Millwood Specialty Flooring – Shh! It’s A Southern Secret

Having been in the hardwood flooring trade for almost twenty years, the time had finally come to see how hardwood floors are made. We’re not talking about that prefinished stuff everyone else is selling including the big box stores and Lumber what’s their name. We’re looking at real unfinished hardwood flooring, or hardwood that is installed then sanded and finished.

Millwood Specialty Flooring is a small hardwood mill located in Ellijay, Georgia or at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and 90 miles north of Atlanta. I had heard nothing but great things from connections in the Knoxville, TN area that have worked with their hardwoods through the years. Priced right while offering high quality; a rare combination these days.

One hour is how long it takes the rough sawn lumber shown on the right to come out on the other end packaged into a pallet. Although I don’t know much about manufacturing, the time seemed slow. Numbers are irrelevant in this case. Millwood does not operate like larger companies that are looking strictly at production numbers. It’s more about the final quality than anything and keeping many long time local customers in the southern Appalachians happy.

Our tour with Nanci DuBarton (plant controller) was educational for myself and son Ryan who is learning the trade inside and out from installation all the way up to what makes our websites, blogs, and message board tick. While the manufacturing equipment appeared dated, Nanci explained it still hums along requiring more pampering than modern machinery.  Nevertheless, the company currently produces around 20,000 square feet daily, providing enough material is available to mill. The number represents about half of full production capacity.

The business has been affected by mill closures with the slowing economy. We’re referring to mills that turn logs into product that companies like Millwood can manufacture into hardwood flooring. Many have shut down operations or simply gone out of business leaving less inventory in the supply channels. Satisfying demand has never been a problem for the company as they’ve become more of a North Georgia, Eastern Tennessee secret of sorts for red and white oak flooring.

Good installers can be a picky breed. What they don’t like to do is fight with a product. This generally occurs when the product is poorly milled, milled too soon, or picked up moisture that creates a hard installation. Hardwood floors expand and contract with moisture of the material. I’ve heard the average installer before, “that’s what the floor finisher is for, to fill and fix all those gaps and cracks.”  Those gaps may be taken care of  in the interim. But given seasonal expansion and contraction, those same floors are likely to be a continual problem unless the home is climate controlled.

What I found particularly interesting was the company uses heavy plastic sheathing to protect the product prior to shipping. This insures moisture does not affect the flooring from their plant to shipping destinations. Only higher grades are packaged in this manner such as clear, rift and quartered, and their select and better lines.

Millwood Specialty Flooring follows NOFMA (National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association) grading rules whose overall lengths run random to 84 inches.  This procedure is simply a method used to differentiate each grade. In simple terms, the differences from a top grade to a lower grade lies in the appearance. As an example, clear will offer uniform color whereas lower grades will present more color variation and other natural characteristics common in the hardwood species.

The company whose history dates back to the 1930′s produces red and white oak in six grades. Other grades include #1, 2, and #3 common. The latter two being a rustic type grade suitable for those that enjoy high color variation, and other assorted natural characteristics and blemishes of hardwood in general. Products widths include common 2 1/4 inch strip, 3 1/4, four, and five inch plank.

Custom runs are an option for those interested. This doesn’t rule out special orders of longer length material or random width flooring. I may be retired from the installation end of the business, but I still maintain all the tools needed to get the job done. Getting to know more about this well kept southern secret is an opportunity I would be interested in.

Install Hardwoods The Next Day?

Maybe you’ve been tempted by dealers or installers needing work who claim your hardwood flooring can be installed the next day, or after you sign on the dotted line.  What’s the big deal you think. Hey, I’m ready to go. Sure beats waiting for three weeks like some of those other companies are saying.

What these folks either don’t understand or don’t care about is how the floor will perform after installation. One of the single most important aspects of how hardwood performs is a direct result of pre-installation conditions. This is particularly important with genuine solid flooring while engineered flooring allows a bit more flexibility (see more below). Let’s use some examples.

Customer A – Has contractors all over the house including some drywall finishers on the opposite end. Moisture related tradesman should be called in prior to installing hardwood flooring. This not only includes the drywall guys but plumbers, painters, and tile setters to name a few. Without stable conditions within the environment your new flooring has not reached a satisfactory equilibrium point; or one that will be important to maintain.

