Grannabelle, how did your floors turn out? Did you do the 2 coats throughout and 3 in the kitchen? Did your contractor say that that 2 coats in the kitchen wouldn't be sufficient? I have a very open floorplan, so I would have to do all the wood either 2 coats, or all 3 coats. I'm concerned that 2 may not be enough for the kitchen. I'm also thinking about doing all 3 coats with water-based instead of oil. Decisions, decisions! Any help you could provide would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

I recently put down engineered 5/16 BR111 3in tigerwood plank down in my house. They are beautiful. People love it but they are telling me I have to put a sealer or something over it to protect the wood from water getting through. Is this true? The wood is already pre-finished. I have minor gaps where I can see a little bit of the tongue from the groove. Can you tell me if I need to put a sealer over the floor and what kind of sealer should I use? thanks in advance

I don't think that's normal. I just went through a long process of sealing concrete, and i ended up putting three layers down to get it right. The first was shiny, but coverage just wasn't consistent enough so I added more. It's now nice and even, and resists water just like a polished stone. I would try another layer if i were you. If it's high traffic area you could even put on a floor wax afterwards to get a nice smooth finish and even better water resistance. Good idea staying in the hotel! I didn't, and felt like i had brain damage for days afterwards.

Generally, we do the final floor coat, then the baseboards -- for the reason you indicated, it keeps the floor finish off the baseboards. Otherwise, you have to mask the basboards, which is just more work.. If the floors were done right, you won't need a shoe -- unless, of course, you just like the look. Wood floors should get a sealer coat and two finish coats.