February 2, 2007

Ground Hog Day Tornado Story

Bill & Pat Price - on Lynchburg Loop

As told by Pat

We moved to The Villages on December 29th, 2006 from the Boston area. We were happy to get away from the long cold winters and after a year and one month. We had but one piece of artwork to purchase to complete our new retirement home.

Location Relative to the Funnel Path

The tornado approached our home on Lynchburg Loop from the southwest hitting us after destroying the Mallory Hill Country Club. We were right in the middle of the path and it hit the front of our house.

Before the Tornado

We had been out to dinner at the Copper Pot in Spanish Springs with our next door neighbors, Rod & Roe Pelkey (who also lost their house). Before we left the restaurant our waitress told us that there was a tornado warning for Marion County. We said, “Oh, we’re heading back to Sumter County so we’ll be fine!” (All the while laughing.) We returned to our house for dessert and never turned the TV on.

The Horror

Our dog, Angel, woke me up around 3 am. She was crying at our bedroom door to come inside. I got up and let her in and saw the “non-stop lightning” and thought that I really should go turn the computers off but I was too tired and went back to bed. (Good thing that I didn’t leave our bedroom as it was the only room not damaged.) Angel went under our bed and was crying non-stop which was unlike her. Then I heard what sounded like hail hitting the house and then the “train sound.” After living in Iowa in the ‘80’s, I knew exactly what that sound was and pushed Bill as hard as I could and yelled, “GET IN THE CLOSET!”

When I got to the closet I couldn’t believe that Bill wasn’t right behind me. He was barely awake and now looking out the window! At this point the house was shaking (like an earthquake… we lived in Seattle too!) and there were huge object hitting our house and I was on the floor of the closet holding onto the door jam, ducking at every sound and thinking we were going to be sucked out any moment. Bill finally came into the closet and that’s when the roof tore off the house. The noise was incredible and then it was over. SILENCE.
We were plunged into darkness. We knew it was bad from all that we could hear. Bill crossed our bedroom (me following tightly) and retrieved the flashlight from the nightstand. We opened the bedroom door and peered out.

The Immediate Aftermath
We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was a definite “OH MY GOD” moment. There was an eerie dust settling over the living room and it was raining inside. As Bill shined the flashlight around we saw walls and windows missing, we could see outside thru the roof, and the house was full of debris. We retreated to our closet and immediately got dressed being sure to put on sturdy shoes. Bill made his way out the back thru the lanai as the front was blocked by walls and debris. I followed him closely being careful not to step on anything dangerous. Then we heard the GAS LEAKING. Our next thoughts were, “Oh my God, now we’re going to be blown to smithereens!”

Our lanai looked like a strange horror movie with piles of furniture covered with insulation. Our neighbors started emerging from their homes in stunned silence. Then we heard Roe Pelkey calling our names. We made our way to the street stepping over all kinds of debris. Bill checked on neighbors up the street while Angel and I made our way to Mary Ann and Norman Limieux’s home which became our safe haven until the sun came up and the gas was shut off. (The gas company didn’t arrive until 6:30 am….over three hours after the tornado hit.) Our neighbors across the street, Paul and Judi Messenkeil, were both injured and Judy needed her cuts cleaned and bandaged which I took care of. Their dog, Molly, was missing and that added more anxiety for them until she finally was found by another neighbor on the upper side Lynchburg Loop.

I used a neighbor’s cell phone to call my sister in Massachusetts to have her pass the word to our children that we were OK. It was 6:30 in the morning when I called and her first reaction to hearing my voice was, “Oh, I thought there was something wrong.” (She was relieved that it wasn’t one of her children and wasn’t concerned when she heard my voice.) Then I told her that I had good news and bad news. Good news was that we were alive. Bad news, we lost our house.

Daybreak

As daylight broke we could see the full extent of the damage….roof gone, garage door pushed in and wrapped around our two cars and golf cart. The realization that we were now homeless and without transportation began to sink in. What do we do next? Where do we begin? We needed to rent a car and find a place to live.

