This collection of blog posts is intended to help you steward your old wood floors. I cover a wide range of topics and rely on personal experience to help guide you.
- All
- Clean & Recoat
- Floor Protection
- Historic Restoration
- Lessons Learned
- Passive Refinishing
- Products
- What's New
My Eye for Talent: Meet Jenna Novic
Several years ago, I let people know that I had taken on a business partner, Jenna Novic, to ensure that Rosebud Co. will continue to be an option for people with old houses and old floors that need special attention. I think it’s about time for you to get to…
Ford House: A Legacy of Exquisite Design and Décor
My addiction to old homes and house museums has enabled me to see countless fine homes all over Europe and North America. The historic value may be in who lived there, who designed it, where it was built or what occurred there. Ford House is one of those rare examples where…
The Dutchman: A Multi-Purpose Problem Solver
I don’t know the origins of the Dutchman repair but suffice it to say, it’s a method well worth learning if you work with wood or stone. It’s an economical, efficient and practical way of dealing with some types of structural damage that keeps the inexperienced from expanding a minor…
Seems Like Only Yesterday…
Fifty years ago, I took the big plunge. I was at a point in my life where I wanted my own business. Fortunately for me, and my two brothers, our father had established himself as a master craftsman in the wood flooring trade and trained us all. They were firmly…
When Hollywood Comes Calling, Don’t Be The Fall Guy
They Know Their Part, Do You? Let Me Give You A Quick Tutorial So You Aren’t Part Of A Tragedy.
Acrylic Waxes And Wood Floors: A Futile Exercise In Wishful Thinking
In the middle of the picture you see the color I stained the handsome white oak in a Neil Reid home back in the 1980s. The muddy look around the lighter wood is how poorly the acrylic waxes buildup has aged.
Finishing Wood Floors With Hardening Oils
These European finishes exceed expectations where American “penetrating finishes” have fallen flat. This in-depth article I prepared for the Journal of Light Construction gets down in the weeds and was fun to write. It’s part of my continuing education to make homeowners have a good understanding of what products are…
Steam cleaning wood floors? More like scalding them!
Should you use steam cleaning on hardwood floors? Absolutely NOT and here’s why... Humans will experience third-degree burns if exposed to 150°F for two seconds or more. If you’re steam cleaning a wood floor, you’re exposing the wood and the finish on it to temperatures at least 60°F higher. How…
Restoration Without Sanding
Restoration, Not Devastation When the challenge of restoring old historic wood floors without sanding was thrown down, Rosebud Company was the only wood flooring company to take it seriously. History professionals understood that restoration, not devastation is the goal. You’re not restoring anything if you’re sanding the surface accumulations and losing…
Tutoring the Eyes
If you’re interested in Clean & Recoat, there are a few ways to check to see if your floor is a candidate. You’re mainly checking to see if they’re too old for sanding or if the damage isn’t too advanced and the floors need sanding. With a little help from…
Staying Current on Stewarding Your Wood Floors
We’re entering that time of year when activities start moving indoors. Tailgate parties in your family room when the home team is playing. Sleepovers with the new and old classmates. Halloween parties. And the year-end holiday crush. With all this activity the chances for damage to your floors go up…
The Future of The Rosebud Co.
After more than forty-five years of being the sole proprietor of The Rosebud Company, I felt it was time to look into options for my company if it is to stay operational. Most small trade companies just fade away when the principal owner pulls back from the operations. This wasn’t what…
Put a Little Trust in Your Future
I am an old house junkie. Working on older homes has always been far more enjoyable than tackling something that is just coming out of the ground and usually surrounded by a lake of red mud. Be honest with yourself and you will probably realize that there is an old…
Waging War to Save Worn Wood Floors
For a long time, the knee jerk reaction to fixing any issue with a wood floor was to sand it. It didn’t make any difference what the problem was, the solution was to sand it down. And while the floors were being sanded, there was always the question, “how many…
Special Events Protection
It is not unusual for a private residence to assume a role or be exposed to conditions it is not ordinarily meant to endure. Wedding receptions, open houses or cameo appearances involving throngs of people and professionals can present some real challenges. These events can and should be a source…
Steam Cleaning a Wood Floor: A Recipe for Disaster.
It seems like the older I get, the harder it is for me to take some questions seriously. With the countless ways of delivering information, it doesn’t get any easier. So, when someone asked me if I would recommend steam cleaning a wood floor, I had no idea they were…
The “In House Move”: Discovering Space
A lot of people are choosing to stay in their homes instead of selling. Often times, they focus on improving and updating what they have via remodeling or restoration. One of the challenges they face is what to do with their “stuff” when the workers show up to start the…
Clean & Recoat Gallery: A Look at Some Before/After Shots of Renewed Floors Using Clean & Recoat.
