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Sale Extravaganza!
Beat the rush, save now before Christmas.
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General Questions
We have attempted to answer the most frequently asked questions. If your question has not been answered, do not hesitate to contact us
Can I mop my hardwood floor?
Never use a damp mop or vinegar and water to clean your floor. You must follow maintenance guidelines provided by the manufacturer of hardwood floor; otherwise you may damage the finish and void the warranty (see the section entitled “Caring for and Maintaining Your Hardwood Floors”)
Should I paint before or after the installation of a new hardwood floor?
P.M. Cantin Flooring recommends painting a room before installing hardwood flooring for two reasons:
i) Installing hardwood floors (both finished on-site and pre-finished) will leave a very fine sawdust, which could float in the air for several days, or even weeks. These particles could cause the paint to become very rough as it is being applied.
ii) The level of relative humidity always increases dramatically when painting, due to the high water content of paint. This could lead to expansion of the hardwood floor and create damages (see the section entitled “Moisture and Your Hardwood Floors”).
Installing pre-finished hardwood flooring in a brand-new home is a disaster waiting to happen. Is this true?
Not necessarily, but some basic rules must be respected to avoid major problems. For one thing, you should insist with the builder that the pre-finished flooring be the last thing installed in the new home. This is to avoid dramatic variations in moisture content (see the section entitled “Moisture and Your Hardwood Floors”) that could negatively affect the flooring.
Installing pre-finished hardwood flooring on a wet sub-floor or while the relative humidity is very high, such as right after painting, can actually cause the flooring to cup (see the answer to “What causes cupping?”) and damage the finish and the wood.
Can I install hardwood flooring in the basement and/or directly on cement?
Hardwood flooring strips of ¾'' cannot be installed in the basement or directly on cement because of high moisture levels and also because the planks cannot be glued down. There are, however, other hardwood flooring products that can be installed. The Northern NextStep fusion engineered flooring by Lauzon can be installed in the basement and directly glued down on concrete (see the section entitled “Engineered Hardwood”). Northern NextStep flooring is indistinguishable from a solid hardwood floor.
During the construction of a new home, when should hardwood flooring be installed?
Ideally, hardwood flooring strips should be the last thing done in a newly constructed house, even when it’s sanded and finished on site. New homeowners should be very careful of dramatic variations in the moisture content of wood.
Any damage arising from high moisture will only be visible several months later. Installing hardwood flooring strips on a wet sub-floor and/or before, while or right after painting the home can actually cause cupping. Contrary to popular belief, protective finishes cannot prevent wood from gaining or losing moisture; they merely slow down the process.
How is hardwood flooring graded?
Grades are used to rate wood flooring based solely on appearance and uniformity, never on quality. The difference between grades lies in the prominence of characteristics that are typical to each species, such as colour variations and the presence of sound knots or checks (see the section entitled “Grading”).
Does relative humidity in a home have an impact on hardwood flooring?
Absolutely. Hardwood flooring will generally do better when the interior environment is controlled to stay within a relative humidity range of
30% to 50% and a temperature range of 15.6 to 26.7 degrees Celsius
(60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) (see the section entitled “Moisture
and Your Hardwood Floors”).
What are the most common species used for milling hardwood flooring?
The most common species are Northern Red Oak, Hard Maple, White Ash, Yellow Birch and Brazilian Cherry. American Cherry is recommended for borders and inlays only because of its low density. Although American Beech is sold and installed by other companies, P.M. Cantin Flooring advises against it due to its instability (see the section entitled “Hardwood Species”).
What causes cracks and separations?
Cracks and separations are quite normal with hardwood flooring and basically indicate a change in the moisture content of the wood. Cracks usually appear in winter when homes are heated and the air becomes dryer. This phenomenon can be noticed more often in areas where the air ducts run because they retain heat. It is important to install a humidifier in the house.
Why does hardwood flooring creak?
In most instances, the “creaking” sound can be attributed to the sub-floor, which has loosened a bit from the supporting structure (joist). Typically, the sub-floor will have been fastened with nails, not with screws, to the joist. This phenomenon is usually more audible in winter than in summer, due to heating, which dries out the sub-floor and causes it to contract and detach itself even more from the joist.
Occasionally, creaking can also denote a more serious problem resulting from a fractured tongue of the strip. The only remedy in this case is to replace the broken strip.
What causes cupping?
Cupping occurs when the edges of the flooring strip are higher than the middle. The main cause of cupping is a very high level of relative humidity that results in an imbalance through the thickness of the strip, i.e. the bottom of the hardwood floor strip is wetter than the top surface.
The only solution is to wait and allow the hardwood flooring strips to dry out while controlling the relative humidity with the help of a dehumidifier and/or locating the source of the water seepage. Sanding is not recommended since it could lead to crowning and, in some instances, irreparable damage to the hardwood flooring strips.
What causes crowning?
Crowning is when the centre of the flooring strip is higher than the edges and, usually the aftermath of cupping, is because the hardwood flooring strips where sanded before having a chance to thoroughly dry and flatten out on their own.
What causes a floor to lift (buckling)?
The “lifting” of hardwood floors is an extreme reaction to moisture. The floor will actually “pull away” from the sub-floor, rising up dramatically in one or more places. Lifting is most often the result of flooding, but can also be attributed to incorrect installation of the hardwood flooring strips or of the sub-floor, when not enough cleats or nails were used.
If lifting is detected soon enough, spot repairs can be attempted to avoid ripping out the floor and installing a new one. Some strips might even be taken out temporarily to allow air to circulate until such time as lower moisture content will allow for actual repairs.
The finish on my hardwood floor already shows a lot of wear after so little time. Why is this, and what must be done to correct it?
This is often the unfortunate result of installers coating the unfinished hardwood flooring strips with lacquer instead of the appropriate sealer prior to applying the finish. The only solution is to sand the hardwood flooring and apply a polyurethane finish.
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