In the midst of the destruction and terror about the future we had in balance many “aren’t we lucky moments” beginning with WE”RE ALIVE! Bill climbed into our kitchen thru the pass thru window and found his cell phone and our check book under the debris. The night before for some reason I can’t explain I put my purse inside the cabinet instead of leaving it on the counter. So Bill retrieved it along with my ID’s and cell phone. We also retrieved all our medications as our bathroom suffered minimal damage and our clothes were all inside the closet where we took refuge. Our study had minimal damage (on the back of the house) and we were able to retrieve our pass ports and boarding passes for an upcoming cruise later in February. So we walked away with all that was important for us.

Later that day an AP Reporter took photos of our destroyed house along with Angel and I and the totaled car that landed on our front lawn. The bumper to the car was in our roofless kitchen. This photo appeared on all major news agencies and national newspapers. Many friends and family sent me copies of their local newspapers. I hope that this is the one and only time that a photo of me and a disaster ever appears on CNN or anywhere else. (Side note: I took a photo of the reporter filing his story while seated in our driveway.)

Our neighbors down the street who suffered damages but whose houses were still livable turned out to help us retrieve our possessions. We were loading cars and moving things temporarily to garages around the neighborhood. One of our neighbors from Mullins Path was helping us move and invited us to stay with them for “as long as we needed.” Walter and Alice Byrnes, who we had just met weeks before became our “angels” and took us in along with our dog, Angel, and our cat, April. We will always remember how kind they were to us that day along with all of our neighbors on Lynchburg Loop.

Weeks Later

Once again we were so lucky because after our first night at Alice and Walter’s, friends of the owners of a rental backing up to Alice and Walter’s were checking the house for damage and asked them if they knew of someone who needed housing. Walter said, “Yes!” and before we knew it we had a place to live on Lynchburg Loop just four houses down the street from our damaged home.

Help arrived in many forms. Advance Construction covered what was left of our roof so that we could retrieve our bedroom and study furnishings. A group of young men from the Orlando Mormon church cleaned up debris inside our house. Some other young men removed our garage doors so we could see the condition of our autos…not a pretty site. Neighbors were ready to help with anything and we quickly realized that our top need was boxes to move what we could.

Neighbors came from everywhere to help us move things that could be saved. Another church group brought canned foods and toiletry items. The Red Cross truck was a welcome sight. (We ate a few meals off the truck and were happy for it.) The Village Twirlers (Pat’s a member) turned out to help clean everything from the kitchen that was covered with dirt and tar but worth salvaging. Our neighbors who suffered damage but still had electric and gas invited everyone in for nightly “Tornado Parties” and prepared dinner for 20 or so nightly. (We didn’t have to go grocery shopping for three weeks after the Tornado.)

We had one week to pull things together before a trip to Boston for medical appointments for Bill who has recurring sinus cancer. This was weighing heavy upon us before the Tornado and really put things in perspective for us after the Tornado. Losing our possessions and our house was something we could “fix”….cancer is not so easily fixed as we had learned after the previous three and half year battle.



Postscriptal Thoughts

We went to Boston the end of March and stayed for three months while Bill had proton beam radiation therapy for his cancer. We have our fingers crossed that this time the treatment has worked. The many prayers and loving support of our neighbors and friends got us through this challenging time and we’ll be forever grateful to all of them.

Our insurance carrier (Traveler’s) was very fair with us and we are happy that our home will be ready in September, seven months after that fateful day. (There’s no place like home!) We now have a weather alert radio and are very happy that there is now a radio repeater so that we can receive warnings in our area.

Our dog, Angel, is doing fine except when there is thunder and lightning. She is a little paranoid now. Our cat, April, went to live with my sister-in-law in Leesburg where she is still today.

Bill and I are happy to say that we love living in The Villages and we love our neighbors even more. Our neighbors have become “family” that we know we can count on and they can count on us. We wouldn’t live anywhere else!

Who writes specifications for floor finishing? .......

We all have had the call to sand and finish floors where the specification has been questionable. Specs can include the sanding procedure, staining and finishing products and application procedures. Often, we wonder, where did this spec come from? Who wrote this specification? Where did they get their expertise?

The answers are, mostly the specs come from architects and interior designers and usually, the information comes from US, the floor finisher.

