Regarding fading...Can organic_donna or anyone comment on how well Mirage Floors UV protection works? We have newly installed Mirage Walnut hardwood with a cashmere finish in the medium/dark Savanna color. We have large view windows in our Great Room that we cannot cover completely and prefer not to have window coverings anyway but we're a bit concerned about the possibility of the wood color fading as the room faces East and gets direct sunlight in the morning. Our windows are Low E and Mirage does have UV protection but we're wondering if that's enough protection over time. Can anyone give any feedback on their experience regarding Mirage and/or Low E glass? We do have friends who have Mirage Red Oak in a room with south facing French doors without window coverings, and after many years in place it's still impossible to see any difference in the floor color when comparing the rug covered areas to areas of exposed hardwood. This was so impressive to us that we went with Mirage in part for their UV protection. Now with our new flooring in place we're wondering if their experience was typical and if our Walnut will hold up as well, or if it's best we find some way to cover those windows, at least in times of direct sun. Any comments or advice anyone?

floorguy - I think I would have been much happier had you installed my floors. The things you mentioned -- minimizing the dust mess, culling out damaged planks, replacing dented boards -- are all the "right" way to do things in my opinion. That's what a contractor who has pride in his work, and who wants the customer to be satisfied, would do. By the way, the defects I mentioned are not things like mineral streaks. On some of the planks, there is a concave portion about 1/2" from the short end, so that the very end of the plank is pulled up slightly higher than the abutting plank. It looks like a "smooth dent", if that makes any sense. When I pointed this out to the installer, he said that the finish is stronger than the wood, and when it dries it sometimes pulls the end of the plank up. His solution was to lay another plank over it and smack it with a hammer so the end didn't stick up so far. It's slightly less noticeable afterward, but is still an obvious flaw that has nothing to do with the natural characteristics of the wood. You also don't sound like the kind of installer who would inadvertently leave many dents. And if you did leave dents, you would probably notice them and replace the dented planks on the spot, rather than either not noticing, or leaving this "surprise" for the customer to discover. Unfortunately the number of significant dents I've come across (at least 3 in every room) have raised a red flag. I asked the installer about the most egregious of the dents, and he admitted he should have noticed that during the install (and offered to replace the plank if it bothered me). floorguy, do you agree that having those planks cut out and new ones glued back in shouldn't be a problem? There are 5-10 planks total that would need replacement. I'd be mostly concerned that the glue wouldn't hold up as well as glue + staples, so that the plank would be more likely to work loose than the existing dented (but stapled) plank. If glued-in replacement planks are not such a big deal, I will ask the installer to replace all the ones that really bother me. And finally, what's your take on the expansion gap issue? The poster 'boxers' agreed that leaving an expansion gap is part of Hardwood Floor Installation 101. My installer made it clear that he doesn't think the expansion gap is needed, and that I'm worrying for no good reason. Yet many of the planks are butted right up against the drywall, so that when I walk the perimeter of the room I hear a lot of groaning and squeaking. Should I insist that he come back with a toe kick saw and add the gap? Maybe it would be worth hiring a floor inspector to give my opinion a little added weight? Thanks for all your replies...you've been a big help!

How many feet of baseboard is affected? I know what ferrets smell like. I do not know what Nature's Miracle is. I doubt that the fins have any finish. Assuming that they are raw aluminum over copper tube, avoid acidic cleaners. Aim for a slightly alkaline pH, maybe 7-8.5 ish. Too acidic (low pH) will corrode the fins and copper. Obviously you need to clean out the fur and debris first. Consider phenolic and quaternary amonium cleaner-disinfectants. Otherwise, mild detergent should help. Consider HVAC evaporator cleaners like Nucalgon Evan-fresh or EVap Pow'r-C. They are formulated to be safe and effective on copper/aluminum assemblies, and safe for occupants. (I've never tried their "Blackhawk" cleaner, but it is probably a good bet.). It is an aerosol so it will be expensive if you had a lot of cool to clean.) Personally, for this purpose, I'd go stronger than that stuff, but for someone that does not have chemistry experience, I can say that they are safe for you and for the equipment. Since you are going for a smell, the material producing it is volitale so heat may be your friend. Steam might work well and should not hurt anything. After you are done cleaning as well as you can, Turning on the heat with the windows open might help a lot. Do open the windows and ventilate well because anything that evaporates with the steam or heat from the system might just condense on cooler surfaces if it. Is trapped in the room. That will just move the smell to the walls and such. Ferrets are great and very compelling animals. I have affection for them, but they make terrible pets from several standpoints. Good luck to you.

THe flash was on while taking the pictures, so it's actually darker then what the pictures show. Maybe I'll try to take more without the flash. I'm not sure we have anyway to test the height as there is no quarter round anyway. The baseboard was placed down before the hardwood so I can't even tell how far down it is. Sonehow I doubt the floor has been sanded a lot. THe rest of the house needs serious work so it seems like the previous owners did little to nothing to keep up with the house, so I odubt refinshing floors was high on their priority. The dining room actually does have hardwood and it was exposed when we bought it. However, when we remodeled the kitchen and opened to the dining room we decided we wnated the same flooring throughout. Our solution was to use a laminate product that looks like tile. So the hardwood is still under there. So you owuld suggest sanding it down and just putting a clear coat on? That may actually be what is done in our hallway as it's significantly lighter (although the width of the wood is quite thinner) Pics of hallway floor Without flash(excuse the strip of carpet): Pics of dining room floor.... Whats under the dining room laminate: Pics of LR floor without flash: