Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 We had some pre-existing wood floors filled in and added onto with some new flooring (hickory wood was used) and they finished the sanding/finishing of the floors on Friday. Here's my question: I bought a Swiffer to clean the floors. My future mother-in-law said that I should check and see if I can use this yet (it says on the box that it can be used on wood floors), or how long I need to wait before using this (might damage the floor). Does anyone know about wood flooring and how long one needs to wait before using something like this? My dad gave me a bottle of Murphy's Oil (Soap, can't remember the correct name for sure - that's what happens when you only get a few hours of sleep), should I use this instead for the time being? (The floors were muddied up yesterday while moving furniture back into the house.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Fan.. you can use the Swifter. It will not harm the floors at all. You can use it from day one. Murphy's is great also if you have the time to do it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Fan.. you can use the Swifter. It will not harm the floors at all. You can use it from day one. Murphy's is great also if you have the time to do it that way. I thought so, my dad knew we just finished have the floors done and he never said anything about not being able to use certain products on it for awhile - and he is a janitor...er...maintenance engineer ! I tried to get a hold of Brian's sister (she has wood flooring in parts of her house), to see if the floor guys said anything about a waiting period, but she wasn't home last night. I know what I am doing when I get home after taking my mom grocery shopping! And I don't have to worry about Brian trapsing everywhere - the Packers and have to get up at 4:30AM will keep him busy upstairs! (I just hope I can stay awake long enough to complete this task! Thanks Steff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 You're welcome. We went with tile (albit 18 inchers!!) due to the clean up factor and the need to "re-do" the floors every few years. With the dog and the excessive traffic (we have a lot or parties in the summers) the tile just seemed more logical. Is it real wood or Pergo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Ya, my mom's got wood floors in her house and I remember helping her clean them right after we installed them. Shouldn't be a problem at all. I only know that your not supposed to wax a new car right after you get it, because the paint sometimes takes a while to fully dry or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 You're welcome. We went with tile (albit 18 inchers!!) due to the clean up factor and the need to "re-do" the floors every few years. With the dog and the excessive traffic (we have a lot or parties in the summers) the tile just seemed more logical. Is it real wood or Pergo? It's real wood (hickory, specifically) for the living room, dining room and the two hallways (oh yeah, also the 3 closests that are on the first floor). The kitchen has gray ceramic tile, which should be quick and easy (as soon as we put the sliding doors are put back on the tracks for the closets). We have two hamsters so there is no pet traffic and as for people traffic, we shall see if our friends start showing up again (of course they have been missing during the reconstruction - if they showed up, we might call in a few favors and ask for help). We went with carpet for the second floor (and the stairway leading to upstairs, or downstairs, depending how you look at it), except the bathroom and the furnace/laundry room - both those have tile; blue-gray for the bathroom and peachy sort of color for the laundry room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 It's real wood (hickory, specifically) for the living room, dining room and the two hallways (oh yeah, also the 3 closests that are on the first floor). The kitchen has gray ceramic tile, which should be quick and easy (as soon as we put the sliding doors are put back on the tracks for the closets). We have two hamsters so there is no pet traffic and as for people traffic, we shall see if our friends start showing up again (of course they have been missing during the reconstruction - if they showed up, we might call in a few favors and ask for help). We went with carpet for the second floor (and the stairway leading to upstairs, or downstairs, depending how you look at it), except the bathroom and the furnace/laundry room - both those have tile; blue-gray for the bathroom and peachy sort of color for the laundry room. Good on the real wood. Pergo is s***! For the $$ it wears terrible. We tiled the foyer, laundry room, powder room and kitchen downstairs. Berber in the family room and carpet in the dining and living (do not touch) room. Carpet up the stairs and in the bedrooms, but tile in the master bath and shower room of the spare bath. Carpet in the master closet as well. I think the only one left here that's seen the inside of my house is Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 That's what Brian's dad said (re: Pergo). I can't wait until the kitchen is completely finished (it will be somewhere between 2 weeks and a month before that happens). It's a real b**** trying to move back into your house around Christmas...Brian is going to finish his Christmas shopping tomorrow night (for his dad and myself), while I was able to finish my Saturday (he had to work so he couldn't finish his shopping then). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong & Owens Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hold up there Fanof14. You said that your floors were sanded/finished, does that mean they coated them with polyurethane? If so, then Swiffer til ya can't Swiffer no more, they will be fine. If there's not a poly coat on it, then you don't want to touch the floor with anything wet until you do. Also, don't use Murphy's more than once every few months--the oil leaves a residue that builds up over time, leaving your floors dull and sometimes oily. Use a little dish soap diluted in water, or a tiny bit of vinegar in water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 That's what Brian's dad said (re: Pergo). I can't wait until the kitchen is completely finished (it will be somewhere between 2 weeks and a month before that happens). It's a real b**** trying to move back into your house around Christmas...Brian is going to finish his Christmas shopping tomorrow night (for his dad and myself), while I was able to finish my Saturday (he had to work so he couldn't finish his shopping then). Moving sucks anytime!! We moved in March... of course it snowed like a mo-fo the night we actually closed and the movers were delivering all our new furniture the next day. OMG.. I was rolling out that static plastic on the carpet like a mad woman. Paid off.. no dirt stains, but it was a pain in the arse! We finished the Christmas shopping way early this year. I was done last Wednesday and Jim finished on Friday. We're having Christmas Eve so I had to have everything done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Don't get started about moving..I swear I've moved more times then anyone not in the military. Moving for us is like spring cleaning, lol. Its the time of the year where we finally clean all our crap out. Of course when we move we move like 2 blocks away and then my dad and I (Mainly me...he