How to get a New Floor Without Having to Install a New Floor!

How on earth is it possible to get a completely different look to your floor without having to install a new floor?  Easy! Wichita Wood Floor Specialists can take a normal 2&1/4 inch wide oak floor and make it into a 6& 3/4 inch wide plank!!

With our specialized tools and our wonderful Wood Artisans, we hand scrape and use specialized techniques to bring your average oak floor to an entire new level!  Below is the picture of the original floor the customer began with.  It is a 2&1/4 inch wide Red Oak Select.  A beautiful floor, but very average here in Wichita, KS.  The owners of this home wanted their floors to make a statement and have a one of a kind, personalized floor.

The home owners decided that they would like their floors to look like a wider plank with a hand scrape look to it.  We came in with our specialized tools and hand scrapers to scrape out the look of the wider planks.  Below are pictures of an area we patched in because there was a fireplace that was removed.  You can see the difference in the new wood and the old because we hadn't sanded the floor yet at this point.  Just from this point in the job the floor has already taken on a completely different look!

Below is a picture of Jesse hand scraping the new beveled edges in between the "new" 6&3/4 inch plank.  After he finished with all of the new edges, we sanded the floors down and then added the cross cuts, to give the boards a new plank look.  

Once we sanded and hand scraped all of the floors, the next step was to stain the floor!  Below are two pictures of the floor just after the stain was applied.  After the stain dries over night we will be back in the morning to begin coating the floor.

The stain pictures were just taken this morning, so we have not yet coated the floor until tomorrow morning.  But even without the finished pictures, you can already see the difference in the look of the floors from day one to today!  The greatest thing about wood floors, is that the sky is the limit!  There are so many unique and fun things that can be done to wood floors.  We always tell our customers that their imagination is the limit!  If you can dream it up, we can most certainly attempt to make it come true!

We want the world to look at wood floors as the true pieces of art they are.  There is no one same floor when it comes down to it.  Each home has wood from a different tree and each board has it's own finger print with the grain patterns.  Give us a call today if you have an idea you would like to attempt with your wood floors.  We love challenges!  Wichita Wood Floor Specialists  316-747-4066.

Story of how Wichita Wood Floor Specialists Began

You have watched us start from the very beginning as a company.  We can't thank all of you enough for the support over the years.  We hope you enjoy this short video of how we started and how we got to where we are today.  Please feel free to share our story!

#WichitaWoodFloor  #DouglasDesignDistrict

What it Means to Hire a Certified Wood Floor Contractor

Contractors.... for some people just the word gives them the goosebumps!  When you have a big project (like wood floors) that need to be completed around the house or office, you have a few different choices.  You can either try to do it yourself, or you can hire someone.  Most of the time when it comes to projects such as wood floors, YouTube videos or other publications may make it seem pretty easy.  So there are a select few that will attempt to tackle the project on their own. 80% of the time after about a days worth of work they are on the phone trying to find a contractor to get the project completed.

Once the decision has been made to use a contractor, most people start stressing out trying to find the right one.  This is completely understandable.  Not only are you allowing someone you do not know into your home, you are allowing them basically to do surgery on your home and trusting them to meet your expectations of what you want completed.  How do you even begin to try to find someone that can meet this criteria while being a stranger that you need to trust?

The National Wood Flooring Association has you covered!  The NWFA is a non-profit that was founded simply to provide the best education and sources for anything that deal with Wood Floors.  For contractors that want to be serious about wood floors, the NWFA provides several different level classes.  Anything from wood floor basics to advanced level installing or finishing classes, even classes on how to sell the proper wood floor product to a customer.

Before the classes begin, the contractor must take it upon themselves to read up on the manuals and be mentally prepared for the classes.  Once arrived, the students do hands on work with the wood.  By the end of the week long class, the student must prove their knowledge by showing their craftsmanship as well as taking a written test.  If they pass both sections, they then become certified for whichever class they took.  The tests are not simple, and will really test the student on all different aspects of the course.  Not everyone that takes the courses, pass them.

Thankfully though, the NWFA does list these fine contractors on their website for the consumer to find a certified contractor to help them with their hard wood flooring needs.  You can simply go to: http://woodfloors.org/certified-professional-search.aspx and search for what you are needing in the area you live in.  Simply choose what you need (installer, sand & finisher, etc.), the mileage range and your zip code.  If for some reason you do not have a certified person in your area, you can call the office and they would be more than happy to assist you in your search of a qualified contractor.

(This picture is of a floor installed by our very own

Jesse Sample @ Wichita Wood Floor Specialists.

