Sand & Finish

What to expect from us in the Sand & Finish process

Job start time:

Unlike the installation process, sand and finish is highly dependent on parts of the job the job that require the “dry times” of waterpopping, staining, and finishing. With this being said, we will need to be able access the house at all times of the work day. On days where no dry times are being observed, we will start between 7 and 7:30.

Sanding:

The first step is to get the floors sanded. We start with a medium grit between 40 and 60 grit and move up through the grit sequence to 120 grit, not skipping more than one grit along the way. Once all the existing finish has been removed from the floor, we will walk the floor looking for splintered, defective, damaged, or otherwise unsightly boards to remove and replace. If you have any boards in your floor that you want replaced, this is the time that we need to know so we can remove them. We will search the floor again for defects and sander marks before our final pass with the buffer to ensure excellence of the final product.

Waterpopping:

We waterpop all floors that we stain. Waterpopping is a process in which we lightly dampen the entire floor in order to get the grain of the wood swell and the pores to open. This allows the wood to accept stain better and more evenly. The difference is stunning. It is important to allow the floor to dry overnight. Defects in stain color can result when staining a floor that was never fully allowed to dry. You can walk on the floor with socks in order to get to bedrooms on this night however. Most companies ignore this dry time, but we don’t want to mess this up.

Staining:

We stain the floor by hand to ensure proper penetration of color. Stain also must dry overnight. It is best for it to be completely free of foot traffic as it dries. Country white stain requires an extra day of dry time due to high levels of pigment.

Finish:

• It is possible to put two coats of finish down in one day. However schedule typically only allows for one coat per day.
  
• Dry times are listed below.
  
• Ventilation: Furnace filters will need to be replaced once we are done. With Glitsa Conversion varnish, we recommend putting fans in the window blowing outward as much as is possible for the first 48 hours.
  
• Area rugs: Area rugs should be kept off floors for 7 days with waterbased finish, 3 weeks for Glitsa conversion varnish.

Quarter round:

We highly recommend that all floors getting sanded have quarter round removed and replaced. We can sand up to trim but it typically leaves a line from the sander and it is also visibly noticeable that the floor underneath the trim is higher than the surrounding area that is sanded. We will install new quarter round and caulk the area that meets the baseboard as well as any nail holes. Homeowner will be responsible for finding a painter to paint trim once it has been installed.

Dust control:

We maintain vacuum hookups to our sanders for dust containment during the entire process. The only thing that doesn’t get dust containment is while we are hand sanding end joints of the floor.

Conditions of home:

We generally like to keep temperature of the house around 70 degrees Fahrenheit while sanding. While staining and finishing, we will need access to the thermostat however so we ensure that HVAC isn’t blowing debris into the finish.

Dry and cure times of different products

• Glitsa Conversion varnish: Dry time approximately 2 hours; Full cure- 90 days (98% cured in 14 days)
• Duraseal Duraclear Max (2k waterbase): Dry time-approximately 4 hours; Full cure- 7 days
• Arboritec Avenue (2k waterbase): Dry time-approximately 4 hours; Full cure- 3 days
• Masterline (1k waterbase): Dry time- approximately 4 hours; Full cure- 7 days
• Stain: Dry time-Overnight (two nights for country white stain)
• Waterpop: Dry time-Overnight

Difference between dry time vs full cure:

The dry time on the floor is the point at which the floor is safe to walk across with socks. This is NOT meant to be heavy foot traffic. Full cure is the point at which finish is as protective as it will ever be for the floor. Any damage done to the floor at this point is a result of abuse or heavy wear and not a result of finish that isn’t fully cured.

Furniture can be placed back in room the day after the final coat has been applied as long as movers are wearing socks and they do not drop, drag, or otherwise damage the flooring in the process. The furniture being back in place, however, will not damage the flooring.