moto]

Three coats of oil poly is the minimum.

The floor guy should have done four coats, knowing that you have a dog.