Conference 7.286::home_work

    I have no specifics for hardwood floor replacement - for material
    estimates you can call Rivco in Nashua, New Hampshire.  Estimates
    will probably depend on the condition of your floor now.  You'll
    have to make certain that it is level and in good condition.  
    If your ceilings are low, remember that true hardwood floors will
    decrease your floor to ceiling measurement.  

    
    Rich,
    
    That sounds like a good price to me! How long ago was the job done?
    I had a white oak floor put in this summer for $5.50 /ft, and have
    heard estimates upwards of that lately.
    
    Stu
    

    I've been calling around for hardwood floor estimates 
    in the Boston area lately.
    The best price I've seen is $4.50/sq ft  for either a floating 
    floor or t&g over strapping (being installed over below grade slab).
    The others have ranged from $5.25 through $7.00.
    
    The $4.50 quote is dependent on price of materials when we can
    finally schedule the job and the complexity of the room border cuts.
    I'll advertise the company once I have a firm quote (and know
    that I'm not being snowed).
    
    Who did you go through Rich?
    
    bd

    Umm,  my $3/ft guess was from (bad) memory.  Just thought about
    the numbers some more and realize it must have been a least a little
    over $4.  I have to look for the bill (need it one day for tax
    purposes); I will report an updated figure here.
    
    I used a guy and his son from Tyngsborough.  If interested, I can
    post his name here (don't remember it off hand).
    
    __Rich
                                                     

    When calling for quotes, make sure you know what type of square
    foot they're talking about.  It makes a big difference in the final
    price.
    
    -al

With some help from my brother-in-law and his fiancee, only seven or eight
people managed to floor 1200 square feet in a new home in Winchester. 

Christine supplied the food; Tom supplied the hardware. 

Three-quarters inch, tongue and groove oak flooring was bought 
twice in Spring 1986:

	(note: reciprocal of 3/4 = 1.3333) -------------+
							|
	$ 1.22		$ 1.40	price per board foot	|
	x 1.33		x 1.33	conversion   <----------+
	------		------
	$ 1.62		$ 1.86	price per square foot

Power nailer was rented:

	$ 120 / month

Nails were purchased:

	$ 12 per (recommended) 200 square feet, with 12" spacing
	$ 18 per (actual) 200 square feet, with 8" spacing and some scrap
	or $ 10 per 100 square feet, with 8" spacing and some scrap

Paper was installed between the underlayment and the oak:

	$ 10 per large roll

I figure my own Maynard costs will be:

	floor area = 2 floors x 350 square feet = 700 sq ft

oak	700 x 2		= $ 1400
nails	7 x 10		=     70
nail machine		=    120
paper			=     10
			  ------
			  $ 1600 plus all the rest of the years of my life!

Challenges:  the first four and the last four courses parallel to any wall,
because you need enough room to "swing a cat" when using the nailing machine. 
So, here you get manual labor. 

Helpful hint:  use two 12" pieces of flooring (with T & G) to make scoochers,
to scooch the new course snugly up to the previous course, before you commit
with the nails.  The scoochers will be trash later, but you need to use their
T&G to avoid trashing the real flooring T&G. 

Helpful hint: make chalk lines to indicate joist locations; you probably want
to put nails in the joists and then other nails between joist spans. 

Sally

This note is for recommendations for the type of contractor listed in the note
title.  If you need to ask for recommendations, please delete your query after
you receive responses so that only recommendations remain in the note.  Queries
not deleted by the author may be deleted by the moderators. 

In any recommendation, please include as much information as you can.  Cost, 
quality, and timeliness are all important.  DON'T forget to mention the area.  
Other information like sub-specialties, and the name of the particular person 
you dealt with if it is a large company, are also useful.

*VERY IMPORTANT*

Any negative references must remain as factual as possible.  As a mental 
guideline, ask yourself if you would send your response in to be printed in a 
major newspaper.  Any responses which could be considered libelous will be 
deleted.



The opinions expressed in this note do not represent Digital Equipment 
Corporation or the moderators of this file.

            <<< JOET::DUA1:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
================================================================================
Note 154.2                     HW floors - Nashua                         2 of 3
VIKING::GALLAGHER                                    13 lines   2-JUL-1986 14:49
                           -< Fisette Floor Service >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    
    Fisette's Floor Service in Nashua is top notch!  They consist of
    Mr. (Aldo) Fisette and his son Dave.  Mr Fisette is about 72 years
    old and has been sanding and scraping floors for over 50 years.
    
    They are both delightful people, and there prices are *very*
    reasonable.  After I finished my master bedroom, (11.5 x 28') they
    came sanded and scraped the floors (plank oak and parquet).  They also
    sanded and scraped the pine board floor on the sun porch (11x 14').
    Finally they applied three coats of Zip Guard polyurethane (this
    stuff goes for $24 at the local hardware store).
    
    Total cost ---- $175.00!!!!

            <<< JOET::DUA1:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
================================================================================
Note 1790.1                    Floor sander needed                        1 of 2
PLANET::DEERING                                       5 lines  18-DEC-1987 14:09
                               -< try this one >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We also had trouble find someone to answer our calls.  But, we ended
    up getting Boston Flooring.  They came out and measured and gave
    us a firm estimate.  They did a superb job.  I believe that you
    can find them in the Dorchester area.
    

    I recommend B.C.M. Floor Sanding, out of Ashland.  Phone number
    is 881-5398.  They refinished a stairway, a long and wide hallway
    parquet floor, and a dining room with oak around a softwood center.
    Price was about $1400 and the work was superb.  I've had two other
    floors redone and I could easily tell that they were sanded.  This
    job has *no* sanding marks and the finish is beautiful.
    
    Ask for Myron Misiaszek (pronounced something like Mishashek). 
    He has an interesting policy where he gives priority to referrals
    over people who answer ads.  Feel free to mention my name.
    
    By the way, I live in Newton and he did the job over Labor Day weekend
    for our convenience.  
    
    Michael Cooperman (dtn 490-8527)

    Last year I had Smith Floor Service do my entire house. The job
    included kitchen, 4 other downstairs rooms, stairs, halls, and
    three bedrooms. They did a *super* job - inside closets, 3 coats
    of polyurethane, extra (unplanned) carpentry to hide a 4X4 hole
    in the floor, removed the old lino in the kitchen, an (unplanned)
    12X8 porch, and they cleaned up afterwards (including window sills).
    