About those other tradesman. They can also be notorious for not caring in the least. From splattering drywall mud all over laid out  maple hardwood flooring (photo right) to electricians that can’t keep track of loose screws that inevitably get stepped on and scratch your new flooring before you have a chance to marvel at it. Folks, if it has to be done next week, expect some headaches along the way.

As far as that moisture content. All wood floors will undergo a process of expanding and contracting. That company advertising  next day installations may have their flooring stored in a warehouse under sweltering hot and humid conditions. When it gets to your house with considerably different temperatures and relative humidity only one thing is certain. Once it dries out the flooring will shrink. This could be a matter of months before the problems begin.

Some manufacturers that produce engineered flooring claim acclimation or getting the hardwood adjusted to your living conditions is not necessary. It’s a confusing world out there, or one that installers are often confused with. For instance if one company says no acclimation and another requires it, what’s a person to do? Our opinion; play it safe to avoid complications that can occur after the flooring company has long cashed your check. Taking shortcuts, or rushing work generally results in having to call in a hardwood floor repair guy.

High End Hardwood Flooring

It’s become a proven fact hardwood floors can increase the value of a home. However if you’ve contemplated how much to invest or what type of floor to use, there isn’t hardly any information out there on the subject. Sure, all the copycat sites say the same thing in the first sentence we used, but we’re going to dive in further.

High end hardwood flooring can be defined as expensive and or unique. Floors rarely seen in the tract home circles or neighborhoods that cater to the middle income class.  Some types of floors can include parquet flooring but not that standard boring stuff that usually collects dust on the back shelves in the Home Depot flooring department. Most people probably don’t realize the patterns available with high end parquet. This type of hardwood flooring is still preferred and used in many parts of Europe and Australia.

For all intent and purposes high end parquet is not a good choice for someone looking to improve the value of a home selling under $500,000. This stuff is usually found in those selling over a few million and more in today’s real estate market. Square foot prices can start in the high teens and go well above that, not including installation and finishing. Yes, this type of parquet is the sand and finish kind.

Likely to be a good candidate for improving a home’s value today is wide plank flooring.  Over the last ten years demand for wide plank floors has boomed. We’re not talking four and five inch either. The real treasured stuff is ten and 12 inches wide made by companies in the likes of Carlisle (product photo right) out of  Stoddard, New Hampshire. Yes they can be pricey too. But here in the USA wide plank flooring is more accepted by home buyers than esoteric parquet pattern.

Hardwood floor designs in the likes of borders that help define rooms and perimeters along with entry way medallions are another way of increasing value. By simply installing a hardwood floor medallion in the entry way of a home can definitely improve value for one that already has hardwood floors. Other types of flooring worth investigation are hand scraped, but the question remains on whether or not they’ll be accepted ten and fifteen years out. They may become associated with styles that fade with the times.

Benefits with the products mentioned above is you can buy direct. With the internet, many companies aren’t going through the traditional distribution and dealer network that sends prices much higher. Some of them have developed elaborate websites with very high quality room scene photos.

Floating Floors – Solid? Really?

Much has changed since Harris Tarkett tried to woo dealers back in the early 80′s with their floating floor systems. Actually the idea had been used in Europe prior with engineered flooring. Story has it from a seminar I attended, the feedback was laughable.

“A floating floor? Come on, what planet are you from?” It really started with hardwood but since has gone into laminate flooring, carpeting, and even ceramic tiles. Now we’re getting vibes from a European manufacturer who claims solid hardwood floors can be floated with their membrane that is basically a peel-stick type format. Not necessarily a peel and stick, but it goes like this:

The membrane is loose laid perpendicular to the direction of the actual hardwood installation. Once in place and solid hardwood boards are installed on top (shown right), a portion of the material is peeled away allowing a sticky surface to attach to the hardwood. The company name is Elastilon. Whether or not it will take hold here in the states is another story. Installers are always open to new ideas, but making them change is another story.

Concerns are typically that the hardwood better be awfully darned straight, because gone is the benefit of an ordinary flooring nailer that persuades slightly crooked boards into place by the sheer force of the pneumatic tool being used. Throw in the fasteners that keep it in check and twisted or bowed boards will not move. With this membrane system there is no method to straighten out boards. This leaves limited product selection as many manufacturers do not produce straight products, specifically with solid hardwoods.

