I'm finishing my wood floors soon and I have some questions. These floors have alot of music students tramping on them, animals, grandkids, snow, mud etc. You get the idea. I also move the furniture, including the grand piano, around alot for classes and recitals. My son-in-law, who is helping me, wants to use the same stuff he applies to gym floors. It has been my experience that gym floors are very tempermental. At least the ones I've cleaned are. They scratch easily. I was thinking more along the lines of Varathane. I've refinished alot of furniture that received hard wear and Varathane held up great. Has anyone had any experience with either of these two or perhaps a different type of finish?

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000

Answers

I will be closely watching who answers your question because we have once-beautiful hardwood floors in our bedrooms that need "something" done to them now. I have thought about just lightly sanding them and then putting polyethalene (spell?) on them.

You must be a piano teacher. I taught for years but no longer teach because my writing takes up so much time! I have TWO pianos in my office but not a GRAND! It is still a joy to me to have somebody come to me that their child or even they themselves took music from me years ago and tell me they're still playing! One of our new city councilman has a 15 year old son that took piano from me for two years when he was 7 and 8 and when I was interviewing him about being elected to the council he told me how I'd enstilled a love for music in his son who is now active in the band and plays several instruments! You never know how or when you will touch a child's life!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

I am taking a night course at a local high school (fencing) and knew right away that they had refinished the gym during the summer. The smell was still there.

I developed chemical problems so up came the new carpets, the particle board was sealed and hardwood floors were put down. The product I used to seal the floors was called Skanvahr. IT WAS GREAT! It is 100% Polyurethane non-yellowing waterborne polymer. They can be reached at 1(800)329-3405. We were able to stay in the house while it was being applied and the floors still look great after 4 years.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 08, 2000.

There is a product called "Diamond coat Varethane". Which I used in the kitchen floor and the dining area, I dont know what all is in it but the stuff is so hard that its darn difficult to start a nail in (as I found out when we put carpet in the living room and I had to nail through an area that had a spill).

I would also recommend you use a satin finish, it hides the really small scratches that sand and grit seems to put in gloss floor finishes.

-- Dave (AK) (daveh@ecosse.net), October 09, 2000.

Gym floor finish is ureathane. 30 years ago I built a cabin and used particle board for finished flooring, it was the cheapest at the time, I put on 6 coats of poly- gym floor finish, it held to mud and snow and trips in and out in the winter to bring in the firewood. I doubt that Varathane will be any different.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), October 09, 2000.

Some friends of ours (with a sheep farm) put a gym-floor finish down in the entryway of their new house, and it has held up well for about six or seven years now. They wanted us to do the same, when we put new wood flooring in our living room, but we used urethane from the hardware store. (To save money.) It only lasted less than a year before it looked pretty worn. Of course, we had five people tracking sand and dirt across it many times a day. But I wish we had used the gym-floor finish, as I'm sure it would have lasted longer.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 09, 2000.

I agree with the previous post to use a SATIN finish, not high gloss. I have friends who deeply regret the gloss finish on their floors because the finish started to show scratches, etc., almost immediately. My satin-finish wood floors look great, even after much wear and tear (can't see the scratches!).

-- Liz Rhein (merhein@shentel.net), October 11, 2000.