    The price? Several hundred dollar less than their estimate!
    
    They can be found in the Lowell phone book, but I think they operate
    out of Ayer (or someplace like that) - so greater Maynard probably
    wouln't be a problem.

    I recommend Reino Kangas from Sutton, Mass. He did the hardwood
    floors on the socond floor of my house and they came out great.
    He does this on the side, so he can only work evenings and Saturdays.
    His schedule is usually full for a few months out, so call with
    plenty of advance. He is a very soft spoken man, but loves to talk.
    He can be reached evenings at (508)865-5694.

    I just had 3 hardwood floors and a stairway refinished by B.C.M.
    (Myron) and they are absolutely beautiful. This has been one of
    the most significant interior inprovements for the least amount
    of money so far. Myron is a very talented professional with an 
    extreemely pleasant personality. Truely great work for a very
    reasonable fee. 

    
    
    I'd also like to put in a recommendation for the firm of "The Floor
    Sanders." I don't offhand their phone number, but you can find it
    in the phone book or in the Boston Globe.
    
    We contracted them to refinish all the floors in our 50-year-old
    house in December, 1987. They arrived when they said they would
    (all on very short notice, no less) and did a very nice job. 
    
    Price: 
    
    $1.25 sq/ft for sanding and application of three coats of
    "Pacific-Plus" coating. 
                   
    	Paul Tyra
    

	I have used LARSON FLOOR COMPANY in Holden MA. Thay have done an 
	exceptional job and I highly reccomend them. Call them @ 829-3494.
	It would behoove you to at least get an estimate.. There prices are the
	best I found for the quality of the work performed!

	Roger

================================================================================
Note 3261.1                Recommend floor refinisher?                    1 of 3
TLE::THORSTENSEN                                      2 lines  23-MAY-1989 15:12
                                   -< Smith >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Smith  - advertizes in the Lowell phone book. Good job, reliable.
    I had them do my whole house.

================================================================================
Note 3261.3                Recommend floor refinisher?                    3 of 3
PMROAD::CALDERA                                      13 lines  23-MAY-1989 15:56
                           -< Fine floor refinisher >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I can highly recommend BURGESS & SON, I had him sand an oak and
    a pine floor in my house, I did the polyurethane but he would have
    done it had I wanted him to.  The sanding was done beautifully even
    in the corners.  I was very impressed, there was little to no dust
    in the house when he was done, an honest and good worker.
    875-5591 evenings 881-4410. You may call me for more if you would
    like. DTN 223-1311.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Paul
    
    

    
    
         Does anyone have a recent experience having a hardwood floor
    installed? The house is under construction and I'm getting a quote
    from the builder. I would appreciate it if anyone has some recent
    figures so I can tell if his estimate is reasonable.
    
      thanks in advance

                     <<< Note 2010.5 by GUTZ::COOPERMAN >>>
                      -< B.C.M. Floor Sanding - Ashland >-

>    I recommend B.C.M. Floor Sanding, out of Ashland.  Phone number
>    is 881-5398. ... Myron Misiaszek (pronounced something like Mishashek). 

I had Myron do an apartment for me and I was very pleased with the result.
In the past, I have done my own sanding and it was never as good as I wanted
it.  His was.  

He charged $.80 per square foot, for sanding only (I _like_ to stain and poly,
so I did that).  Smith, of Lowell (also recommended here), wanted $1.00/sq-ft.

It isn't cheap, but if you want a beautiful job, you want it done fast, and/or 
you have an aversion to back-breaking labor, Myron is the way to go.

	Just had Myron (B.C.M Floor Sanding, Ashland, MA 508.881-5398)
	do approx. 800 sq. feet of oak floor and 14 steps in the house
	I just bought.  He sanded and applied 3 coats of a water-based 
	poly, started when scheduled and finished almost exactly to the 
	minute he initially estimated.  Total cost was $1500 (approx. 
	$1.75/foot) and I was able to save a little bit of money by re-
	moving the doors & baseboard heater covers myself before he arrived.  
	I've refinished floors before so I can really appreciate how 
	difficult it is to do good work and I think his refinishing was 
	*excellent*...haven't found a flaw yet (and I've been looking) 
	and the floors are now a critical component of the ambiance of 
	our home...much more so than I had expected.  Myron's price is 
	not great but his workmanship is.  

	If you want to see his work before you call him, give me a call.

	Milton

    
    
      We had Thompson install and finnish a new hardwood floor. He was
    the best price we found (we talked to 4-5 contractors). He did and
    excellent job. I would recommend him to anyone. 

In Worcester, MA, Tri-County Hardwood Floors, Inc did a real nice job for
me in refinishing a HW floor.  They also had the lowest price of anyone around,
by a significant margin.  (508) 852-0015.

  Steve Johnson

    While you're in the Worcester directory look up Abbott & Son Floors.
    They did my 624sqft and it came out BEEEE U TEE FULL...
    
    RE .24...Abbott & Son had lower prices than Tri-Country..
    
    			
    								john
    

    
    Well, we decided to go with Mike's Flooring.  I would recommend him
    highly.  He was professional, courteous, considerate, showed up on
    time, completed the work on time, and did an excellent job.  He spent
    about an hour with us discussing exactly how he finishes the floors,
    why he uses the methods he uses, alternatives we had, and his working
    philosophy.  He made the comment when asked what he would like for a
    down payment "I don't want a down payment, I believe that if someone is
    not satisfied with the work they should not pay me.  If they are
    satisified, then I am sure they will pay me.".  
    
    He volunteered references in our town (before I had a chance to ask
    for them).  And, he was the least expensive of the contractors we spoke
    to.  He charged $1.40 a square foot for sanding (new floors), putting a
    coat of sealer, and then two coats of polyurethane.  Not only that,
    but we had given him a measurement of the rooms, which we felt was
    accurate, but he insisted on remeasuring because he said that most
    people ended up with a higher square footage than there actually was,
    and sure enough, we were alittle high (317 vs 330).
    
    As I said, we are very pleased with the work and service provided.
    
    Sherry
    

    	Based on many of the recommendations of earlier notes I am not
    going to attempt to sand and refinish my hard wood floors.  Note .1
    listed Ken Shea as a recommended person to do the work listed, BUT
    the recommendation in that note was 1986.  Does anybody have any 
    recommendations to a reputable person / firm to do the work in the
    Northboro area.
    	Thanks for all replys.
    
