Procedure for viewing samples and choosing your finish system. 

We aren't able to provide samples ahead of time because we have a shop, not a showroom. Moreover, we have found that it's best to put samples down on the actual floor being refinished instead of using sample lumber, because the appearance of the samples can look much different than the site floor. Lighting, location, lumber age, and mineral content, can all affect the look of the hardwood.  As a starting point, information on your coating choices, along with sample photos, are provided in the links below. Please take a moment to view and understand your options along with their respective pros and cons. Once you’ve made some preliminary decisions, we’ll ask you to provide that information on our Terms of Service form which is emailed before the work begins. We’ll make sure to have the correct coatings with us to put down on your floor for you to view. If you plan to be out of town for the work and will still like to see samples, we can email or text them to you, but the images may not accurately represent what it looks like onsite.

Definitions:

Top coat (finish) - two coats of protective finish that are applied after the sealer (wood conditioner) or pigmented stain. We offer two types: water based and oil based. 

Sealer (wood conditioner) - the first step off the finish system that helps prepare the lumber for the finish. Sealers are used in both oil and water systems, but sealers are not used if a pigmented stain will be used. Additionally, water systems have sealer color options to choose from. 

Pigmented stains - solvent based colorants used to change the hue and color of the floor. Please visit our page on Pigmented stain for more information and color options. Pigmented stains add time and cost to the job. Most clients choose not to use a pigmented stain.

A few common questions answered:

When selecting the coating types, a few questions typically come up immediately and are best addressed before moving on to additional characteristics. They are:

What is the resiliency of the two types of coatings? 
These days, we feel that both types hold up equally as well so that variable can essentially be disregarded when making a decision. 

Can we just get a “natural look” for the floor? Yes, but if that’s what you’d like, please visit what it means to have a “natural finish” to learn more because you’ll still need to make a few decisions. 

Additional Important items to consider:

As listed in the links above, inherent in the oil and water systems are a number of traits that should be considered when choosing.

Please consider the importance to you, of each of the items listed below, when choosing your coating. 

Fumes and odors (for everyone who may be exposed)
Budgetary concerns
Color and matching existing or previous floors
Dry times

We hope this guide helps you to decide which type of coating you’d like and now that you're familiarized with these options and terminology we’re happy to answer additional questions.