As mentioned before, we live in an old house. One of the many interesting (ahem) design choices of the previous owners was to craft kitchen cabinets out of wood taken from the attic - thick hard pine at least 250 years old. The wood is gorgeous, the cabinets, not so much.
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posted by heigh-hothederryo
on May 8, 2013 -
8 answers
Can you recommend a floor refinisher in Los Angeles? It's for an elderly couple in a 1940s home very close to the intersection of Wilshire and Fairfax.
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posted by palliser
on Apr 13, 2013 -
2 answers
Can I buy or customize a mop that can use standard
Clorox Wipes or their generic equivalent? The standard wipes seem to clean my hardwood floors better than the made-for-mop wipes. Plus, I always have standard wipes around.
posted by n81acc
on Jan 27, 2013 -
3 answers
My very dark strand woven bamboo hardwood floors have a semi-glossy finish. Even after they've been freshly mopped, every speck of dust is visible and they'll look dirty the minute someone – wearing socks fresh out of the laundry, even – walks across the room. Is there any way I can change their finish to matte?
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posted by halogen
on Jan 15, 2013 -
6 answers
Renovating a condo for the first time in downtown Toronto: How do we find great contractors and designers? How do we get started? Snowflakes inside.
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posted by heatherann
on Jul 2, 2012 -
2 answers
Do you use a steam floor cleaner? I've read all the reviews, now I'd like your thoughts ... a few special circumstances inside:
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posted by anastasiav
on Jun 8, 2012 -
10 answers
Looking for advice on cleaning and protecting an old wood floor. The wood is heart pine, I don't know what the finish is, and there are gaps between the boards. Pictures inside.
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posted by jalexc
on Jan 22, 2012 -
9 answers
Looking into building a house near Golden/Boulder CO area. Planning on using ICF's. Looking for suggestions of almost any kind. Would like the house to be about 2000sqft. Am a teacher and worked construction for several summers (but only w/ stick built houses) a few years ago so I will have some time and rudimentary knowledge. Trying to keep the house as simple as possible to keep costs down. Simple rectangular shape and roof and trying to avoid the need to any custom building supplies. If we keep it under $300,000ish we won't need financing. Is it possible?
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posted by no bueno
on Aug 10, 2011 -
4 answers
We have a black and white tiled Marmoleum kitchen floor, and dining chairs with metal bobbles on the bases of the legs. The metal bobbles have made dark marks on the white Marmoleum. So has the kitchen bin. Normal floor cleaner won't get it off. Worried about what to use as Marmoleum is an organic material, so can't be too harsh with it. There is a "Marmoleum" brand cleaner - anyone used that?
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posted by LyzzyBee
on Jul 5, 2011 -
8 answers
DIY: is it easier to go a good DIY job painting walls (interior) or installing laminate floors?
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posted by lollusc
on Apr 22, 2011 -
32 answers
My wife and I are about to close on a house. Most of the rooms are carpeted and we're wondering what we should do; we'd like to rip out the carpets but are worried that the hardwood floors underneath (assuming that the floors
are hardwood) might be covered with lead-based paint. Also, we pretty much have less than one month to do the floors.
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posted by Deathalicious
on Mar 20, 2011 -
23 answers
If I asked you to take your shoes off when you came into our (North American) home, would you be put off? What kind of foot covering can I offer you to make it less annoying?
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posted by otherwordlyglow
on Jan 4, 2011 -
222 answers
Any tips for getting grout residue off of hardwood floors? Some previous owners of my house had carpeting in the living room, and tiles that they placed around the fireplace hearth (tiles were 1/4" thick and brick-like, in case anyone cares). I removed the carpet and the tiles to reveal the hardwood floors underneath, which is in fairly good shape in most areas. Except right around the fireplace where some white residue remains from where the tiles were. Is there anyway to reduce or remove this completely other than refinishing? Or should I just put an area rug over it until that time comes?
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posted by weathergal
on Dec 30, 2010 -
9 answers
how on earth do I clean these crazy floors? The paint isn't sealed - it's floor paint - and the floor isn't totally even.
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posted by amycup
on Dec 17, 2010 -
5 answers
What kind of wood flooring should we get for our new house? Complications: two small kids, largish dog, budget.
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posted by ish__
on Dec 16, 2010 -
13 answers
Builders and contractors: is there anything that can be done, after-the-fact, about
very uneven, sloped concrete floors?
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posted by rkent
on Dec 15, 2010 -
17 answers
My roommate and her dogs are finally moving out. Now how do I rehabilitate the floors in my house?
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posted by elsietheeel
on Aug 16, 2010 -
10 answers
What tools/methods make cleaning hardwood floors a breeze on a regular basis? It's taking too much time and effort right now!
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posted by wannaknow
on May 4, 2010 -
22 answers
How can I fix the surface of parquet flooring which I have damaged with the plastic casters on an office chair?
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posted by beerbajay
on Jan 25, 2010 -
7 answers
I want to buy area rugs that will have the minimum possible negative impact on my family's health (crawling baby, spouse with allergies). Low to moderate budget. Are Ikea wool rugs the way to go? If not, any other ideas for non-offgassing, somewhat non-allergenic, but still comfy floor coverings?
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posted by Bardolph
on Jan 11, 2010 -
16 answers
What flooring for my home office can withstand constant pressure from office chair casters? The chairs and users will be moving between different stations in a very small office area. This makes chair floor guards unusable. I would even consider natural stone if it would stand up to the chair movement. I have also considered machining large circular pads with carpeting or some other sliding material on the bottom to replace the chair casters. These would spread the weight of the loaded chair over a larger area.
posted by Raybun
on Sep 18, 2009 -
11 answers
How can I limit damage to my virtually-unfinished hardwood floors without the trouble/expense of refinishing?
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posted by aabbbiee
on Aug 25, 2009 -
14 answers
I want to have 2 bedroom hardwood floors refinished. My wife is about 14 weeks pregnant. Is it safe for her to be in the house with the polyurethane fumes from the floor finish?
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posted by bingwah
on Jul 14, 2009 -
20 answers
Has anyone installed quartz tiles on their bathroom/kitchen floors? Were you happy with the results?
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posted by brujita
on Feb 6, 2009 -
3 answers
Any 'real' success stories with getting water/mildew stains out of an oak hardwood floor?
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posted by zenpop
on Jun 30, 2007 -
2 answers
I'm having my hardwood floors refinished by professionals. It will take 3 days and in addition to the sanding they'll be applying 4 layers of polyurethane (no sealer) Does this sound good to you? Did I pick the right guys?
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posted by Lorna
on Jun 10, 2007 -
6 answers
I'm moving out of my San Francisco apartment, after renting it for almost 4 years. My wood floors have taken a beating. Any ideas what I can do to make them look their very best for my final inspection? Is there a definition of normal wear and tear?
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posted by juliplease
on Mar 8, 2007 -
15 answers
Jute rug damaged my floor! My wife and I are moving out of our apartment, and when we rolled up the jute rugs, there seems to be damage to floors underneath as though the actual rug wore into the floor.
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posted by mzurer
on Mar 8, 2007 -
8 answers
Is there a way to tell if my kitchen floor is real linoleum, or vinyl?
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posted by peep
on Feb 17, 2007 -
13 answers