    Al
    

    re: 2013.18 hardwood installers
    
    We bought a home in Marlboro that had badly stained hardwod floors  
    (previous owners had incontinent animal(s)).  Anyway, when refinishing 
    the floors, it only highlighted the dark stains.
    
    We were referred to Michael Bliss by a local contractor.
    Michael installed (tore out and replaced) our living room and dining room 
    floors.  We were very satisfied with his follow-though and the floors
    themselves (we chose to have a satin finish).  
    
    Michael Bliss is M.J. Bliss, P.O. Box 608, Brookfield, MA  01506.
    Phone: (508) 832-6533.
    Since Mike is usually at the work sites, it's Ann who will help you
    when you call.
    
    (This work was done the latter part of 1988)  

    
    
      this is an update on a previous recommendation - the man is named
    Jim Santiago, and he does furniture refinishing and Hardwood Floors.
    He is excellent.  I had posted a recommendation here for him in 1987,
    then he moved and phone number changed, and I just came across the ad
    I had placed with a bad phone number.  I had bought a buffet and table
    that were ruined in a fire and he refinished them and did a fabulous
    job.  He is extremely timely, keeps his word and at the time I used him
    he was just getting started in his own business and was very cheap. He
    has now been in business a few years but is still very cheap - and I 
    have heard other people speak highly of him.  His correct phone number
    is 508-897-0183.
    

    I'm shopping around for hardwood floors for my new home and need some
    help. It seems like I have two choices: 

    1) 2 1/4 oak strips you can get almost anywhere. 

    2) Or New England Hardwood. 

    The flooring at NEH is really seductive and there prices seem really
    high. But they told me that since you have less scrap with their flooring
    your really paying less for the finished product.

    NEH also calculates by the board foot. How do I know that there estimates
    are correct? I've been told to watchout for calcutaions by rough board
    feet versus finished. A rough 4" board after finishing would come out to
    800 square feet to cover.

    Some answers for my questions might be found in reply 7. Can I use
    the 1.3333 conversion factor on NEH's board foot price?
    

    FWIW,
    I'm  just  putting  in  white  oak  floors  in  my  kitchen,  and  paid
    1.56/square foot for  the  wood.    I was told to figure on 30?% waste.
    That seems to bring  the  cost  up  to  2.00 /sq foot.  I called palmer
    parker and got a price  of  $5.00/ square foot.  Yes, the wood from P&P
    might be in longer strips, but  is  it  worth  more than 2x the amount?
    Not to me...
    
    gjd
    

    FYI if anyone lives in the North Shore area of Mass, and needs a good
    floor refinisher, call Wenham Wooden Floor Company. Best around...
    
    Ed
    

                  -< Country Floor Covering >-
                  -< David Finch, Weare, NH >-
    
    If your looking for someone to install pre-finished hardwood
    floors, give Country Floor Coverings a call, or visit their
    showroom on Rt 114 in Weare, NH.  David Finch installed a floor
    in our home and did an excellant job.
    
    Country Floor Covering
    Rt. 114
    Weare, NH
    (603) 529-7400
    
    The showroom is open daily M-S 10-6.
    
    
    

    We just had Tri-City Floors in Fitchburg, Mass. sand and refinish
    our living room floor.  Very nice job. They were also very good
    about coming when they said they were going to come and calling
    to let us know what was going on.  They are some real characters,
    but very efficient and pleasant to deal with.  Haven't gotten the
    bill yet, but estimate was $425 for sanding a 14x18 room and
    3 coats of poly.

One more reference for BMC.  I had called around 4 or 5 people, all of which
gave me a quote over the phone (not too much enthusiasm there).  Myron told me
ABOUT $1.50 to $1.75 per square foot (new construction) and that it would 
include 3 coats of water based poly.  However, he wanted to come out and really
see the job to be sure.

To make a long story short, he came over, spent a full hour with me and my wife
and even did up a couple of scraps I had to show us the different effects of
both clear poly and light stain.  He also pointed out that since this was a
heavy use area (a kitchen, dining room and living room), he recommended 4 coats
of poly plus an extra coat in the real heavy areas.  The price?  $1.50!

Finally as he was leaving, he noticed that I still had a couple of days work
left and he told me if I ran into trouble with the nailer I was using I could
borrow his pneumatic one!

One last note - when he came out to do the work we spent some time talking about
tools, etc. and the subject came up that his sanding machine cost around $7K!!!

-mark

We just had our hardwood floors refinished by R & R Floor Co of Belmont Mass.
Ronnie and Richie did a great job on our floors at a competitive price.  Perhaps
most importantly for a floor refinishing job, they were immaculate.  There was
absolutely no dust to be found.  We left them the key to the house and two days
later our tired h/w floors were beautiful.  We offer our fullest recommendation
for R & R Floors
    Richie (617) 484-1285
    Ronnie (617) 484-7310.

Dan and Laurie.

			B.C.M. FLOOR SANDING
	             Serving Boston & Meto West
			(508) 881-5398 

    Well folks, I wasn't going to enter yet another note regarding B.C.M.
    Floor Sanding but after walking into the house again last night and 
    being so please with the results I just have to!

    Myron Misiaszek has re-finished all of the oak floors in my 35+ year 
    old cape. He arranged for the installation of a new maple floor in my
    new kitchen, and the installation of oak floors in what was my old
    kitchen and is now an extension of my livingroom, these he also 
    finished.  The floors look great!

    I never dreamed the old floors would look so good.  They were scuffed
    up & pretty worn in places (the house was rented for 5yrs before we 
    bought it, and not maintained very well!)  We went with a water-based
    poly satin finish and we are very please!

    The work started the day scheduled and finished on scheduled, even 
    though the installer was at my house until 9:00 PM so that he could 
    finish on schedule!  I expected much more dust/mess to come home to 
    and was pleasantly surprised - just a quick dusting with a dust rag 
    was needed.  Myron also re-finished the den with a couch in the room
    on its side because it won't fit out the door without taking all the 
    molding off three door ways!  He was the only person that came to look
    at the job that said "If YOU want that room done too, I can work
    around that couch without any problem. You won't be able to tell 
    the couch was in the room during the re-finishing".  And he was right!
    No one else even suggested attempting to do the room!

    I live in Ashland MA, if you want to see the finished product I'd
    be happy to show you the floors!

