Jean wrote:

Need your expert advice please if you can.  I have installed acres of 18mm solid wood flooring in all my rooms. this winter with the heating on it seems to be shrinking. Seems to be taking wooden studding with it, i.e., door frames fixed on top of it have moved too. Will this settle down do you think?  Many thanks in advance.

My answer:

This shrinking is due to the wood losing moisture content. The indoor relative humidity is usually quite low in the wintertime. As the air dries out, it draws moisture from the wood floors and the rest of the wood in the house, studs and doors included. When the weather warms, the relative humidity will go back up and the wood’s moisture content will increase. The wood floors, studs, joists, and doors will swell up again. If the wood was excessively moist when installed, it will never return to the original size. If the wood had the proper moisture content when it was installed, it will return to its original size. It’s impossible for me to say without knowing the condition at the time of installation.

Seasonal shrinkage of wood in a home is a normal occurrence. One way to reduce this shrinking is to add humidity to your home. A central humidifier installed on your heating system will work if you have forced air heat. Otherwise, a free-standing humidifier would help. If you install or start using a humidifier, it might take weeks for the wood to absorb enough moisture to make a visible difference in the shrinkage you see.

If your floors do not return to normal and excessive cracking is still a problem next summer, call your contractor and tell him you think he installed a wood floor with too high a moisture content. Hopefully he’ll stand behind his work.

Read more about many home design and building topics at my other site, www.about-home-design.com.

But another rule in laying wood flooring has to do with the aesthetics or look of the flooring. As a general rule, wood flooring looks best when running in the same direction as the longest dimension of the room. For instance, if the room is ten feet by sixteen feet, the wood flooring will look best when running in the sixteen foot direction. The narrower the room, the more important this is. So in a hallway that is only four feet wide, the wood flooring really needs to run the length of the hall and not crosswise, if at all possible. In rooms that are more square in shape, the direction of the wood flooring is not as critical.

Also consider the view you have of the floor when you enter the room. The wood flooring looks best if laid perpendicular to your view direction. This will disquise the cracks between the planks. If you are looking straight down the planks, the seams between the boards will be more obvious. And if the seams are not perfectly straight, you will more readily see that variation, too.

It’s not always practical to run the flooring in these optimal directions. But if you can do it, the benefits are real. If the floor joists below the wood flooring are running the wrong direction for the way you want the flooring to look in the room, ask your builder to install wood blocking beneath the floor from joist to joist to support a floor running parallel to the joists. This will cost a bit more, but it will be worth it in narrow spaces, like hallways.

Of course, selecting the right wood for your floor is very important. Consider the grain and color of the wood and how it will look with other wood items in the room, like kitchen cabinets and wood trim.

One other neat feature is to install flush thresholds between rooms. I show photos of this and describe it in detail in my book, Designing Your Perfect House.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

Trim is known as “casing” and “crown molding” in the business of construction and architecture. It includes the pieces of wood around windows and doors, baseboards, chair-rails, and crown molding. Modern style houses usually have a minimum of casing or trim. But more traditional style homes might have quite a lot of casing and crown molding. Sooner or later, you will have to select and/or approve these items.

When it comes time to choose the design of the casing, your architect and/or builder may show you a catalog of trim shapes. These are usually a cross section view, or profile, of the piece of wood. And unless you’ve ever installed this material, you probably have never looked at a baseboard or window casing from this viewpoint and the section drawing looks unlike anything you have seen before.

It’s much easier to choose from real physical samples. Your builder may roll his eyes when you ask for samples, but be firm and tell him it’s essential for you. He, or his millwork supplier, can bring samples to the jobsite. They may show you installed samples in his office or in a showroom, but I think it’s better to see mockup samples in your new house. that way you can see the choices in context. Have them nail up a couple of pieces around a door or window opening. Put up a few feet of the crown molding and baseboard.

But don’t stop there. Here’s my “trick” to help you. Don’t leave the wood bare. The grain of the wood can be distracting and keep you from seeing the true shape of the trim profile. Have them paint or stain the trim in a color close to the color you will have in your finished house. This will give you a true look at the trim and you’ll understand what the finished product will look like.

