[Greenbuilding] Need a Floor Refinishing Product Recommendation

John Salmen terrain at shaw.ca
Fri May 15 01:48:18 CDT 2015


I am coming into this late but the basic answer is that floors don't make
sense. Finishes are sacrificial and basically designed to protect the what
is underneath and to provide some aesthetic sheen or gloss. What north
Americans want is that sheen and gloss to last as long as possible without
having to maintain it. Wood can survive without the protection but it won't
look good.

 

Time was in the US that floors were unfinished wood and swept with sand. Now
they are prefinished click together things that last about as long as the
houses they are put in but ironically the ceramic based factory  finish on
the click floors is generally  better and probably cleaner than anything you
could put on a raw laid floor.

 

Polyurethane products (bona kemi) are great for finishers to apply, designed
to be acceptable to consumers and therefore affordable, water borne, etc.
but the surfactants used have been implicated in health issues such as birth
defects in the workplace and they are simply new chemicals that we don't
know the end story of. Typically as a finish on a floor they are considered
inert chemically after 7 days but new research indicates that might not be
true and that the formulations continue to outgass.

 

Oil products are generally misnamed and misused. Tung oil finishes are often
linseed oil with a little bit of tung oil. Heavy metals used in the dryers
and benzene in the solvent. The durability of the floor is limited to the
characteristics of the oils and dryers used.

 

As far as oils go tung oil is the only  oil that I know of that is
comparable to a poly finish for durability and probably exceeds it in many
ways. I recommend raw tung oil with natural turpentine as a finish and have
suppliers for that but no contractor would want to do that and most clients
would not want to pay for the time involved in doing it. I find turpentine
to be preferable to citurs solvents as they are basically both terpenes but
citrus is a more toxic as a contact allergen.

 

The water borne balsam oil german type finishes end up being the expensive
but acceptable alternatives as they come complete with instructions for the
contractor and look good with the caveat of maintenance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org]
On Behalf Of Allison Friedman
Sent: May-14-15 8:10 PM
To: greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Need a Floor Refinishing Product Recommendation

 

 

Thanks very much, Benjamin, Reuben, Gennaro, Frank - 

 

So for products, it looks like we have some ideas.  I really appreciate it.

 

I am an organizer and I get a little lost, so perhaps this can be helpful as
an imperfect summary of thoughts received (this doesn't have Gennaro's
awesome humor or Frank's full advice):  

 

-Osmo Hardwax Oil http://www.osmona.com/interior/Original_polyx.shtml (check
VOCs?)

 

-Bona product line

 

-Eco-house (New Brunswick) linseed oil/tung oil/carnauba wax blend
(http://www.eco-house.com/product-category/natural-wood-finishes/wax-finishe
s/)

 

-http://www.realmilkpaint.com/products/oils/ (tung oil) 

 

-Polymerized Tung Oil, thinned with citrus oil solvent

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20051
<http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20051&cat=1,190,42942>
&cat=1,190,42942 This
has directions for controlling the gloss of the finish.
This is the Tung oil, to mix with the above tung oil sealer
http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20050
<http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20050&cat=1,190,42942>
&cat=1,190,42942

 

 

Two friends also recommended Vermont Natural Coatings to me (one is a green
building retailer, so they should know w some confidence?).  I want to pass
that company on to the group in case someone wants to check it out.    

 

I am also passing all of these ideas on to my subcontractor.  I don't know
if he would consider the ones that require more effort (honestly, it seems
not), but it never hurts to share information and to show someone some new
ideas.  We could maybe convert him to being a greener guy, or at least to
learning a bit about IAQ issues.  

 

Frank:  I totally agree with what you said:  "I want to use products that I
believe in; yet long-lasting durability."  This group is awesome because you
all make it sound so easy.  When I leave the green-interested world, things
don't look as green out there.    

 

 

 

Thanks again.

Allison

 



Allison Friedman
Rate It Green
www.rateitgreen.com
@rateitgreen

@MAGreenbuilding

 

 

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