	Kathy Roguska
	SHRMAX::ROGUSKA
    

re:   <<< Note 2013.17 by DECNET::NAMOGLU "Sheryl Namoglu : VMS Development " >>>
            -< Mikes Flooring,  Milford NH (formerly Merrimack NH) >-

    
I guess his price has gone down-- he charged us $1.35/sqft and we 
were extremely pleased with the work.  He sanded three floors, 
put down a coat of sealer and two of urethane.  He came back to 
check on the floors and give me tips on the care and feeding 
thereof.

One note: he works alone and I was on the hook to move the 
furniture.  He was willing to help me if I could stay at home 
until he got there (about 8:30am) but I had to be at work.  He 
doesn't like working at night or weekends since he wants to spend 
time with his family-- very laudable.  My wife was out of town 
during the work so I gave him the keys and had no problems at 
all.

I told him I would be glad to be a reference.

--andy

Re: .Myron

Yet another happy customer.

This guy is excellent. On the spot quote, returns phone calls, does
first class work. Very knowledgeable, finicky, and clean.  We had an oak floor
installed (over plywood) in a new bedroom, and a kitchen and hall sanded and 
refinished, and plan to use him to redo some other rooms soon.

We've used other flooring contractors before, but he is by far the best.
He glued and nailed the new floor in, and even removed all the baseboards
first, then reset them, allowing proper clearance for expansion, and filled
and touched up the nail holes too.

Steve

			B.C.M. FLOOR SANDING
	             Serving Boston & Metro West
			(508) 881-5398 
    
    I had very high expectations after reading all those great things.
    It is a pleasure to report that BCM  continues to deliver the work 
    with high quality, on time and at  very agreeable terms and schedule.
    

    Myron Misiaszek has re-finished all of the oak floors in our  30+ year 
    old home . He arranged for the installation of a new maple floor in my
    kitchen. He was very good with his advise about what we needed and was 
    willing to listen to us.
     
    We went with a water-based poly satin finish and we are very
    pleased! The work started a little late due to hurricane Bob, but
    finished on scheduled. I expected much more dust/mess to come home to 
    and was pleasantly surprised. We have been  able to use the place with 
    minimal amount of dusting.

    My wife and I wish to recommend BCM to fellow noters for any type of
    hardwood floorinng work.


    Nitin Joglekar
    

    
    
    I just had floors done by Myron also... and the floors themselves
    came out great!!!  One thing that I learned though... be very
    specific about what you want!  I paid Myron $100 extra to
    polyurethane the baseboard moldings (which were already stripped
    and sanded) in the livingroom and hall, ASSUMING (silly me) that they
    would get the same covering as the floor.  Myron only put on one
    coat, which peeled right off two weeks later when I put masking tape
    on it to paint the walls.  I could have done that myself, and now
    I WILL have to do it myself AGAIN.  He also promised to leave more
    polyurethane for me to do the window panes, which we had stripped
    also, but he never did.  
    
    Of course, the problem may have been that I paid for everything
    up-front...

    			BCM Floor Refinishing
    			Myron @ (508)-881-5398
    
    We just had our master bedroom and adjoining sunroom refinished.
    The results were SUPERB...........not only was the finish flawless
    but there was NO DUST.
    
    Myron takes alot of time & effort to seal off the work area with 
    plastic sheeting. The result is that you don't get a dust storm 
    swirling through the entire house.  Also, he then meticulously
    vacumes the entire work area......the result being a virtually
    dust free urethane finish.
    
    We have stained wood moulding throughout the house. Myron was careful
    to only use the power edger to within about 1" of the base mouldings.
    The rest he did by hand using a wood scaper. There was NO damage to
    the wood mouldings.  I've seen the gouges that the edgers can put into
    moulding and they are not pretty..
    
    His price is not the cheapest......but after learning the hard way
    with other contractor's......you get what you pay for.
    
    BTW, we had 4 coats of satin urethane put down. When Myron came out
    to give me the estimate and I asked him about the $.99 cent specials
    I frequently see in the Globe......he responded that these a frequently 
    only two coats.....1 coat sealer and 1 coat urethane. I would imagine
    the preparation and cleanup for these bargain specials leaves something
    to be desired as well.
    
    Jonathan

Moved from 2.227 by moderator.....Vic
================================================================================
Note 2.227                       hardwood floor                       227 of 227
AIMHI::KOUTROUBAS                                    20 lines   8-APR-1992 11:33
                           -< cherrystone flooring >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    
    		Hi 
    
    	I was just reading a little of your notes about hardwood floors . I
    just bought a 50+ yr old house with all hardwood floors up in Manchester,
    N.H. I found a really good floor company name Cherrystone Custom floors
    out of Goffstown N.H. did a excellent job . His prices are very good
    too. The owners name is Steve Diggens the phone# is 603-497-8824 and
    tell him that Paul Koutroubas sent you . 
    
    		I know some of you are far from Manchester but for those of
    you living in southern N.H. he is really good . He goes over everything
    with you price and labor and what he will do and how long it will take
    . 
    
    
    				Paul
    
    

    I would like to cast another vote for B.C.M Floor Sanding in Ashland,
    MA.  After getting several (unsatisfactory) quotes or information from
    various sanders, I called BCM after consulting this notes file.  They
    did an excellent job for $1.50 per square foot.  This included 4 coats
    of water-based poly.  Also did a super cleanup job and finished on
    time.  Very professional outfit.

    Hi
    
    I just installed an Oak hardwood floor yesterday. 
    
    I was looking to have it sanded and polyerethened (sp??) by 
    a Professional.
    
    Does anyone know of someone good and reasonable in Salem,NH?
    
    The room is 12x18  less about 9sq ft where we are fiberglassing.
    
    If you do know of anyone, please send me mail to EMDS::CHAMBERLAIN.
    
    THANX
    Lisa

    
    
    I'm looking for a good carpenter to put down a hardwood floor in my 
    diningroom.  I live in Lancaster.  If you or anyone you know does this, 
    let me know asap.
    
    Thanks,
    Pam
    dtn 297-7400
    

    
    I'd like to add [another] customer satisifaction note for B.C.M
    Floor Sanding (508-881-5398).  My wife and I had our living room 
    and corridor done by Myron and were very suprised with the results.
    As was mentioned in the earlier notes, Myron returns calls, takes 
    his time in making sure everything is done correctly, and thoroughly 
    vacums the room when completed.  As a result, we had very little work 
    to do (15 minutes) in cleaning the room once the floors were dry.  
    I've been looking for flaws and so far, haven't been able to find any.
    