Is this good or bad? The answer is YES.

I am sure that architects and designers do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions when compiling specifications for a specific job. Most do a great job but some shoot from the hip and hope for a good result. For more than forty years I, as many of you, have assisted specification writers in the proper approach to achieve a certain outcome.

Why do spec writers ask floor finishers about specifications?

Architects do not learn about sanding and finishing procedures in school. Designers usually learn about color not procedure. They both know what looks good to them but NOT what really works for floor finishing. They call an expert finisher when they are not sure. This is a good thing when we offer practical procedures. It is bad when we offer advice regarding procedures and products we have never used and don’t know about. Not everyone consulted is an expert.

What harm can a bad spec do? Bad specs cost everyone. Owners and contractors lose money, time and reputations in almost all cases.

Several years ago I provided the materials requested for a museum application. This major west coast museum was closed for more than five years for earthquake proofing. The architect’s “signature” was a white floor on every project he designed. I showed four white samples. Straight white stain, one part neutral, two parts neutral and three parts neutral were the choices. Red oak, sanded to 100 grit, no screening and the stain wiped until all excess was removed. Reluctantly, with my urging, the three to one mix was accepted.

When the time came for application, the architect had the contractor screen the wood, put on straight white stain and did NOT wipe the excess stain off at all. This was the color “he” wanted. What happened? Within two weeks “the call” came. The floor was peeling in sheets. I was going to be sued.

I went to the jobsite. The original architect was no longer on the job. His replacement and I looked at the floor and then went to the office and “found” the board with the four stain samples. On the back of the 3:1 sample was both of our signatures and the date it was accepted.

The museum was once again closed, gallery by gallery and resanded and finished “as specified” by another contractor. The first contractor didn’t think he did anything wrong. He did what the architect wanted. The second contractor, who was much more knowledgeable, was too small to be bonded and was slightly higher priced so he did not get the job… the first time… but was hired to fix the job at my suggestion.

I am seeing more of these specs as we get more “experts” produced by our industry associations. A recent example… a dense, oily, imported wood, sanded, water popped, dyed, oil stained, acid cure sealer and three coats of OMU. A large job that is to be completed in nine days. What is wrong with the spec?

How do we fix and avoid these situations?

Refusing to bid the job until the owner or spec writer can be properly educated. If you can’t change the spec then suggest that they make samples, as the spec is written, as a “show and tell”.

We are all part of the “information age” and as such we should be offering high quality information regarding our work and our industry. Acquire valid, practical information and knowledge; be ready, willing and able to share that information with those who need it. Architects, designers, owners, builders, GC’s need this help as well as some of our peers.

Our unique “know how” is what the professionals of our industry possess and sharing that information will help limit losses on wood floor projects for everyone involved. We all win.

Share!!

Bill

Floor Sanding 101…..

For as long as I can remember, floor sanders have been asking “What is the proper grit sequence or sanding procedure for a particular type of wood flooring?” Many seem to feel that there is some secret knowledge known only to a select few or by being told, they will now know. As I have said before “The only secret is ‘There are no secrets’.”

Asking questions and reading the experience of others is a great source of information but should only be used as a guideline. We must all learn by doing. No matter how many times someone asks the same question, it will not be personal information until it is practiced and experienced. Whether the information comes free as here on ShopTalk or purchased in a book, it still must be done personally with attention paid to the end result to be personal experience.

Three examples of this come to mind; Grain popping, sanding schedules and sanding procedures. One of the nice features of our “new” format is the search function on ShopTalk. A few clicks and we can read a particular topic all night if we want. I understand it is easier just to ask. Most of the topics have been shared at some point but quite often it gets asked again hoping for a faster, easier answer. Much of what we do has no “hard and fast rules”. This is why we are professionals and have little patience for anyone who thinks they can ask and then just do it.

Grain popping.

Grain popping is a way of opening the grain of certain woods in certain applications to get differing results. What one is trying to accomplish will dictate how it is done. The two important points are the ones folks try to shortcut. Controlling the amount of water applied to the floor and the slow dry of that water. This is where the pros understand what and why.