Start: This photo shows a kitchen floor after 10 years of hard use. Notice the color difference around the perimeter. The darker color is where the finish hasn’t experienced so much wear and you can still see the original color. The lighter shade in the main traffic area is from wear…
The Mentor
When people ask me how I got into the hardwood flooring business, I’ve joked that I was genetically engineered, but there’s more than a bit of truth to that. My dad, William.B. Purser, went into the hardwood flooring business in 1947, not long after he left the army. He started…
The Value of Clean & Green
There is little doubt that wood floors in residential houses are the most highly prized material ever put under our feet or furniture. Ask any realtor or look at any real estate advertising and it is clear that wood floors increase the value of a home and facilitate its sale.…
Understanding Clean & Recoat: When, Why & How
Are your wood floors experiencing a bit of a mid-life crisis? Are they showing signs of “finish fatigue” after being refinished some 10-25 years ago? Is there a duller look and do you see a chalky appearance where the chairs sit around the breakfast table? Are there visual reminders of…
Vanishing Floors
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. With the…
Walking the Walk on Waterborne Finishes
When we bought our house in January of 1994, it looked ok from the outside but inside, it was a complete disaster. There were frozen and ruined radiators and of course no AC. The plumbing didn’t work at all. The electrical was the old nob and tube and looked primeval.…
Winterthur – The Window on our Past
I don’t have any idea how many museums I have toured over the years but Winterthur is off in a category all by itself. Nestled in the rolling hills outside of Wilmington, DE, Winterthur is the premier museum of American decorative arts and offers visitors the most unique collection of…
Wood Floors – The Tellers of Stories
One of the things that make restoring old wood floors so interesting is that they often tell a much better story of the house than any other surface. This was especially true of James & Dolley Madison’s Montpelier. The main section of the house dated to 1765. The latest addition…
Restoration 101: Dodging the DIY Minefields
I didn’t do all that well when I took Algebra I. I tripped over “variables” big time. I was accustomed to constants, like numbers. You either added, subtracted, multiplied or divided numbers, right? Not any more, because with Algebra there was a twist - variables! Instead of friendly numbers, equations now…
Acrylic Waxes on Hardwood Floors? Be Careful What You Wish For!
Most homeowners with hardwood floors eventually get to the point where the original luster of their refinished floors begins to dull down. This is normal, especially when small children, pets and an active social schedule are involved. A few coatings manufacturers provide cleaning products to remove dirt and grime but…
Claws on a Floor
As someone who has had many pets over his lifetime, I understand the challenges of domestic pets and hardwood floors as well as anyone. Here is some information I have collected to enable you to enjoy your pets and protect your floors. Scratches & Indentations: Take the weight of the…
Recoating – A High Value Option
Many homeowners are learning that recoating a wood floor is a practical and common sense approach to improving the look of a surface known to give them headaches. Typically, the floors have been refinished within the last 15 – 20 years and are simply showing some fatigue and in need…
Shame on Consumer Reports
If you want to get peoples' attention, just tell them they are going to save money. Sometimes, however, money-saving advice can have some serious long-term downsides. An article in ShopSmart magazine is a good case in point. ShopSmart is a publication of the Consumer Reports Foundation. They advise consumers how and…
The Moisture Trap
How much quality time have you spent in the crawlspace or basement of your house? If you’re like most people, you avoid going there and only do so when there is a problem. They’re often poorly lit, if not totally dark. They are usually damp and this opens the door…
Filler Facts: Wood Filler Isn’t Always the Right Solution
When homeowners see wood floors being refinished, there are usually a lot of questions. With older homes, one of the most common questions concerns the linear cracks that parallel the direction of the wood. They don’t get a lot of attention until you get old finishes and stains off the…
Floorcloths: Rich History, Design & Color
Few surfaces present more of a design opportunity than wood floors. They make a perfect backdrop to add color, texture, and design to a background rich in its own color and character. Many have taken advantage of this opportunity and produced stunning interiors. I think everyone is accustomed to seeing…
Floor Cleaning Reminders
Let’s make sure you are ready when your attention turns to your wood floors. There are several items you might want to check so that you aren’t regretting it later in the year. Floor protectors: Inspect any chairs or small items to make sure the floor protectors are still in…
Passive Refinishing® Solves a Tennessee Conundrum
When houses are being built, decisions are often made that at the time seem perfectly logical. Such was the case in a recent project in a gem of a house in Knoxville, TN. When the house was being built in the 1930s, a decision was made to install decorative face…
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Past editions
Feb. 2023
Hollywood floors, tough love, and the big 5-0
July 2020
Summer 2020 Newsletter
Oct. 2019
The future of The Rosebud Company and more!
Aug. 2018
A new website, a new mission and a fun project for an old man.
Dec. 2017
Seasons Greetings! Our latest update from Fair Lane and more.
April 2017
Tune in to catch us on This Old House!
Aug. 2016
Join us onsite in a five minute video of our restoration of Henry & Clara Ford’s Fair Lane. Enjoy!