    My only complaint is that Myron made the floors look so good, my
    wife and I don't want to walk on them!
    
    I paid $1.75/sq. ft. for sanding and 4 coats of satin poly.  Well worth
    it!
    

    Hi Pam,
    
    I used Tri City Flooring in Fitchburg,Mass. They refinished my three
    hardwood floors 12 years ago and just within the last year put down all
    new hardwood floors in the upstairs of my cape. But when they come they
    are
    there very early. They will start between 6-6:30 and work until
    2:30-3:00. They do excellent work and stand behind what they do. Any
    questions feel free to drop me a line.
    Ed

   I too just had Tri_city install Hardwood floors in my new home. Excellent
   work for a good price. They out bid three other local companies.  Oh, Ed
   is right...6:15am was the typical start time and when the finishing is
   applied it's 5hrs of drying time for the first coat and 8hrs for the 
   2nd + 3rd coats(smells ...BIG TIME!).

	Good luck,
		   Greg G

    Another vote for Tri City, as least as far as refinishing is concerned.
    I've no experience with them as far as installing goes, but they did
    a great job sanding and refinishing our living room.  One might call
    them a little strange (too many poly fumes???), but they were prompt,
    reliable, and did good work.  I'd certainly hire them again.

    I just had wood floors installed in a new house by Carriage House
    Builders of Milford, NH (672-2205).  We had oak put in the living
    and dining rooms, as well as oak stairs.
    
    The floors looks great, and the price was very competitive.

Moderator:  you will probably have to move this, but I have been thru the
keywords, note 1111 and can't find the notes!!!

There have been several recommendations for folks who refinish wood floors 
(evidently no keywords attached, I guess) and I can't find the notes. Can
someone point me to them.  Looking for someone that would work in the Brookline,
New Hampshire area.  Recall seeing one for Tri City Floors ?? but don't 
know the town.  

Thanks........

dana (who has too much to do and too little time -- so what elese is new?)

The much-heralded Myron of BCM Floor Refinishing (Ashland, MA?) will do jobs in
New Hampshire. I had him sand and water poly two rooms that I had new oak
installed in last month. He's coming back next month to do the kitchen. (I live
in Durham, BTW.) The work he did in my place didn't totally live up to my
expectations --partly due to the planks not being perfect -- but he's a very
careful and knowledgable guy who takes pride in doing a good job. 

BCM 508-881-5398.

Brian

    Tri-City Floors is in Fitchburg, or possibly Leominster, Mass.  
    

    I just had my kitchen floor refinished and I'm so pleased with it I
    have to tell you about these terrific guys.
    
    PETERSON HARDWOOD FLOORS
    (expert floor laying, refinishing & resurfacing)
    
    755-5964
    37 Cambridge Street, Worcester, Mass.
    
    Regards,
    
    Sandy

Without hesitation or reservation, I highly recommend:

	Dave Sharpton
	d/b/a Mr. Sandman
	8 Blueberry Lane
	Hudson, NH 03051
	(603) 881-9367

Dave will give you a free estimate, he will show up when he says he will, and
the work will take only as long as he says it will.

Tell him Nick Bonifanti and Carol Hokana sent you.

Dave does wonderful work!  We've hired him three times already.  Once to
refinish our living room, hallway, and steps; a second time to refinish the
floors in our three bedrooms; and the third time, earlier this month, to
install a new oak floor in our newly renovated kitchen.

Five years ago, he charged $1.50/sq.ft. for refinishing, plus $15./step.  This
included sanding, one coat of sealer, and two coats of polyurethane.

Two or three years ago, he had dropped his price to $1.25/sq.ft.

For installing our new floor (Stuart Select White Oak), he charged $5.50/sq.ft.
This included installation, sanding, one coat of sealer, and three coats of
polyurethane.  (Dave recommends three coats of polyurethane for kitchens).

Dave now uses the water-based polyurethane, which dries quicker, doesn't yellow,
and doesn't smell as bad as the oil-based polyurethane.

    Another recommendation for R & R Flooring, out of Belmont.  They
    installed and finished the floor in a new room.
    
    They were quite comfortable either doing the installation and the
    finishing themselves, or letting me install the floor and them finish
    it (even gave me some installation tips).
    
    Since my back still aches remembering the last floor I installed, I
    chose to let them do the work.
    
    Phone #: 484-7310 (Ron Genovese).
    Price: 10' by 20' room, finishing only (2 coats polyurethane), $290.
                            installation and finishing $1220 (of which $440
                            was wood costs).
    
    Their workmanship was excellent, and were easy to work with.
    
    *Joel
    

B.C.M. Floor Sanding   508-881-5398    

I had Myron in to refinish the oak floor in my living and dining rooms
over the holidays.  It's an old house I'm renovating and the wood 
appeared to be in terrible shape.  Myron and his helper meticulously 
sanded and scraped the floor and applied four coats of waterbased poly. 
Each coat took less than an hour to dry and there was no real smell.  
They also did a great job cleaning up...vaccuming the floors, ceiling 
and walls.  It was clear they take a lot of pride in their work and
reputation.

The floors came out great...I'm really happy with Myron's work.  The wood, 
which was almost black from dirt and stains, now looks like new.  Two of 
my neighbors have agreed and have already asked him to quote work in 
their homes.  I highly recommend him.


                                                -Jim-

    Myron spent this past weekend refinishing my livingroom and diningroom
    floors.  I purchased this foreclosure property in December, and these
    floors were in pretty rough shape.  Although they were only about seven
    years old, there were several places with water damage, including the
    entrance from a sliding glass door.  Total square footage was roughly
    475 sq. ft., of quarter-sawn, red oak flooring that had never been
    refinished.  Myron sanded the floor on Friday, and applied 2 coats of
    oil-based polyurethane on Saturday followed by three coats of
    water-based on Sunday.  He started around 9am Friday and was done by
    2:30pm Sunday.  By nightfall, no odor remained.  Total cost was $950
    for the five coats.
    
    The floors are beautiful - almost as if he had replaced them with new
    wood.  I couldn't be happier.
    
    When he arrived on Friday, he noticed my old, solid maple butcher block
    kitchen table, and told he he'd refinish that too.  No charge.  It
    looks brand new.
    