Sanding sequence is not explained as 40-60-100.

The sanding sequence used on any particular job is whatever grit selection it will take to arrive at what YOU want for a final cut on your drum machine. Disk sanding, hard plating or screening is another sequence, if necessary, used for the particular wood or stain/finish process being used on that job.

Sanding procedure.

Sanding procedure is how you run your machines on a particular job dictated by the condition of the flooring. On most floors I personally try to always sand with the grain of the wood. I almost never sand at 90 degrees to the direction of the wood except on long narrow hallways. I will sand at 45 degrees or less to level a floor or on mosaic floors. Edging can be done in several different motions and directions depending upon the condition and type of floor and the type of edger being used.

In many cases, when we don’t know how to handle a particular situation or specification some folks will “throw the book” at it and do everything they can think of with the hope of getting the desired result. Experience is the best teacher and the way professionals learn.

What makes an expert?

Some think I am just being humorous when I say Test, Test, Test. I am quite serious. An expert, in my world, is someone who has the personal experience to know how to handle any flooring situation that comes along. Yes, we ask questions because no body knows everything and this is why our peers share on ShopTalk and other sites. Experts are not afraid to share techniques and procedures, this is how they teach those who want to learn. Those who want to learn apply the lessons and write down the results and refer to them when the situation arises again until it becomes regular practice.

So, the secret I have been sharing for years, I repeat….. Sample, Sample, Sample; Test, Test, Test; Practice, Practice, Practice.

Happy learning,

Bill

Your Feedback Is Important....

We sometimes miss the importance of the product comments we read on ShopTalk. They are feedback from our peers, from professionals. Manufacturers are reading our comments and they listen and the better of them react.

Sometimes manufactureres will take the position that they have NO problems with their products. Others look at the comments and decide if they are problems or conditions that affect certain uses. No manufacturer will make changes based on a few comments. But... if the same comment continues to come from different uses in different geographic and climactic areas it is in their best interest to make some improvements.

The toughest situation is the manufacturer that brings a successful product from another country or region and tries to intergrate it into the current useage. The product is compared to what is currently being used and sometimes the benefits are not seen or are overshadowed by, "My old product is different or better". No product will make everyone happy. This is why there is more than Vanilla ice cream and Ford cars.

Use what works for you and make your feelings known then go on doing the best work you can with the best products for YOU. We can and do influence the products we use.

Keep up the good work. The better manufacturers are reading and

listening.

Bill

(This is part of a recent posting)

Scratches in Waterborne Finishes.....

In the early days of waterborne finishes, only the 1980's, we would say "If you don't put the scratches in then you don't need to take them out". Come to think of it, I have said that about sanding also.

Because waterborne products are lighter in color than solvent products and considerably thinner than most solvent products they don't hide scratches as easily. With all this talk of 180, 220 grit paper and screens of 16 and 20 mesh, not to forget abrasive pads, the only thing not mentioned are 320 grit 20 mesh screens. But.. let's not go there.

Between coat abrasion has always been an issue but abrasive manufacturers, furniture finishers and folks who don't understand the coating process miss the point. Sharp scratches from any grade of abrasive show up in waterborne finish coats especially in direct light and under can lights. Also, the finer and smoother we make a finish, the more problems we can have with our final coats.

History lesson.

In 1986 and 87 BonaKemi and Basic Coatings were breaking new ground in the floor finishing industry. I mention these two companies because every finish manufacturer to come after them just copied whatever they said, labels and all and hoped no one asked why it worked that way. Waterborne coatings were new in North America and we were all learning "the hard way". Those of you involved back then as finsihers remember feeling like Guinea Pigs every week with every new attempt to make these products work the way we were comfortable. I was fortunate, I think, to be Product Manager and Marketing Manager at Basic during some of these early years. Since scratchs, you called them swirl marks, were quite evident we found it necessary to use procedure rather than just dull, worn screens as a fix. In those days waterborne technology was not as easy to adjust as it is today.