Scanning our sources, the only known company that promotes Elastilon is Lumber Liquidators. Our opinion is “there’s more trouble that may be heading their way.” Other companies over the years have marketed floating solid floors. One in particular, Junckers, a European based manufacturer has had success with a clip type system. The method works with metal clips that are attached on the underside of the boards during installation.

If you have thoughts of using solid hardwoods for a floating floor, we suggest thinking again. Today there are numerous engineered hardwoods in different styles and appearances. Engineered flooring  reduces the expansion and contraction (it’s most attractive advantage) properties common with solid hardwoods. Most viewers probably reach this article looking  to see if they can actually install a solid floating floor. Often they’re looking to handle it themselves which inevitably leads to failure.

How Long Do Hardwood Floors Last?

How long any hardwood floor will endure depends on a number of factors. Considering the shift towards engineered flooring over the last several decades, the longevity factor will decrease for those choosing them. Why? Engineered or veneer floors are designed primarily for stability. In doing so, the construction is much different than that of traditional solid hardwoods. No longer do we have a solid piece, rather the top decorative layer is the solid piece. Most of the engineered flooring manufactured today contains barely more than 1/16 of an inch of actual decorative hardwood.

Before we go any further, one critical element in how long floors will last can depend on what happens before that actual hardwood floor installation. Experienced installers will pay attention to how floors perform. They need the ideal conditions that include floor preparation, acclimation, and proper installation methods. Taking a look at the floor preparation issue; the underlying sub floor needs to be flat.

Let’s look at other products. The more traditional solid 3/4″ tongue and groove floors that have been used for the last 100 years will last much longer but not as long as  older  solid hardwood. The latter was a solid piece without any tongue and groove. Overall thicknesses were in excess of one inch. When you consider longevity, the profile of the material being used is probably the single most important factor.

With all products mentioned let’s examine their profiles or specifications. Much older hardwood flooring that predates the widespread use of electricity, was not made by tongue and groove. Instead, solid boards were nailed through the surface into floor joist systems as the only method of installation. Generally these floors are not refinished as the charm and patina is treasured more. If they are sanded, the potential is much greater than newer types.

For tongue and groove solid 3/4″ hardwood floors, there is a limit of how long they will last, with much having to do with what the owner desires. Today’s styles are numerous. Some prefer only the look of a pristine, smooth looking floor. In order to maintain this appearance the floor will have to be refinished every so often. These floors do have their limits as the amount of hardwood that can be sanded lies in the 1/4″ range, or above the tongue and groove (photo above). How much material is taken off during a typical refinish job? A good ballpark number lies in 1/16 of an inch unless there are deeper floor scratches the customer wants removed. In this case a 3/4″ tongue and groove floor can be sanded completely four times.

Other factors influencing longevity is the hardwood floor care. It not only starts with regular maintenance but more specific,  what types of cleaners are being used. Many stand by older methods of cleaning floors with vinegar and water.  However what they may not understand is the acidic nature of this cleaning method. Over time it will break finishes down depending on the amount used and may require floors to be refinished at shorter intervals, thus reducing the overall life of your hardwood floors.

What’s Under Those Old Floors?

Depending on the age of the home you’re in or looking at on a real estate hunt, you’ll never know what’s under the existing floor covering until you actually buy the home. Owners maybe reluctant to let you pull up a section of some older carpeting, but what if there’s older vinyl tiles under the carpet too? Is the search over for that antique floor you’re after?

Not Necessarily So!

Pictures offer an older home outside of Baltimore Maryland that was built in the 30′s. This was a time when treasures were created. In older days homes were not installed with the same type of hardwood as they are today. They generally have older growth hardwoods which will have different appearances. Or types of hardwood that are now in short supply.

In this case, under old carpet and vinyl tiles an old heart pine floor was discovered on the second floor. To insure a flat surface during the tile installation, a thin layer of underlayment was added and nailed to the hardwood floor. Removal called for using a flooring spud bar and a metal mallet to get below the underlayment and lift the tiles from the floor.

So What’s It Cost To Get The Heart Pine Floor Refinished?

Considering the floor had been protected quite well for decades expect to pay an estimated total cost of $ 4-5 per square foot for floor refinishing. Keep in mind this is almost a perfect world scenario because the floor was in such fine shape. Additional costs may be incurred for replacing damaged or rotten boards or if you’ve abandoned the older radiant heat and removed the units, some repairs will have to be made in these areas as well. Contractors will generally charge by time and material in this case with costs varying from one side of town to the other or within geographical regions.

