I guess because of my exposure on the internet forums I get lots of calls from frustrated consumers. I don’t mind helping people out, it makes me feel good and is great for the Karma. Like the front page says, so many people get conflicting answers on the internet, even very bad advice.

I get calls from all over the nation and into Canada. Most calls are about how to fix a floor and is the is the advice given by their contractor about the fix good or bad. I find to many times the consumer is getting the run around. I will give my advice using industry standards and my experience over the last 37 years on the floor.

Many times the you cannot simply tell them what the problem is unless there is a thorough onsite investigation. Thats where people get into trouble by taking online advice. Most are just guessing games.

Often times the calls are from the DIY crowd. Wondering what they did wrong or they may have gotten themselves into a pickle or sorts and do not know what to do. Thats great that they stop and ask a professional. This can save them plenty of money and misery down the road.

Just the other day I got a call from a pretty handy guy who took on his own Acacia solid nail down hardwood install. The floor was sounding like Rice Krispies. This is a touchy hardwood and is very brittle. Come to find out he did not test the hardwoods moisture content prior to installing it. Nor did he test the moisture content of the plywood substrate. The floorng came from China and sold to him from a hardwood liquidator.

The only advice he got besides using the wrong size fastener was to let the wood acclimate for a few weeks. This is very common advice from people who just want to unload hardwood on unsuspecting consumers. Acclimation is not a time thing, it is a moisture content issue that needs proper attention and a professional grade moisture meter designed specifically for wood.

The guy also was told it was fine to use a heavy gauge stapler. First used a heavy gauge cleat nailer and was splitting the tongue. Course the 15 gauge stapler did the same thing. When the wood wants to move you get more breaking of the tongues. One needs to use an 18 gauge cleat nailer for many of these exotic brittle hardwoods. Thats what they are designed for. Luckily for this guy he stopped half way his 1,000 square foot job. Now he needs a professional inspector come over and examine his jobsite very carefully. He may end up throwing half his floor away. But perhaps it alos could be improper kiln drying of the wood itself. This is going to cost him dearly. Very sad.

I stumbled onto a building website the other day where this lady who also does cooking was giving advice about how to fix a buckling laminate floor. She advised using a hammer and a screw driver to get the base off. Then said to insert smaller spacers and remove the larger spacers along the wall and laminate floor under the baseboard. NOT!! If you know what I am talking about you should have laughed at that. There should be NO spacers left in the expansion gap after an installation!!

So here is my advice about getting advice. Make sure your talking to someone who knows what they are doing. Do your research. Researching is not that difficult on the internet these days. But check with a reputable company, not some DIY forum.

Of course you can call me for advice. This is one way I make money and I do not ask for much.. I have spent years on the floor and it seems like just as many years educating myself. Just a donation of what you feel I am worth. There is a PayPal donation link on the contact page of this site.

Thank you very much and have fun installing your floor.

Stephen (AKA Ernesto and Grooving)