Two different approaches were used because of the two different product types available. Basic had two products AroKote and Hydroline, both high urethane content products (@ 26% solids). These went on at 700-900 ft/gallon. Bona had D-503 Pacific and Pacific Plus both high acrylic content products (@32% solids). These went on at 500 ft/gallon. Basic had Hydroline Sealer which would screen and Bona had HighBuild Sealer which would NOT screen.

How to hide scratches in Waterborne.

Basic recommended putting on sealer, let it dry overnight. Day two, screen and then apply TWO coats of Hydroline at 7-800 f/g back to back without screening, no screen marks. Bona recommended one coat of High Build Sealer followed in one hour by one coat of Pac Plus at 500 ft/gal. Next day, screen with worn screen and a final coat at 500 f/g, no screen marks. Each of the procedures would work only when using the appropriate product types. When finishers would try to substitute the opposite products or any other products, as we have a habit of doing, it would not work. We, of course, would never say we did it wrong. We would say that, this or that product didn't work.

We need to think about our procedures and do the necessary testing to find out what works for us, the way WE work. Just reading what someone here on ShopTalk does is not the answer. This is a lesson, not the final exam. We must try what we learn and perfect it before we go out and charge for this new found information. Knowledge is a tool just as much as a sander or the scraper in your tool box. Additional tools in your arsenal can only help you if you know why you bought it and what it can accomplish for you. Buying that new, special machine or getting a finer grade of sandpaper or abrasive pad is not the answer. If it were that easy there would be alot more people finishing floors than there are today. To be a successfull wood floor professional takes the skill of a cabinet maker and the abilities of a master painter. We are unique and talented.

Learn, practice, understand why it works, perfect the procedure, do it, get paid.

Its as simple as that.

Good luck,

Bill

Solvents and recoating....


Successful recoating of one type of sealer or finish over another takes some consideration of the products being used. All floor sealers and coatings contain solvents to some extend. Solvents are often referred to as VOC’s. Most of the solvents used are specific to what solvent will cut or reduce the resin or base of the product … Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or how much solvent is used in the product … Volatile Organic Content (VOC).

Hot solvents are generally those that have a high evaporation rate or evaporate quickly while milder solvents are those that evaporate slowly. Many different solvents can be used in the same product but the performance is usually linked to the predominant solvent used. The hottest solvent used in sealers is lacquer thinner which is in lacquer sealers and some wood filler products (nitrocellulose) while the mildest are mineral spirits and/or some of the glycols (mild alcohols) used in waterborne products. Solvents would range from lacquer thinner being the hottest, denatured alcohol, xylol, mineral spirits (paint thinner) down to glycols for waterborne being the mildest.

The first consideration in recoating is how long has the coating been down or cured? Next should be how thoroughly has the floor been cleaned? Then, what kind of a profile do we have, screening or abrading? What solvent is in the recoating product, will it be applied with ventilation to dry as quickly as possible and how heavy or thick will the coating be applied? If unsure, make a test sample in an inconspicuous spot.

Generally speaking, products containing lacquer thinner should never be applied over any finish except nitrocellulose or other lacquer products while waterborne and oil modified products will go over any coating. The ones that create questions are shellac products, acid cure and moisture cured products. Sealers such as Universal Sealer and Sealcoat, which are two pound cut, contain about 80% denatured alcohol and are dewaxed shellac while other shellac product at three and four pound cut will have a little less alcohol. Dewaxed shellac can be recoated without screening (hot coating) while regular shellac must be abraded for any other coating to stick because of the wax. As sealers these products should be applied very thin and with ventilation so that they dry an about ten minutes.

Acid cured products, which are conversion varnishes, are not urethanes. They come in two forms; two component products such as Glitsa Bacca, Glitsa Sealer, Synteko, Precision Swedish Finish, Lenmar and others that take an acid hardener; and single component products such as Glitsa Gold Seal, Lite Scent and Precision Swedish Crown. The two component products are often a blend of denatured alcohol and xylol which are more forgiving to use and less hot than the single component types. These are all usually applied at 350-450 square feet per gallon and with minimal ventilation. The single component products are all 80% denatured alcohol and dry faster and will attack other types of finishes, even when fully cured. This is because of the amount of material put down. These are best applied over themselves.