This floor is located in the NWFA's corporate office.)

So next time you hire a wood flooring contractor, be sure to ask them if they are certified through the National Wood Flooring Association.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at Wichita Wood Floor Specialists or call us at 316-747-4066.  We love to talk wood!

Customer Appreciation/Open House Party

Customer Appreciation/Open House Party

Wichita Wood Floor Specialists Short Clip

Check out our short Sponsor Clip for "This Old House".  We love out community and are proud to help support our local non profit station!

What Does It Mean To Have A NWFA Certified Installer For Your Wood Floor Needs?

Good morning!  It has been just over a year since the last blog, and my how things have changed in a year!  Lets get caught up with some updates about where Wichita Wood Floor Specialists is before we dive into the good stuff.

This time last year Jesse and I began the search for a location for our very first store front.  With a few struggles and disappointments, we finally found the perfect location!  As of February 2015 WWFS opened their doors to the public at 3203 E. Douglas in Wichita, KS.  We couldn't have asked for a better location (we are literally right next door to The Crown Uptown) or better neighbors!

As a small family owned business we have had many hiccups to get where we are today, but we have used all of those moments as learning experiences.  With each other's support we have learned to tweak our methods, make changes and move on to strive to be the best wood floor company Wichita has ever seen.  The end result is what you see today!

One of our main goal's is to have the best expertise in the field of wood floors.  We understand that WWFS has not been in business for 20+ years, but we also understand that things change and we want to be educated with all of the changes so we can better educate all of you with the variety of options there are for wood floors now.  We strive to not be stuck in a rut, only using the bare minimum standards to complete a floor, or to look at each customer as a "job".  One of our favorite parts of being in the wood floor business is meeting all of the amazing people in our community.  Jesse, our employees and myself all try to treat every single customer with a personal touch.  Each and every single person is different so we try to truly listen to what your needs and wants are, and achieve those for you so that ultimately you are completely satisfied with the end result.

Okay!  Enough about us, let's move on to the education part!  What is the NWFA you might be asking.  NWFA = National Wood Flooring Association.  They are this beautiful nation's master of wood floors.  This is where the top elite masters of wood floors come to learn, train and trade advice to each other.  There have been some pretty amazing wood floor pictures floating around on social media lately, the ones that I see are actual NWFA member's floors.  The latest picture I saw of what looks like the entire tree logs laid on the floor was the NWFA 2015 winner for Wood Floor of the Year.  So needless to say, NWFA takes their floors pretty serious.

To become a member of NWFA, it is rather simple.  You send in a check, sign some paperwork and there you have it, you are a member!  It's what you do with that membership that will determine the expertise you gain from it.  NWFA offers training courses that are available to become certified in a particular area of wood floors.  Anything from installation of wood floors, to the selling of wood floors.  For these certification courses you must study for hours ahead of time, have a good working knowledge and experience with wood floors, and prove not only your knowledge but your ability to implement that knowledge in a working environment.   NWFA takes the certification courses very seriously and if you cannot prove your craftsmanship as well as your knowledge on the last day of training for test time, you will not pass certification.

With all of that being said, it takes a lot of dedication, hard work, knowledge and love of wood floors to become certified with the NWFA.  A certified NWFA Installer will know the steps to take before the wood ever gets nailed to your subfloor.  A good installation starts with the product being properly acclimated and the subfloor being properly prepared.  A certified NWFA Installer knows what steps to take to make sure the pre-check list has been completed before the wood is installed.  There are LOTS of people/companies that advertise they can install a wood floor and for the most part might get pretty lucky with not running into any issues while trying to install it.  But... the issues may arise months or maybe even years down the road.

There are so many more things that go into installing a wood floor properly than nailing boards together to a sub floor.  Is the temperature and humidity right in the house for a wood floor?  Has there been enough spacing left around the edges of the room for the wood to expand and contrast with the different weather climates?  Was the proper underlayment used and laid correctly for that particular floor?  The list goes on and on.  A certified NWFA Installer is educated on all the correct steps to assure the life of your wood floors.

WWFS understands installing a wood floor is a major time and monetary commitment.  This is why we are certified through the NWFA for installation.  We are the only company within a 175 mile radius that is certified for installation.  To find a NWFA certified installer in your area simply click on this link: http://woodfloors.org/certified-professional-search.aspx and enter in your city information.  So next time you are looking for a wood floor company be sure to ask them if they are certified through the NWFA.

Thanks for reading!  As always comments and questions are welcome.