Initially started by Pete Gerstenberg but completed by his worker, Robert Dale

Living and Dining Room Oak Flooring

This project started December 17, 2005 and completed December 27, 2005.

Again, I had Pete Gerstenberg do the refinish with his worker, Robert Dale, ending up doing the work. Pete started the refinish himself using a rotary belt sander. Robert called me and said I should come out and take a look at what was being done and I did. I immediately told Pete to stop work; that the rotary belt sander was taking off way too much wood and gouging it in places. The next day when I was out to the house Robert said he had done some researching on the internet (Yes, we had internet back then!!) and found a method using a citrus based paint stripper that he thought would work. After a bit more explaination I told him to get the stripper and he and I would tag team to do the work. He would put the stripper on a portion of the floor (about 6 ft x 9 ft) in the afternoon and I would come in during the evening and scrap it off and clean the wood with paper towels soaked in mineral spirits. This worked perfectly removing all the old varnish. We had the stripping completed in about 5-6 days and were ready for Robert to apply the finish. We choose a clear polyurethane to let the natural grain and color of the wood show through. The work turned out beautiful.