All of the products mentioned so far will eat into, to some extent, the coatings they are applied over since the solvents are hot. This is a “chemical bond” but is determined by how much is applied and how long the previous coating has been down. Surface preparation is still very important. This chemical contact is what causes strong solvents to “eat into” weaker coatings and wrinkle them.

Moisture cured urethane is often 50% xylol and should only be applied over itself since a heavy coat will usually eat into OMU or waterborne products.

OMU and waterborne coatings will adhere to any product which is cleaned and screened well. These scratches produce a “mechanical bond” to which these coatings will adhere. Both OMU and waterborne urethanes have a habit of not adhering well if the surface is not prepared properly and sufficiently.

The most important things to consider in recoating are, what solvent is in the product, how much solvent it contains and how long it will lay there before it is dry. Think through the process because that inexpensive recoat for the customer can become an expensive resand for the finisher if done incorrectly.

Good luck,

Bill

What is the most durable finish?......

This is the million dollar question and every manufacturer will claim to have the best product on the market. Some products are definitely more durable than others. I grew up in the Boston area and used MCU since 1960. This was before OMU came to market. MCU was definitely the toughest solvent borne product for many years. As with most other solvent products this all changed with the VOC laws. All products lost solvent which allowed them to flow, level and dry properly.

MCU was best in gloss and poor when semi and satin came along. When I worked at Glitsa in the mid 80's and became president in 1991 I became convinced that Swedish finishes, like Glitsa, Synteko and others, were the best in that region. These products have been the leader in certain areas of the country since the mid 50's when they came from Sweden. Neither MCU nor OMU were used in the Northwest at that time and acid cure was not used in the Northeast. Neither were used in the Southern states which was OMU or wax.

What made acid cure better than MCU was that they worked well over oil stains which MCU did not and satin and semi were as durable as gloss. They were much more decorator friendly but MCU was still harder.

Waterborne products came/come in acrylics, urethanes and blends of acrylic and urethane. The toughest of these are the all or mostly urethane products. Then came single component or self crosslinking; aziridine crosslinkers, for many years the toughest; and now isocyanate crosslinked which appear to be currently the toughest available. There is also carbodiimide crosslinking which is safer than the other two but not quite as tough.

Now this is where it gets tougher. The type of urethane resin and acrylic resin used in all these products differ. They are VERY similar but different. "No one has anything special." It is the blending and formulating of the resins and other additives that make these ingredients work differently, dry differently and look different. For example, Street Shoe works best at 600-800 feet per gallon while Bona wants Traffic put on at 340 feet per gallon, which I do not think can be done. They will look different on the floor. If you add enough of one it will look like the other and probably wear exactly the same length of time. I am quite familiar with Street Shoe since I was Product Manager at Basic when this product came to market around 1990.

The technology in aziridine products is older than that of the isocyanate products like Traffic, Idro 2K, Best, Neptune, Marathon, X-terra and many others. There is not much difference. These are like using Tylenol or Motrin, or Bufferin or Aleve for your headache. Which one works best "for you"?

One thing I personally am convinced of is that most waterbornes will outwear OMU in long term durability but the waterborne products lose their sheen faster and look like a dull plexiglas window after a while. But…. they do NOT wear through easily. They are tough but may need to be recoated more often. This does frustrate some customers. Maintenance is very important. Improved sheen levels will be the next waterborne technology to come along...it will be micro scratch resistance.

Sorry for the vague explanation on durability but most finishes work. It is a matter of what works best for you and what have you and your friends found stands up the best long term.

Most of this information about solvent products will depend upon where you are in the U.S.. Last January much of the northeast had VOC go down to 350 which is tough to flow, level and dry. California will change again in July 06 and go down to 275 VOC which may not work at all so, all that will work will be waterborne. Stains will be changing also and the VOC’s will go down.

How you sell your work and the maintenance information you provide for your customers will determine how successful your jobs will be regardless of what finish you use. “Unrealistic expectations” are what do in most contractors and consumers. Give the customer a cleaning kit, floor protectors and instructions. Explain how to use them and suggest when to recoat. Armed with information the customer will know what to expect. Our industry and your reputation will be better for it.

Bill