Doing mockups and reviewing several choices may take a little time. But it is worth it. After all, you’ll be living with your choice of trim and casing for many years to come.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

I have new medium cherry cabinets in a new home that we have just purchased.  I would like them to be much darker.  Is it possible to do this without refinishing the cabinets?  What wood for flooring would you suggest to complement/contrast the darker cherry cabinets?

My answer:

To change the color of cabinets usually means you would need to refinish the cabinets to some degree, depending on their condition. Since yours are new and in good shape, you could clean the surfaces and apply a polyurethane finish with an integral stain over the finish you already have. Minwax Polyshades is one of these products. This would mean that you would not have to strip and sand the existing doors and cabinets. So if that’s what you mean by “refinish,” then the answer is, “No,” you won’t have to refinish new cabinets to change the color. You’ll merely have to add a colored finish on top of the existing finish. Just be sure to follow the directions exactly. Don’t skip any steps. You might try samples of colors on the backs (insides) of the doors before doing any of the fronts. That way you’ll see what you’ll get in an inconspicuous place.

 As far as wood flooring choices go, take a look at the medium to lighter woods, like white oak or even reclaimed heart pine. Don’t go dark with the floor if you are darkening your cabinets. Try for a nice, eye-pleasing contrast between the woods. I’m not sure where you’re located and what is available. But with the smooth cherry cabinets, you could select a flooring that has an “active” and interesting grain pattern, if you like. If oak is too grainy, take a look at rift sawn and quarter sawn oak before rejecting it. Normal, plain-sawn oak can have arch-shaped grain patterns that some folks don’t care for. Rift-sawn and quarter-sawn oak has a beautiful straight grain look and accents of what are called medullary rays, or pith rays. Rift sawn oak is one of my favorites. My mantel and adjoining cabinets in my family room are built of this wood.

 I hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

 Joyce L. asked:

Thank you for the wonderful site! I am about to “redo” my kitchen. We will be installing light coloured tiles in the kitchen and have new oak floors in the rest of the house. The cabinets are of course the original goldish coloured, raised panel oak cabinets from the 80′s. The problem is that the finish on some of the cabinets almost looks new while other cabinet doors, especially those around the sink and stove area, are in dire need of refinishing. I’m afraid that if I try to refinish some of the cabinets they will not match the existing 30 year old wood/stain of the others. And refinishing all of the cabinets seems like too daunting a task. I’m almost afraid to ask this question but…I have heard that a grain filler can be applied to all the cabinets and then they could be …primed and painted (maybe white, I’m thinking country blue). There seems to be alot of controversy over painting wood, especially oak due to the pores. I would appreciate your advice. 

Joyce – I so glad you like the site. Thank you for the compliment.

I’m not familiar with grain filler, but it sounds like a risky way to go. I would imagine it might be hard to control the outcome and potentially require a lot of sanding. You are correct that painting oak is not necessarily a great thing to do, since the “pores”, or open portions of the grain will show through strongly. But, believe it or not, there are actually new cabinets sold that are exactly that, painted oak. The texture of the oak is prominent and it’s part of the desired “look.” I personally do not like that look. But that is a matter of taste and you might feel differently. That’s why Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors. We don’t all like the same thing.

A big problem with painting cabinets in a kitchen is that the painted surface will not be as durable as if it were painted in a cabinet shop or factory. The manufacturers of the better cabinets don’t actually use a paint. They use a conversion varnish which cures to a much tougher finish than regular paint. You can wipe it down many, many times with no damage. Regular paint will wear through on your most often used cabinets.

I have two suggestions for you. One is to take the doors and drawer fronts off and take them to a cabinet shop and have them paint them there using conversion varnish. You could then paint the cabinet frames with paint of the same color without removing them from the wall. That’s the part of the cabinet that gets the least wear, so regular paint should work just fine.

The second suggestion would be good if you really would prefer the natural wood look and don’t care to paint over the oak. You can not just refinish teh worn doors. They will look too different from the originals since the finish on the originals has probably yellowed over the years. You need to do all of them.

