Sanding & Finishing Checklist

Your investment in durable, lasting, stylish hardwood floors is at the sanding and finishing stage. Please review the checklist carefully and contact us if you have questions.

Preparing Your Home

Power

• You must have a 220 volt/30amp power source in order to complete project.  A dryer or stove plug is acceptable.  Please advise your sales consultant promptly if you don’t have the proper power requirements.

Painting

• Do not paint the walls while the wood is acclimatizing. You may paint before or after the hardwood arrives on site or is installed.
• We are using construction equipment. Fresh paint jobs may be nicked or scratched. Keep extra paint on hand for touch-ups.
• If you paint after installation, use a drop cloth and a slip-resistant mat under your ladder. Immediately clean up any paint drips. Most paint drips can be rubbed off with a fingernail.
• Touchwood is not responsible for paint touch-ups or wiping dust from the walls.

Dust and Furniture Protection

• With sanding being done in the home, special precautions must be taken to protect your belongings.
  • Place a blanket into the cold air return.
  • Remove or cover décor, photos, furniture and accessories. Touchwood Flooring can move your furniture for an additional charge and is not liable for damages.
  • Cover any remaining upholstered furniture with sheets.
  • Felt pads are recommended for the feet of any furniture that will sit on the hardwood. Lightly sanding the bottom of the furniture leg before applying the pads will help them to adhere.
  • Remove live and dried plants.
  • Seal kitchen and other cabinet doors with painters tape.
• You are responsible for the final cleaning and dusting.

Doors

• Remove closet doors, door tracks and doors that open onto hardwood areas.
• Poly off doorways leading to unaffected areas.
• Touchwood Flooring can remove and replace doors or cut down wooden doors for an additional charge and is not liable for damages.
• Touchwood Flooring does not remove or replace mirrored doors.

Baseboards – where applicable

• Remove baseboards.  If you are reusing the baseboards, number the back of the baseboard and the wall that it was removed from.  This will make it easier for you to put them back on.
• If refinishing the same product and the baseboards are remaining the same color, baseboards do not need to be removed. We will sand up to them and afterwards, you may touch up the paint.
• If you are supplying new baseboards, they should be painted or at least primed before going on. It is easier to paint prior than to tape off for all your coatings. Expect need to touch up the baseboards after the sanding and finishing process.
• Baseboards can remain installed if ¼ round or cove moulding is installed afterwards.
• Toekicks can stay on but you may need to touch up.

Furnaces

• Keep the house at normal room temperature for the finish to dry. Do not plug up vents. Special arrangements need to be made regarding pilot lights if you are using commercial finishes such as moisture cure and acid cure as these fumes are flammable.

Existing Floor Coverings

• Remove carpet, underpad and staples.  Remove smooth edge from around the room’s perimeter.  Remove existing plastic or metal transition pieces. Touchwood will use a trowelable wood filler to fill in any cracks, nail or staple holes.
• It is impossible to know the condition of the sub floor until carpeting is removed.  Any additional charges required when the condition of the sub floor is revealed will be discussed with you before we proceed.

Hardwood Adjoining Other Floor Coverings

• Unless itemized in the contract, Touchwood does not supply clients with wooden transitions to adjoining flooring.

Plumbing

• If you are sanding and finishing in a powder room, laundry room, or in a kitchen where you have a water or a gas line, make arrangements with a plumber to remove and replace the appliances.  For an additional charge, Touchwood Flooring can arrange a plumber to remove and replace the toilet or unhook/re-hook water lines to fully warranty workmanship.

Appliances

• Touchwood flooring will sand and finish under the refrigerator and stove.
• We recommend Glide N Guard floor protectors (available at your local hardware store) for under the refrigerator and stove. Even though a refrigerator has wheels, once loaded down with food it may be heavy enough to crush the wood fibres, causing permanent damage.
• Touchwood Flooring will remove and replace your refrigerator and stove for a fee and uses an Airsled to prevent floor damage. Empty out fridges larger than 18 cubic feet. Secure any items that remain in the fridge. We are not responsible for spills inside the fridge.

Our Crews

• At the end of the day our crews will pick up any tools and remove from harm’s way to protect any young children and pets that live in the house.
• At the end of the job our crews will leave sand and dust garbage bags on site.
• We never smoke in your home.
• Touchwood Flooring warranties our work. All crew members are covered by liability and WCB insurance.

Client Expectations

• Touchwood does not countersink nail heads prior to or during the sanding and finishing process as this would loosen the holding power of the existing fasteners.
• The client must be aware that new wood being patched into an older floor may not match perfectly. The flooring will amber and patina; with time and variations it will blend and become less noticeable.
• A table top finish may not be achieved.  Urethanes are applied to the hardwood floor by snow plow method. They are not sprayed on.
• Some dust will fall onto the freshly applied finish.  This will wear off as you use the floor.
• Dust will filter into adjacent areas of the home during the finishing process.
• Each piece of flooring sands differently depending on type of grain.
• Although your new floor will be laid with the boards tight together, as a natural product, it will   continue to absorb and expel moisture.  This natural process will cause flooring to expand and contract from season to season, resulting in cracks between some of the boards in your floor.
• There are many variables that can alter the outcome of staining any wood product, such as the grain and how long stain sits before being wiped off. Touchwood will try their best to match the sample provided by client.
• Wet stain looks different from dry stain.

Customer Survey

• We pride ourselves on how many referrals we receive every year. Please help us by filling out the customer survey at the end of the job. This helps us continue to improve our products and services. We appreciate all comments!