More Good News. Borders Downstairs

To this new homeowners surprise hardwood borders lined the perimeters of the rooms downstairs. We’re not suggesting you’ll find this in most homes, but those that predate 1940 the chances will be greater. Homes built within the last 30 years are unlikely to have any hardwood underneath as wall to wall carpeting was a major player in what was chosen for floor coverings.

What’s The Best Prefinished Hardwood Floor?

Participating over the years on many hardwood flooring related message boards the question is often asked; “who makes the best prefinished hardwood floor?” The answer isn’t an easy one because there are so many types of hardwood floors. There are quite a few lists at the previous link and I hope not to be repetitious. Let’s look at some angles not discussed as often.

Buy Canadian

I’ve always had high respect for prefinished hardwood floors manufactured in Canada. My first experience came through Mirage who handles both engineered and solid hardwoods. Up to the time in the early 90′s I had only been associated with the basic producers like Bruce, Hartco, and Robbins, while throwing in some Harris-Tarkett and Mannington here and there.

Having more of an installation background with engineered hardwoods working as a contractor in Southwest Florida, solid hardwoods represented approximately 25% of the work at the time. Upon seeing the engineered Mirage quality first hand there was no looking back to the big three.  Working with their products made any job go easy. Why so easy? It’s the method of manufacturing. Not only is this true of Mirage but Lauzon and others north of the border. They spend more time and effort producing a higher quality hardwood floor.

The big three (Bruce, Hartco, and Robbins) now part of the Armstrong company all produce basically the same stuff when it comes to installing their products. Boards generally don’t fit tight, milling is average to say the least, resulting in tossing aside more product than the Canadians. As an installer my largest goal was getting a tight looking, gap free installation. With the Canadian guys it was a breeze. On the flip side the big three would take almost twice as long to install and look right because of the extra effort involved.  Not to mention the filler that was needed after the installation.  It’s no wonder I saw more Bruce filler in my days compared to other manufacturers combined.

Now let’s look at an average installer who gets thrown your way. The store may say he’s the best but we know it’s not a perfect world. What’s going to be his take on installing the cheap hardwood floors? Will he put in the extra effort to make it look right? I’ve seen jobs done by others with difficult products and some did not turn out pretty.

So Many To Choose From!

Granted I don’t have first hand experience with every single hardwood floor made and nobody probably will. There may be other exceptional brands not discussed here. But for the most part if I were to pick two or three it would look something like this. Feel free to add your own list.

Best Floating Floor

• Kahrs
• Award

Best Engineered

• Lauzon
• Kahrs
• Mirage

Best Solid Hardwood

• Sheoga
• Tembec
• Lauzon

Kahrs? Why Kahrs? Who Are They?

Kahrs is mentioned in the small list above but not in the article. This is an international company whose products are predominantly manufactured in Europe with most product lines being floating floors. Story has it some of their production will be coming to the USA very soon. Will their quality come with it? Only time will tell. The company’s products are highly regarded by all installers and have a very low product quality claims ratio in the industry. In other words, consumer complaints on product quality are quite rare.

When Transition Moldings Aren’t Needed

Here’s a subject that is often debated within the circles of hardwood flooring guys. Perhaps you’ve seen hardwood floors in higher end homes and absent are trim moldings. You did all the research and every manufacturer recommends expansion areas. So why is it in some homes there aren’t any?

Example #1- Engineered Floor Butted To Marble

I thought this one (photo left) was creative. When marble or natural stone is installed adjacent to hardwood floors there is often an issue with what the transition will look like. Generally the hardwood floor will be a lower vertical height unless a plywood underlayment is added to bring it up flush. The engineered floor was installed tight to the marble, but the marble guys tapered or rounded over the edge creating a smoother transition.

Yea, the research says to leave an expansion area, but considering this is a direct gluedown installation on concrete with an engineered product the hardwood expansion gap rule isn’t as important. Even with solid floors installers have been known to butt the flooring providing it’s running perpendicular to the area. In other cases hardwood is net fitted regardless of direction. It’s really a matter of choice and what works or has worked for the installer. Keeping the Rh levels of the home constant becomes critical to the success of not using transition pieces in most cases. Another photo example shows the same with a solid pegged hardwood floor butted against ceramic tile.

