New Construction Calls for New Techniques

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Josh Hansman, the lead installer with Cincinnati Floor and Window Coverings, has been in the flooring industry for 16 years. His passion for woodworking combined with his career in construction has led him to love installing floors every day.

“The best thing about this career choice is that it is always something different,” says Hansman. “We move around constantly to different neighborhoods and unique jobs, each presenting their own challenges.”

This job was no exception. When planning this new construction, the homeowner showed the builder a photo of their dream floors, saying, “I want this.” When the builder suggested installing the pattern in the foyer, the homeowner requested that it be the same pattern throughout the main living spaces in the home. So that’s what the team did, for the entire 1,000 square feet.

Using 4″ white oak and 4″ walnut, Hansman and his team, including Eugene Mofford and Ben Powers, did a full glue-down and nail-down installation. A track saw was used to cut out the areas for the walnut feature strips, which were routed on both sides. Slip tongue was added to one side, the bottom of the groove was removed and installed tongue into the groove, and finally, the slip tongue side glued to the top side of the groove.

“The most challenging part of this install was that the walnut feature strips terminate into the base rather than a border, which would have been held out from the wall,”
adds Hansman.

“Because a track saw will only cut so close to the walls, the remaining section of each feature strip had to be hand-cut using a multi-tool,” says Hansman. “This was especially difficult in the closet and under the desk where the track saw wouldn’t fit at all.”

The floor was sanded using 50, 80, 100, then 120 grit paper on the PowerDrive, then sealed with Bona IntenseSeal and finished off with two coats of Bona Mega.

“We received a lot of positive feedback from the finish carpenters and touch-up crews that came through the house after the floor was completed,” adds Hansman. “They were not used to seeing floors this elaborate.”

“This job gave me a new appreciation for the amount of education, training, planning, work, and confidence that it takes to complete a specialty floor like this successfully,” says Hansman, who has participated in several NWFA schools and the Bona expert school. “It was very rewarding to bring the homeowner’s vision to life and receive such positive feedback from the homeowner and the others who worked in the home.”

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