uses the excuse I'm young so I Should do it all) move everything and by the end of the two or three days it takes, I'm absolutely dead tired. Thats why I told him this time, we ain't moving until I'm done with school and moved on my own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hold up there Fanof14. You said that your floors were sanded/finished, does that mean they coated them with polyurethane? If so, then Swiffer til ya can't Swiffer no more, they will be fine. If there's not a poly coat on it, then you don't want to touch the floor with anything wet until you do. Also, don't use Murphy's more than once every few months--the oil leaves a residue that builds up over time, leaving your floors dull and sometimes oily. Use a little dish soap diluted in water, or a tiny bit of vinegar in water. They were coated with something, I have to get the bill to look and see exactly what they did. (Brian and I were at work and his dad was there while they worked on the floors.) I know there is some sort of coating on it (there is a sheen to the floor in the clean areas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Oh yeah. His dad and the floor guys said the floors were completed, so I took that to mean that they sealed the floors. I'd better call Brian's dad to check and make sure the floors are sealed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong & Owens Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 They were coated with something, I have to get the bill to look and see exactly what they did. (Brian and I were at work and his dad was there while they worked on the floors.) I know there is some sort of coating on it (there is a sheen to the floor in the clean areas). It's probably poly, you'll be fine. Swiffer away! Why did you put in Hickory floors? I haven't ever come across hickory flooring before, usually I see oak, pine or maple. What benefits/advantages are there with hickory? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 It's probably poly, you'll be fine. Swiffer away! Why did you put in Hickory floors? I haven't ever come across hickory flooring before, usually I see oak, pine or maple. What benefits/advantages are there with hickory? Just curious. I think it's a color thing. Hickory looks nice. Honestly I don't think there's much of a advantage to pine or oak. They are all pretty similarly (sp?) strong woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 It's probably poly, you'll be fine. Swiffer away! Why did you put in Hickory floors? I haven't ever come across hickory flooring before, usually I see oak, pine or maple. What benefits/advantages are there with hickory? Just curious. More than half the floor is pre-existing and it is hickory. We had priced tearing it up and putting down an entirely new oak floor, but it was cheaper to patch and add on to the pre-existing floor. According to the flooring guy, hickory is supposed to be a hard wood and actually is a bit more expensive than a typical oak floor, something about that it isn't as easy to come by as it used to be - that explains why hickory cabinets were more expensive than the cherry wood cabinets we ended up purchasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 I think it's a color thing. Hickory looks nice. Honestly I don't think there's much of a advantage to pine or oak. They are all pretty similarly (sp?) strong woods. I am amazed and how good the floor looks, I wasn't sure once the old finish was sanded, how the floor would look. We went with what appears to be a natural type finish (it had been a dark finish originially) and it matches with the trim and furniture quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Floortalk.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Floortalk.... Is that anything like pillowtalk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 You tell me, sweets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 I didn't read the thread or anything, but...I am just going to chime in. I think wood floors make any room better. I like them better than normal tiles. Don't know why, just always have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 I didn't read the thread or anything, but...I am just going to chime in. I think wood floors make any room better. I like them better than normal tiles. Don't know why, just always have. It's personal preference for sure. We spent a LOT on our tiles - 18 inchers are a pain in the ass to install and the cost was nearly triple!. Wood is tough to keep up if you have pets and a lot of traffic. The refinishing is a lot of work and unless you are handy - very costly to have done. I had wood in my first apartment and Jim had it in his townhouse. IMO, the tile is so much easier to keep clean, and easier to replace if one cracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong & Owens Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 It's personal preference for sure. We spent a LOT on our tiles - 18 inchers are a pain in the ass to install and the cost was nearly triple!. Wood is tough to keep up if you have pets and a lot of traffic. The refinishing is a lot of work and unless you are handy - very costly to have done. I had wood in my first apartment and Jim had it in his townhouse. IMO, the tile is so much easier to keep clean, and easier to replace if one cracks. Did the actual tiles cost more, or did the installation? I've installed 18-inchers before, and they're not any harder to install than 12-inchers. Refinishing wood floors absolutely blows--it's one of only 2 home remodeling jobs that i will not touch(the other being drywall taping, i'm too messy), but I don't recall it being that pricey when I had ours done. It depends of course on room sizes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Did the actual tiles cost more, or did the installation? I've installed 18-inchers before, and they're not any harder to install than 12-inchers. Refinishing wood floors absolutely blows--it's one of only 2 home remodeling jobs that i will not touch(the other being drywall taping, i'm too messy), but I don't recall it being that pricey when I had ours done. It depends of course on room sizes.... Both. They are custom textured tiles. Super heavy and about an inch thick versus the standard half inch (I think that's standard...?) They needed a special tool to cut them) versus the water saw. It was a pain in the rear. But the durability is guaranteed (they don't guarantee "regular" tile from wear and breakage) The install took 3 days versus our neighbors who got the "normal" tiles and more of them, and their installers were done in a one full day and a couple hours the next day. The refinishing depends on the wood, stain, and extend of the damage. The more they have to shave, the more expensive cause they have to put more coatings on. For the first couple years all you have to do is put more poly on. But the more you put on the thicker it gets and you lose the luster of the wood. It all depends on when you do it I suppose. And, of course, what's "pricey" to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Wow, changing floors like toothpicks....lol What happened to the whole "letting the wood age as to look as if actual people lived in the house" thing? So it gets a couple shades darker over time and couple of scratches here and there, big freakin' deal. [/commonsense] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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