Look at a product called Formby’s Paint & Poly Remover, or similar polyurethane removers. These products will easily strip away the polyurethane finish without too much effort. There is no need to sand through the original finish. This product dissolves it and you simply scrape it off or wipe it off with steel wool. It’s available in an aeresol to help strip the areas with curves, grooves, or tight corners that might be hard to get into with a brush. Next, you clean the surface with a Poly & Paint Remover Wash to remove any residue of finish. Once that is done, you can apply a new polyurethane finish and the cabinets should look like new. If you have any rough spots, you may need to do a bit of light sanding.

If you do the refinishing yourself, take the doors and drawer fronts off. That way you can spread them out in the garage and work more comfortably than if you tried working on them in place. You might even try refinishing the doors and drawer fronts only and see if you really need to do the cabinet frames or not. If you have full-overlay, Euro-style cabinets, not much of it will show when the doors are closed. You may have to do any exposed cabinet sides, though.

I hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

I always look forward to answering questions. Please send them along as a comment here or drop me a note at info@designingyourperfecthouse.com.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

    Each species will look different depending on how it is cut. Most are available as “plain sawn.” Many are also available as quarter-sawn and rift-sawn. The different cut makes the grain of the wood show differently. Many of these species are considerably harder than red oak and therefore they will last much longer and resist indentations. So explore your options before settling on the good old standard of red oak.

    Wood is a renewable resource. Don’t be worried about the sustainability issue with wood floors if you are buying from a source that only deals with managed plantations or reclaimed wood.  I work with a good company here in North Carolina called Select Forest Products. Here’s what they say about sustainability on their website. Some of these facts may defy the common perception of wood use.

Sustainability
Select Forest Products is committed to new growth, plantation-grown imported woods, and salvaged, reclaimed woods only. We will not sell any rainforest or tropical woods which are not grown exclusively for the purpose of commercial lumbering uses, worldwide. There’s alot of misinformation out there about the actual status of new growth forests, and we’d like to point out a few facts for our customers:

• The United States and Canada grow about twice as much hardwood as they harvest annually.
• Wood is a natural resource, renewable and recyclable.
• Buildings, barns, ships and other structures made of wood often find a second life in wood flooring, cabinets, walls and ceilings.
• In the early 1600s, forests covered about one-half of the area of what is now the continental United States. More than a billion acres of land was forested when the pilgrims arrived. Today, even with all the clearing for development, with all the tree harvesting, with all the wood products we have consumed in 350 years, we still have more than 753 million acres in forests, nearly three-quarters as much as when the first settlers arrived.
• Last year, more than 2.3 billion seedlings were planted in the United States by the forestry community. That’s more than nine new trees for every man, woman and child in America.
• Leading allergists agree that wood floors are the perfect choice for a healthy home.
• Foresters sustain habitats that teem with wildlife, contribute to clean air and water, provide recreational opportunities and supply products that find new life in the home.

Use wood from good sources and sleep with a good conscience.

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    I often discuss this issue with my clients. My feeling is that there needs to be some color distinction between the flooring and the cabinetry so that the cabinets don’t look like the floor is simply wrapping itself up the walls. After all, one is the floor and the other is essentially furniture and they should express themselves differently. I would suggest that there is no rule about which wood is the lighter or the darker.

    But I would also say that you need to consider the grain of both woods. This characteristic of the wood is often overlooked. If your flooring has a busy or strong grain, like oak, hickory, or even an antique pine, a smoother grained wood, like cherry or clear alder would be best for the cabinets. This will keep you from being overwhelmed with too much visual activity in the wood grain. I also think that the flooring is the place for the strong grained wood and not the cabinets.

    In my book, Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect, I discuss this very issue. Here’s a photo of a kitchen where I used cumaru teak for the flooring, with a fairly strong grain, and quarter-sawn oak for the cabinetry. Oak is normally a pronounced grain when plain sawn, but when rift or quarter sawn, the grain is smoother and much more refined. The combination worked out very nicely.

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If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.