Pete’s Contracting FAQ

Bob is very popular, and is usually booked out a bit.

Q: Do you do free estimates?

Absolutely. Owner Bob (who is also chief installer, sander, finisher, cook and bottle washer) bids on weekday evenings. Call him directly at 651-248-5114 to set up an appointment.

Unfortunately, we limit our bidding area to St. Paul and Roseville.

Q: Are you licensed?

Under Minnesota statute 326.84 subdivision 1, hardwood contractors who do not provide more than two special skills are not required to be licensed. If you have further questions, the Minnesota Commerce Department enforcement line is 651-296-2488. Or use their website.

Q: How much does sanding cost?

While cost can vary based on the shape of the rooms to sand, amount of finish remaining, number of radiators or closets, our rates start at $4.50 per square foot for sanding, one coat of sealer and two coats of polyurethane. We work primarily with waterborne finishes, but are happy to discuss options such as oil-modified polyurethane, Waterlox (a tung-oil based penetrating finish) and Rubio Monocoat (a linseed oil-based penetrating finish).

Q: Does that price include stain?

Be careful with the word ‘stain’ – it’s the most abused word in the wood flooring industry. Most people use it to describe any coating that goes on the wood, but when we say ‘stain’ we mean anything deliberately applied to the floor to change its color, but that is translucent enough to allow the wood grain to still be visible. Stain alone is not a protective layer – it would scuff right off in a week!

Q: My floor doesn’t look so bad, do I really need to sand it down to the bare wood?

Maybe not. If the existing finish shows no evidence of having been waxed, has only surface scratches, has no obvious wear areas and is largely intact, it is possible to do what is called a screen and recoat.

This involves using a buffer with a 180-grit screen to lightly scratch the top layer of finish so that a new layer of finish will bond to it. The cost is much less – $1.50 per square foot, and the process takes less than a day.

Q: Will these black stains sand out?

This is always a hard question. It is almost impossible to tell by looking if a stain will sand out. Dark stains from urine are the worst, largely because urine is corrosive and chemically burns the wood. However, it is always best to try to sand out a stain before trying more drastic measures – occasionally they sand right out. Read What pets do to hardwood floors.

If the stains don’t lighten on sanding, patching is an option.

Q: Do you do patching?

Absolutely, though we limit laced-in or “finger-joined” patches to 16 boards.

Q: How long will refinishing take?

We can usually refinish 400-500 square feet (a typical living/dining room/entry) in 3-4 days. The sanding is usually finished in one day; subsequent days allow for the finish to dry.

Q: Do I have to move out while you do it?

Not necessarily. However, if the floor we’re sanding is the only access path to bedrooms or your bathroom, we would recommend finding another place to stay during the coating process.

And anyone who might be adversely affected by the finish fumes from oil-modified finishes (waterborne finishes are fine)—infants, pregnant women, asthmatics—should not stay in the home during the finishing process.

Q: Can you refinish in winter with the heat on and windows closed?

Absolutely. We work primarily with Bona brand waterborne finishes which have much lower levels of VOCs and toxic solvents and will not compromise your interior air quality, even during the closed-up winter season.

Cracking windows slightly overnight in the affected rooms helps to dissipate fumes without significant heat loss. We do recommend closing vents in the room being sanded to keep dust out of the air circulation system.

Q: Do you take off the quarter-round moulding?

We recommend that quarter-round moulding be removed for sanding—it prevents a visible ledge from forming at room edges. However, we do charge for quarter-round removal. Most customers prefer to remove and reinstall it themselves because it’s easy and saves them money.

Q: What else should I do to get ready for the refinishing process?

Remove all furniture and take pictures down from walls in the affected rooms. If your window treatments come down easily, remove those too.

Q: How dusty will my house get?

Though oil-modified polyurethanes have been the go-to finish for hardwood floors for decades, waterborne finishes have caught up to, and in some cases exceeded them in quality.

Q: What’s the difference between oil and water-borne finishes?

hough oil-modified polyurethanes have been the go-to finish for hardwood floors for decades, waterborne finishes have caught up to, and in some cases exceeded them in quality.

Q: What about penetrating finishes or wax?

Unlike polyurethane, which builds a layer of polymer over the surface of the wood, penetrating finishes sink into the grain. These penetrating finishes (usually some combination of tung or linseed oil) still protect the wood from water and other staining agents, but the physical wear is taken by the grain of the wood itself.

Q: Why does my bid say “one coat seal, 2 coats poly”—is sealer different from polyurethane?

When polyurethane is applied directly to bare wood, it can glue the boards together along their length, effectively eliminating the “crack” between the boards. While this sidebonding sounds like a good thing, it’s not.

Q: Do you install new wood floors?

Absolutely. We specialize in American hardwoods because we find that wood behaves better when it’s installed in homes in a similar climate to the one where the wood originally grew.

Come on down to the shop and take a look – we are partial to site-finished full 3/4″ thickness tongue and groove flooring, but we carry prefinished and engineered flooring options as well.

Q: Is my subfloor the right composition and thickness to hold strip flooring? What if it isn’t?

The ideal substrate for regular 3/4″ strip flooring is a minimum of 3/4″ of plywood or solid wood. Most homes built prior to 1965 will have an adequate subfloor. The next best option is 3/4″ of OSB (Oriented Strand Board).

If you have OSB that is thinner than 3/4″ or particle board of any thickness, then we have a small problem because both are “crumbly” and won’t hold a nail permanently. Inadequate subfloors can be torn out and replaced or, sometimes, we can put a new subfloor directly over the existing one.

Q: I have carpet and a pad laid directly on the subfloor – do you remove that?

We can charge you for tearout of carpet, pad and tack strip or you can do it yourself. It isn’t a difficult job, but it is a tedious one because you have to be sure to remove every carpet pad staple.

Q: Do you have to remove the baseboards to install new floor?

All our install jobs are bid with the assumption that all quarter-round, baseboard, radiators and appliances will be removed before we arrive.

If we’re doing a kitchen install as part of a kitchen renovation, it is often easiest if we install the floor after the old cabinets have been removed but before the new ones have gone in.

Q: Is one species of wood better than another? Is there a difference between different grades of wood??

Choosing hardwood flooring is much like choosing a car; different lifestyles demand different qualities. Most people assume that they need to pick the hardest wood possible, but day-to-day abrasion on a floor is taken by the finish on top of a wood floor, not by the wood itself. So, extremely hard woods will not dent as easily if you throw a can of peas at them, but their density doesn’t help the finish last any longer.

Q: How long does a new floor take?

Installing a straightforward 300sqft room, including sanding and finishing, will take 5-6 business days. Allow more time for tearout of carpet or subfloor, intricately shaped rooms and stairwells..

Q: Why do you have to sand new wood after you install it – isn’t it smooth already?

The faces of the boards of new flooring may be smooth when it comes from the mill, but we’re worried about the board edges whose heights don’t quite match—the ‘overwood’ that you can feel with your bare toes as you walk across the floor.

Sanding that new wood makes every board edge exactly the same height as its neighbor, so all you feel is continuous flatness under your feet. Don’t worry—sanding a new floor doesn’t take off more than 1/32″ so it won’t shorten the life of your floor.