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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Best way to heat a Woodwork Shop

Here's the best way to heat a woodworking shop.
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This little shed houses a fireplace with something resembling a truck radiator. Water is circulated through the flooring mill-woodworking shop and the house offering nearly free heat for both.
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The fuel for this unit? Off Cuts, Mill Ends, SCRAP wood from the woodshop.
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No disposal cost, no delivery surcharge.
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This is the most efficient way to heat any woodworking shop.
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Inside the shop and showroom are 2 small radiators with fans that are controlled by a thermostat.
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Running a profitable woodworking business is about efficiency and practicality. The lower your overhead the higher your profit and the greater your ability to keep pricing competetive.
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This is the other shop unit. It is designed so that it doesn't load up with sawdust.







Thursday, October 16, 2008

Is Engineered Wood Flooring Durable?


Engineered Wood Flooring is made from numerous layers of plywood and solid wood laid up perpendicular to one another with resin and has a thin layer of hardwood on top. Normally it then has the same polyurethane with aluminum oxide on top to seal it as click flooring. It is more durable than click flooring, however by the price you would think it would be real hardwood flooring.


Engineered flooring normally contains real hardwood so it will look very much like the real thing HOWEVER--If engineered flooring gets damaged you will not likely be successful in repairing it. You may be able to sand lightly and touch up with polyurethane however it just isn't worthwhile. If you tried to refinish it like real hardwood floor you will likely burn through the typical 1/8" veneer when you run a power sander over any high spots. These floors are not likely to look good for more than a few years, then it is replacement time.
Based on price, you are likely better off to install pre-finished strip hardwood which retails about the same price. It takes a little longer to install, however you have the ability to re-finish a couple of times over the life of the floor.
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Now, if you want real hardwood flooring, you can have our wide plank Oak, Maple, Ash or Beech for the same price. It takes a little more time to install, and you may want to hire a pro for the finishing, $3.00-4.00 per foot, however you should get 50 years of service from your initial investment and you can custom tint the colour to any shade or colour. If you plan to keep the home for more than 5 years, and you care about value, install real wood flooring.
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Our flooring is full length and wider boards than the standard boxed store flooring. It is a far superior looking floor and obviously has a greater intrinsic value for many years to come.
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So in summary, use click or laminant for locations where people are not going to take care of it. Rentals, investment properties.
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Use real wood for locations where you get to enjoy the durability and the better looks.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Is Click Flooring Hardwood?

Click Flooring ? Hardwood?

Here's a hint.

You cannot buy hardwood flooring for $1 a square foot.


You can likely buy 1/4" mahogany plywood... come to think of it, that is pretty similar to click flooring... but you don't have a million little gaps between the pieces. At least it comes in full sheets.

Click flooring is an architectural product that is designed for maximum coverage with minimum materials. There is typically no actual hardwood within it. Simply resins, hardboard, a photograph layer and a verathane type of product on top with aluminum oxide to seal it.

Don't use click flooring in damp conditions or high traffic areas--it will not last. Click Flooring is at best, a temporary fix for a cheap reno, rental appartment or until you can afford proper flooring.

You cannot re-finish click flooring.

Unless you like the look of raw MDF you simply tear it out... and put it in the bin.