    While talking to him on Sunday afternoon, I learned that Myron doesn't
    advertise at all - not even in the yellow pages.  His phone number is
    unlisted, too, and yet he's busy all the time.  This work had to be
    scheduled a month in advance.  That alone seems to say something about 
    his work.
    
    tim
    

    I have a friend who asked me to get any recommendations, pros or cons, 
    for Mikes Floor Refinishing of Milford.  I saw one recommendation in
    this file.  Anyone else?  Please send any negative comments to Randy
    Dry @MKO or MKOTS4::DRY.
    
    Thanks,

Hi!

I'm looking for any comments about using Post Road Hardwood Floors to install 
and finish a hardwood floor.  I'm interested more in their work, than in their 
price.  Has anyone used them (or had some friend use them)?

Thanks for any information.

/maureen

    Well, Myron paid us a visit this weekend - living room, dining room and
    one bedroom were refinished.  While we had a couple of old pet stains
    that Myron could not totally repair - his work was impeccable -
    especially the cleanup afterwards - virtually no dust at all.  $1.75 sq
    ft. for 4 waterbased coats plus the sanding and cleanup.
    
    Very satisfied - easy to work with.
    
    BIll

I'm looking for a floor re-finisher who is
experienced in applying oil based finishes
without polyurethane, something like a polymerized
tung oil product.

Has anyone had their floors refinished and NOT
used polyurethane?


~robert

    Information finds no record of them.

Did you try the number in .51?

    Tri-City Floors (.24, .39) seems to be out of business.  At least
    we couldn't get hold of them this time around.
    

    Yes, got an answering machine that did not announce itself as BCM but 
    I left a message anyway.
    
    I then dialed 411 for Ashland and asked them to look it up.
    They found no reference in either Ashland or Framingham.
    
    Too bad.  They sounded like a good outfit.
    
    	-TB

It's quite likely that Myron's not listed under his company name.  Don't lose
hope.

    I'm quite sure that Myron does not have a business listing. I
    remember him telling me that since all of his work is through
    word of mouth referrals (especially HOMEWORK notes file), he uses
    his personal residential phone listing.
    
    JBS

    re: .48
    
    Another plug for Wayne Peterson.  We're having him sand and
    refinish 4 rooms and an upstairs and downstairs hallway.
    He's put on two coats of poly so far (the final one goes on
    today), and the floors look great.  He's been very neat and
    organized.  I'd have no hesitation about hiring him again.
    

    B.C.M. Floor Sanding   508-881-5398    

    I contacted Myron yesterday at the above number.  Left a msg on the
    machine.  He called from out of state (Oregon, I think).  He will be
    back around March 15th.  
    
    He quoted me $1.80/sq ft for 4 coats of water based polyuerthane.
    
    The price is on the high side and will cost me about $400 more
    than others I have spoken to.  He said he could do the whole job
    which is about 680 sq ft in 2 days.
    
    Based on the responses in here regarding his work, I am considering
    spending the extra $400.
    
    Is anyone out there still satisfied a year or 2 later with the quality
    of the work he did?
    
    Thanks, Mark

Dave did an excellent job for us. Our floor had deep cuts from old
carpet removal and uneven sanding/staining from someone who tried to
repair the cuts. It looked awful.

Dave showed up on time each day, worked quickly, and charged us
fairly. When he finished, the floor looked brand new. No evidence of
damage. You can't ask for more than that.

	Dave Sharpton
	d/b/a Mr. Sandman
	8 Blueberry Lane
	Hudson, NH 03051
	(603) 881-9367

See 2013.49 for more info.

Barry

    Tri-County is still in business in Worcester (found them in the 
    Natick/Framinham telephone directory) and they have an 800 number.
    I called them and they charge $1.50/sq. ft and do 3 coats of poly.
    However, they don't bleach (we have dark pet stains).  
    
    As for the much acclaimed BCM, Myron was a "no show" after we had made
    and appointment to have him come over to give us an estimate to
    refinish 5 rooms, hallways and stairs.  He also did not bother to
    return our follow up phone call to re-schedule.  (Your milage may 
    vary...)
    
    So we are getting other estimates from other local references listed in
    this notesfile.  Any other new references out there?
    
    Jean

    
    We're ready to put down an oak floor and would be interested in
    updates to recommended contractors who do the finish work.
    
    carol

I'd like to recommend Sherwood Floors in Waltham, 617 647-5326.  

We recently bought a house and had all the floors refinished by them.  Their
quality was outstanding and they left the house almost dust-free!  They sanded,
filled all the holes, and put on four coats of water-based finish for 
$ 1.25/sq ft.  If we had gone with three coats it would have been $1/sq ft.
He said they normally charge $1.25/sq ft for the three coats, but someone 
we know recommended them.  They completed the work in three days and came
when they said they would.

I'd like to also recommend the water-based finish.  It has a different look
to it than poly.  It is clear and the natural color of the wood comes out. 
Poly is slightly yellow.  We know people who have water-based on their
kitchen and poly in the rest of their house and they said they haven't 
noticed any difference in wear, but they like the look of the water-based
better.

	Does anyone out there know the new telephone number for
	BCM Floor Sanding (Myron)??  It seems the number listed
	in the previous notes (508-881-5398) has been disconnected.

	Thanks
	Bill

    I used water poly on hardwood (strip oak) Twice and will NEVER use
    it again. It does NOT wear as well as poly and will require a re-finish
    much sooner. My father in law warned me the second time (He is a floor
    care consultant) that the water poly was a bad choice. I needed to
    finish the floor during the cold months and did not want my family
    sniff'in poly fumes for a week or so. Next time we are going to suffer
    with the smell.
    
    
    							/Dave
    
    PS: I used the hardner also, with 4-5 coats
    
    
    

Looking for recommendations pro/con for contractors to put down a hardwood 
floor in Amherst, N.H. Anybody have recent experience with contractors in the 
Amherst/Milford/Nashua area?
    
Dave

We had Jeff Jones install two skylights in our family room in Amherst,
and he replaced the entire roof over the family room. 

He came to give the estimate EXACTLY when we agreed, he started the job
EXACTLY when we agreed, and he charged us EXACTLY what we agreed, despite
the fact that he had to find the skylights at a different supplier
because the first one made an inventory report mistake (said they had
them, really didn't).

