Scheduling Finish Work
DEAR TIM: I am undertaking lots of redecorating work before the holidays. All the workers are tentatively scheduled, but there is disagreement as to who should do what first. The hardwood floor refinisher wants to show up last but the painter and wallpaper hanger say they can work on finished floors with no problems. Who should show up first? What is the best way to schedule the workers to minimize errors? Betty D., Montgomery, OH
DEAR BETTY: Although you would think the answers to your questions are fairly straightforward, there are several things to consider before you finalize the scheduled start time for each worker. I realize the painter may work around finished floors on a regular basis, but accidents can and do happen. It is my preference to minimize damage to finished surfaces as much as possible. To that end, I look at what is the hardest and most expensive thing to replace when I schedule work.
Depending upon the type of wallpaper you have selected, this aspect of the job deserves the highest amount of scrutiny with respect to scheduling. For example, my wife recently had me install wallpaper in our dining room. After looking at hundreds of pattern books and paying for nearly 20 actual samples, she selected a paper that cost nearly $90.00 a roll! Don't get me wrong, I love the paper and it is indeed gorgeous, but if someone were to gouge it with a handle of a floor sanding machine or splatter some paint on it, heads would roll and mine would undoubtedly be first.
Wallpaper is perhaps the most difficult thing to repair. Even professional paper hangers can be challenged to remove and install one strip of paper in a room that was recently papered. For this reason, I feel that the wallpaper hanger should be the last worker on the jobsite. Believe it or not, he may also be the first person to arrive as well. All walls that are to be papered need to have a special primer/sealer (sizer) applied. This paint-on product should be applied to all walls that are to be papered. If this product gets splattered or spilled on the wood floors, it is not the end of the world as the floor refinisher will sand away all paint that dries on the surface.
Once the walls have been sized with the special sealer paint, you can have the painter show up. He should do all of the required painting and cleanup as well such as scraping of paint from windows, etc. Be sure he leaves behind extra paint that was used on all walls and woodwork. It will be needed for small touch-up jobs as the work progresses. If you are installing new toe strip where the baseboard meets the wood floor, have the painter prefinish these wood strips now. They should be stained and urethaned before they are installed.
Once the painting is complete, it is time for the floor re-finishers to show up. They will monopolize the rooms for probably three to five days. The sanding of the floors happens the first day. Depending upon the amount of work to be done, they often will stain or apply the first coat of urethane before they go home on that first day. If you are using oil-based urethane, you can apply one coat per day on each of the successive days. The schedule can be compressed drastically if you choose water-based urethane. Multiple coats can be applied the same day. I would recommend a minimum of three coats of oil-based urethane and four coats if you chose a water-based product.
The urethane floor finishes need to cure for several days, sometimes a week, to achieve a durable hardness. I would not allow any significant foot traffic on the floors for a minimum of three days. Do not cover the urethaned floors with any tarps or area rugs during this time period. The floors need to be exposed to the air in order to cure properly.
After the wait period is complete, have the painter come in and do any necessary touch-up work. The carpenter should then show up to install the new toe strip. As soon as this is complete, it is time for the wallpaper hanger. Be sure he covers the entire floor with clean dust-free tarps. It is also a good idea to check the feet of his ladders and pasting table. Make sure they have rubber pads or tips that are in good condition. Rough ladder or table legs can cause scratches even though the floors are covered.
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