Keep in mind doing something like this in your own home cannot be done with floating floors. In that case a t-molding would be necessary as the floor is unattached. Another disadvantage could be the quality of the tile installation. If their work doesn’t end with a straight line across the doorway, you’ll never be able to create a seamless transition without the use of a molding.

Other Areas Without Trim Moldings

Sliding door areas can chew up extra costs when it comes to using trim moldings. Manufacturers offer the use of the baby threshold in this case. Fireplaces can be another critical focal point. In most cases installers don’t know a better way other than installing some quarter round or another premade trim molding that never looks quite right.

By planning ahead one can create a very smooth professional appearance near hearths and fireplaces. However you’ll need the proper tools to get the job done correctly. This is where an power jamb saw comes into play. Expect more in the future dealing with varying types of molding options and hardwood floors.

Rustic Hardwood Floors – Why So Expensive?

They’re not all expensive. Sure you can find some pricey stuff in more of the service oriented mom and pop retail operations that deal in hardwood floors everyday. Some products that come to mind are manufactured by Anderson and Award. Both offer some interesting stuff but do we really want to pay a retail price in the low to mid teens?

Here’s one manufacturer; Aged Woods. They seem to be a bit more realistic in their pricing for a few prefinished products in the $6 and $ 7.00 square foot range, and the beauty is one can buy direct from them. With Anderson and other manufacturers the possibility doesn’t exist as you have to go through the middleman pipeline that includes your local dealer. We all know how many of those guys mark up prices!

Not all of their products are priced as above but they offer some real rustic flavor. The  Bunkhouse Oak Plank shown on the left that arrives unfinished prices in the eleven to $17.00 square foot range depending on the widths chosen.

Create Your Own Rustic Floors

We’ve always maintained if you want rustic hardwood floors you can create them yourselves. How? There are plenty of manufacturers and websites offering those real low priced products with all sorts of names. Lumber Liquidators calls theirs a utility grade that sells for under a buck a square foot. Be prepared to deal with alot of color including blacks and near white.

The LL utility grade is an unfinished hardwood. Considering you’re looking for rustic how important is the appearance of the installation? Do it yourself? Sure, but it won’t be an easy task with that stuff. Lots of small pieces to fit in the puzzle which can lead to a real time consuming project. The company also offers an upgrade in this category on their Colston line selling at $ 1.49 a square foot last time we checked.

As a side note, I was perplexed as to how to go about building some outdoor garden steps recently. The plan was using pressure treated pine but was I looking for that refined linear appearance? Then it came to me; people buy this stuff by the droves for flooring in their home these days, so why not create some rustic stairs? Some creative carving with the chainsaw and I had what I wanted.

I’m not implying a chainsaw is the answer for interior floors but any type of unfinished flooring can be distressed through your own labor opposed to paying the high retail price of some products out there today. After installation it would need to be finishedwith the stain and/or finish sheen desired. Benefits with something this rustic are you don’t have to be a finishing expert to handle the task. It’s rustic, remember?

Hardwood Floors Seen Better Days? Dull & Worn

Years ago many of us didn’t think about keeping hardwood floors in pristine condition. Sure, grandma would sometimes spend hours waxing those old beauties but did they fall off the deep end when the floors got scratched? No, it was just a matter of what to expect with the floors. Today we focus a lot of attention on hardwood flooring, almost as if they’re part of the furniture.

The Deep End? Yea, That’s Me!

We run into a number of people that obsess over their new hardwood floors, and yet some get so hung up with cheap solutions in how to improve the shine or restore the dullness in their floors. Billy Mays can be a compelling salesperson with the Orange Glow product but you have to wonder “…is my floor worth experimenting on at a cost under $25 bucks?”

We found plenty of comments about Orange Glow at epinions.com. Mostly negative and if you should be on the short end of the stick having problems, there are a number of solutions mentioned by dissatisfied customers. The sample photo on the right is an example of applying too much cleaner that caused a gunky buildup.

The Professional Solution.

Sure, maybe grandma didn’t care but you do. The question is how can I fix those dull or worn hardwood floors? The page link highlights what to expect from minor dull or scratched floors. What it doesn’t go on to say is an expected cost. For a professional fix, expect to pay anywhere between one and three dollars a square foot depending on where you live.