He covered my wife's rhododendrons during the roof work. He removed every
bit of debris. His finish work is super; he took pains to match the well
and frame of the new skylights to the stain on the 18 year old stained
pine ceiling.

Jeff has a collection of photos of previously completed projects that he
can show you. Some of them are impressive, like: taking a room with an
inaccessible attic and turning it into a large airy room with a cathedral
ceiling; total makeover of kitchen and dining area... 

He works alone, quietly and very productively.

Can you tell I was very impressed? I had never met him before he did our
project. I would hire him again for any similar work.

His number is 672-7818.

Hope this helps,

Art

    My cousin just purchased a home that has wide horizontal wooden walls
    in many of the rooms. The boards are approx 6-8" wide, with a concave
    groove running along the bottom 1", and appear to have been stained and
    then treated with some type of oil (tung, perhaps). Although the house is 
    50+/- years old, the walls are in good shape, and rather than rip them out 
    or cover them over, they'd prefer to have them refinished to a somewhat 
    lighter shade. With the other work they need to do, they don't have a lot 
    of time to spend on these walls, and are willing to pay someone (if they 
    can find one) in order to get back on schedule.
    
    Can anyone recommend a contractor who would deal with something like
    this? (FWIW, she's having the hardwood floors refinished, and every one
    of the contractors who came to estimate the floors declined to bid on
    the walls, so perhaps they're not equipped to deal with such things,
    but I thought I'd ask anyways...) 
    
    BTW, the house is in Lynnfield, MA, approx 20 miles north of Boston.
    p.s. anyone have any new info re BCM Sanding (Myron), who is (was) so
    highly regarded in this file? After reading the references, I was
    planning tp pass along the info to my cousin, but the phone number
    comes up as "Disconnected...No further information".
    

We had Myron do the floors in the house we bought in July.   he did 
it in 3 days, on schedule, NO DUST left behind.   They look GREAT!  
Everyone comments on them.    He recommended oil-based because it's a
37yr old house and water-based would have been washed out, and it looks 
wonderful, very warm.   

His listing, as I remember, is under his last name which is very 
difficult to spell.   If you send me mail I'll remember to look 
it up on the card at home.   

My only comment would be to watch price.  He quoted /sq ft differently on 
the phone than when he got there and we confirmed.   I had my note sheet in 
front of me and he honored the lower price immediately, but that told me 
that there is a float in price, determined by I have no idea what.   

We also have a solid wood wall, tongue and groove, but it runs 
vertically.    We did not ask him to quote it, but I did ask if he 
thought I could strip it.   His advice was to paint it.   So I guess 
the people who do floors are not into T&G walls.   

FWIW, we'd never paint it.  We left it and have gotten used to the 
somewhat darker color than we though we wanted.    Now that we've 
moved in and the floors are done, there's no way stripping it is ever
gonna make the list.   

    Anyone familiar with Trott Flooring - think they are out of Sterling or
    Lancaster area.  

    >                 <<< Note 2013.75 by AKOCOA::SALLET >>>
    >                               -< Trott >-

>    Anyone familiar with Trott Flooring - think they are out of Sterling or
>    Lancaster area.  
    
    
    I was very happy with their work, but that was 8 years ago. They sanded
    and polyurethaned the maple floor in the kitchen, and 3 rooms of oak
    flooring. They used plenty of fans, plastic, and tape to keep the dust
    and fumes down. They were also careful to not mar any of the woodwork.
    After  8 years, the kitchen really needs a refinish, and as soon as my
    DEC stocks recover, I'd consider going with them again.
    
    -Peter

    We had Trott re-finish some floors in our house about a year ago. They
    did 4 upstairs bedrooms and the dining room downstairs. They gave us
    pricing for either 2 or 3 coats. I think we went with the 2 coats, and
    were real pleased with the quality of their work. As -1 mentioned, they
    did bring plenty of fans, and cleaned up after themselves.
    
    I would hire them again.
    
    Kevin 

    Looking for someone to install a hardwood floor in the
    Chelmsford/Lowell/Westford/Billerica area.

    Russ Macomber in Tewksbury installed mine when I lived in New England.
    His number is 508-851-0414.
    
    

	I have had good luck with Colonial Flooring in Lowell. They have done 
	installiation and refinishing. 

	Paul

RE: .69 & .74

I've also recently tried to call Myron/BCM floor sanding at the number listed 
in this notesfile and it has been disconnected (I had previously reached him 
at that number).  I also contacted the author of .74 who unfortunately had 
the same number, and tried looking him up in the phone book... no luck.

Apparently he's either out of business or left the area or ...?

Anyone had any luck contacting him lately?  I've got a new HW floor which
needs finishing.   :-(

Thanks,

...Ken

I am about to have a hardwood floor installed in a newly renovated sunroom
and would appreciate any recommendations for contractors.
I want someone to supply the materials, install them, and finish them.
It is a straight forward job with no complicated shapes, thresholds, changes 
of level or anything like that and is also reasonably small (14' x 16').
I am in Marlborough MA.

Any input welcome, including updates to previous (and now somewhat dated)
replies.

Thanks,
	Paul

    I would still encourage you to contact Trott (see .77). They refinished
    our floors in Marlborough 1 1/2 years ago, and they still look great.
    
    Usual disclaimers...
    
    Give me a call, I'm in ELF, if you want to see the work they did at our
    house. 
    
    Kevin Greene
    

RE .81:

   Well, I didn't have any luck finding Myron, and I tried pretty hard.  But
I did find someone else who did a GREAT job, and is also based in Ashland.

   I ended up using James Casey & Sons out of Ashland MA (508) 881-2483 --
Mike Casey handles the refinishing.  They did an EXCELLENT job.  After sanding, 
they put down 3 coat of polyurethane, meticulously brushed on by HAND with a 
brush.  Also, all coats were poly, they didn't use any sanding sealer.  They 
were relatively expensive though.

   I had a floor finished 2 yrs ago by someone else who is probably much more 
representative of most floor refinishers (at $1.30 sq ft).  He used a sanding 
sealer as a first coat, and applied all finish coats with a lambswool 'mop'.  
After a few months I started noticing swirl marks in the wood (the floor is 
cherry, and as it darkened it started to show lots of flaws which weren't there 
when the job was finished).  So, when it came time to put some more flooring 
down (DIY), I went looking for someone else to do the sanding/finish, and Mike
Casey appeared the most knowledgeable over the phone.  He's the only one who 
explained why the flaws showed up only later - darker floors show flaws much 
easier, so as the cherry darkened, the problems showed up - but the finisher 
was long gone.

