Vinegar and water as a cleaning solution . . . pickled finishes . . . antique cleaning brushes . . . stilletto heels . . . . It is not unusual for me to hear a lot of stuff about wood floors that falls into the poor advice or wishful thinking category. One of the problems I have detected is that there are a lot of people with little, if any, experience writing or talking about wood floors. For me, it is kind of like watching an infomercial where you have groups of actors struggling to give you the impression they know enough to come in out of the rain. Believe me, they have spent far more time on their make-up than they have spent working or learning about the products or procedures they are hawking.

So, I decided to go through a list I put together over almost 40 years in the business and drop some pearls of wisdom on you. Let’s call it the unvarnished truth. (more…)

In 1987, I attended one of the first National Wood Flooring Association conventions ever held, in Kansas City, MO. The highlight of the meeting was the introduction of a finish that has sent shock waves through the wood flooring industry ever since – waterborne polyurethane. The finish had been around for some time but its use, at least in this country, had been restricted mainly to maple flooring in recreational situations; racquetball courts, handball courts and bowling alley’s to name a few. Its introduction signaled that it was now ready for use on commercial and residential wood floors. As soon as I returned to Atlanta, I took some waterborne finish into my warehouse space for testing and evaluation. I quickly found out that as good as the product was, it wasn’t quite ready for prime time and had some serious problems. I wrote about these problems for Fine Homebuilding and promptly got my ass chewed out by at least one manufacturer. (Not to worry. He was all about sales, had a lousy personality and for all I know may be selling widgets in China right now.) (more…)

Those who know me understand that I have a bit of a problem. I’m something of an odd duck. I love to work on old floors. I don’t really care to work on new floors unless I can make them look like old floors. This can be confusing until you understand what makes me tick. Sometimes it just takes a story to do that, so let’s get started.

Doug and Susan Abramson (a.k.a. Gatey and The Gourmet Cook, TGC, respectively; pictured at right) came to me about 30 years ago. They didn’t live in Inman Park but like most people in Atlanta whose homes dated to the 1880s and ‘90’, they had connections there. I had started my wood floor business in Inman Park in 1973, at the front end of what proved to be one of the most successful inner city rebirths to be found anywhere in this country. It was chock full of some of the zaniest people you will ever see who differed in many respects but had one common passion – old homes. For me, being around a group of people who lived and breathed old homes was like a cat living in a fish cannery. I had a blast. (more…)

Celebrate Preservation Month with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation at historic Rhodes Hall. I am giving a talk there on May 13 that is open to the public, free of charge.

Here are the details:
When: Wednesday, May 13 – 6 PM
Where: Rhodes Hall, 1516 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
Contact: 404.885.9700 (Call to check on parking)
Subject: Options for Restoring Old Wood Floors

From The Rambler newsletter: Do you own an older house with hardwood floors? Not sure what your options are? Is there enough wood to work with? What about finishes and maintenance? These are questions you might want to ask Michael Purser of the Rosebud Co. He has spent more than thirty five years working on nothing but old floors and has developed considerable expertise at dealing with what he calls “high risk” floors. He restored the floors at our own Rhodes Hall almost eighteen years ago and recently refurbished them. He was also involved with the Wren’s Nest House Museum and this summer took part in the most talked about restoration project in recent memory, James and Dolley Madison’s Montpelier. There is a lot of common sense and good advice in this talk and we hope you can attend. Visit Michael’s website, www.rosebudfloors.com, to get a preview of just what to expect.

Historic Rhodes Hall, a Familiar Atlanta Landmark

Approximately 18 years ago, I completed one of my first major restoration projects using Passive Refinishing®. The project was for the headquarters of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Rhodes Hall. This was a major milestone for me and was a vital part of introducing Passive Refinishing® to the restoration world. The “before/after” shots of the beautiful parquet floors have been seen by thousands in talks I have given, articles I have written and via my website.

I have many fond memories of working on Rhodes Hall so when I was contacted in 2008 about doing some refurbishing of the wood floors, it was a call I welcomed. The issues were all to typical of a facility that is one of the premier locations rented for wedding receptions, corporate functions and other high profile social events. Any time you allow the public to eat, drink and be merry in an old home, something has to pay the price and usually it is the floors. That is not to say the floors had been neglected; they hadn’t. But after hundreds of events, the old floors were due some tender loving cosmetic care. (more…)

If you specialize in working in owner-occupied homes, you’d better have a plan ready to help homeowners through what is arguably one of the toughest things they will ever experience; having their wood floors refinished . . . while they are living in the house. This easily competes with root canals, IRS audits and all vowels on your Scrabble tray.

Years ago, I realized that if you had to go into houses, displace the occupants, create havoc and try and leave on friendly terms, you better have their best interest at heart. I started “phasing” projects so homeowners retain their sanity and I keep my business prospering. What is phasing? It means that you break a project up into multiple phases so that people stay in their homes, get their floor refinished and their objectives are met. It often means that the project takes longer, cost a bit more and forces you to think outside the box. It means that the grand piano (the 800 lb. gorilla) no longer dictates the course of events. But most of all, it means the project gets done and the homeowners keeps their sanity. (more…)

We are exposed to tragedy everyday we pick up the newspaper or watch/listen to news broadcasts. It is part of life. We feel a vicarious twinge when we see the misfortune others experience but usually put the paper down or turn the TV or radio off and go about our day. Maybe we feel lucky or fortunate that we aren’t the subject of the tragedy. And sometimes our luck or good fortune runs out and we have to come to terms with a new norm.

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If you are a wood floor contractor and working on an older home you get accustomed to a frequently asked question; “How many more times can my floor be sanded?” Thirty years ago, the question might not have been considered too important. That is not the case today.
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