   Mike Casey said the sanding sealer leaves a soft area between the wood and 
the finish which makes it easier to scratch, so he didn't use it - sounded 
reasonable.  I think finishers use sanding sealer primarily because it dries 
in 20 minutes, and allows them to get 2 coats on in the same day (sealer & 
1 coat poly), which saves them a trip.  I did notice that my old floor 
scratched relatively easy, and the new floor appears much harder.

  Also, when the first guy spread the finish, he dumped out a bunch on the floor
and mopped it around - must have taken 5 minutes to do the room.  Mike & crew
used brushes and lights, got down on the floor and brushed by hand - which took
much longer but gave a better result (more uniform, no missed spots, no globs
of finish - it shows).  Also, the lambswool mops tend to shed and leave little 
clumps in the floor.

  Bottom line is I would highly recommend Casey & Sons if quality is your main
concern, but they probably won't give a great price.  Their price per sq foot
decreases as the job size increases though.

...Ken

	RE: AJ Ruggiero at 264-9264

	Is this Ruggiero's most recent number ?  I just tried calling
	him but I'm getting a recording that the number's been disconnected.


Marco

    
    
    	Does anyone have any information on the FLOOR DOCTOR in Leominster?
    
    I'm planning a 700 FT 4" Oak installation in Sterling. 
    
    Any other recommendations for quality installers in the area ?
    
    
    
    
    Bill
    
    
    

    Looking for someone to put hardwood floors in my living room, dining
    room, den and hallway (currenlty has wall-to-wall carpeting).  Any
    recommondations for someone in the Framingham/Southboroug/Marlborough
    area?
    
    Thanks.
    
    - Lauri
    

    
    We are currently looking for someone to buy some wide pine flooring to
    redo our living/dining area and possibly the rest of our downstairs. 
    My husband, father and friends are going to do all the work, but I'd
    like to find someone who we can buy the wood from that has reasonable
    prices.
    
    Any ideas?  We live in Littleton, MA.  Please feel free to respond here
    or directly to me at NAC::WALTER.
    
    Thanks..
    
    cj

    re: .96
    
    Coldwell's in Berlin, Mass., has been advertising wide pine.
    
    There's also Parlee Lumber in Littleton, which will almost
    certainly have better prices, but the selection depends on
    what they've been sawing lately.  Their wide pine is in the
    big shed, under cover.  They can saw up to 18" wide, but the
    supply is sporadic.

    re: .96 
    
    How wide??  And what type of Pine flooring are you looking for?
    
    White pine (very soft), Northern Hard (Red) Pine (harder than white
    pine, but still somewhat soft) or Southern Yellow Pine (slightly
    harder than Red Pine, but not as hard as "real" hardwoods such
    as oak/maple etc...)  Also do you want tongue & groove flooring
    or square edges?
               
    Binghams Lumber (Rt 13 in Brookline N.H., ~20 miles from Liitleton)
    has white pine from 3" to 22" wide and Northern Hard (Red/Norway) 
    Pine from 4" to 12" their number is 603-673-4549.
    
    Riley Bros Lumber (Milford N.H.) also has Red and White Pine, their
    number is 603-673-2987.
    
    Binghams had better prices than Parley Lumber and Riley's had
    better prices than Bingham's on some of their Hard Pine.
    
    Roger
      

    Thanks for the quick replies. I'm not sure what type of pine we are
    going to go with.  My SIL did this and her whole entire downstairs
    about 900sq ft. was about $700.00 according to her.
    
    We also will not do tongue and groove, because I know that they said
    they need nails.
    
    FWIW,
    cj
    

    re: .99
    
    For Pine the best would be T&G SYP.  But, the best might not be what you
    are looking for...  I don't know if you have read any of the preceeding
    notes in this string, but I'm in the process of deciding what I want
    to use for wood flooring.  Right now I'm leaning towards the Northern
    Hard (red) Pine for the following reasons:
    
    	         -  Almost as hard as SYP.
                 -  Appearence, sort of a cross between White Pine
                    and SYP.
                 -  Cost, about the same as white pine (~$.80/bd ft
                    vs $1.25/bd ft for SYP).
    
    The drawbacks to this is, NHP or Red Pine is not T&G, so it must
    be surfaced nailed/screwed.  With T&G you can blind nail it so the
    nails do not show.   If you like the look of the exposed nails or
    plugs (used to cover screws) this might not be a big deal, and can
    add "character" to the floor depending on your taste.  My current
    plan is to use small head screws, leaving them exposed, to simulate 
    exposed nails.  Also, any gaps between floor boards will be 3/4"
    deep vs 1/4" deep with T&G.  This makes cleaning/removing dirt more
    difficult.  One more thing, red pine is relatively soft, so it will 
    dent and scratch much more easily than a "hardwood" floor will.
    
    If you go with pine, expect it to dent if you drop something on it
    or you put heavy furniture with little feet/legs on it without
    some sort of protection (i.e. carpeting or floor protectors).  High
    heels will aslo dent it.  One woman my wife knows gave each of her
    kids a hammer and let them dent the newly installed floor prior to
    putting the finish on it.  This gave the floor "character" or the
    old floor look, again it is personal taste. 
    
    It all depends on what you want and what you are willing to live
    with.  Pine can be charming/warm to one person and look like
    #&^% to someone else.  Hardwood is formal to me.
    
    One more thing, a builder friend recommended (not putting pine but
    if I did) to use the black felt roofing paper instead of the red/pink
    rosin paper which is normally used on floors.  This way if you have
    gaps in the floor they will be black in stead of red/pink.
    
    Roger
     
    Roger
    
    
    

    RE: .99
    
    I goofed in reply .100 when I said to check out previous notes in
    this string.  Instead, check out 33.704 on...  This might help
    you out.  Also go to the lumber yard and look at the different
    types of wood.   That's what I did and I found out that I liked
    the RED pine much more than the SYP.
    
    Roger
    

couldn't you get red pine done in T&G if you wanted hidden nails?

re: surface nailing

a friend has a house done in SYP that was surface nailed wiht antique nails.
looked great.  years later he wanted to get it sanded and couldn't find anyone
who would do it because of the nail.  their head were so big they couldn't be
countersunk (or at least no one wanted to try)

-mark