The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1895-08-08
HARD WOOD FLOORS.

HARD WOOD FLOORS.
INFORMATION. ABOUT THEIR CON-
sTRucTioN AND CARE. 6
:, -- - ---- Z.
0raxtered white Oak, Said tp Re the Very
BeSt MStsriAI-How TO WAX and Polish.
!, they Do Those ,rhinss Better In znslsnd
\ TAa. ~ DO lnsAmsrioss ss
& N}ecnly 8 few years since adyucates
scf HE hosse beautiful began ytopFeach
ssi 4seoEo hard floors. and tbere:il nov
hardly village In the country where
SS6dnctEine Of health and beanfv has
not Repetrated-w Yet every one who has
disoaEzied caxYots and adopted hard wood
donra has. &nnnd. soma drawbacks. in the
way. In nine cases out of ten the floor
10 simply shellacked. often without pre-
viousl hllings and ayery, scratch Of . the
boothesl shows ON its surface, The wood
is--soon- laid bare and permanently
stained, or perhaps sherwood is oiled
with clear oilWaich han not been prop
eely rubbe6hih The residue gums on
the surfae end collects dust and debris,
and altdg6kher the hard wood floor.
which hal been well laid blythe carpen-
ter. is source of disComfort and disap-
lpointment.A es " "a
European housekeepers sufter from
none Of these disadvantages because
they try none Of these experiments. The
! Europe4n foor,is q floor Of sparquetry.
IT ID nAde by gluing together thick-
nesse9of hard, wood on q pine backing,
. method by which they? obtain a
stronger and more durable floor than
when thick floor Of hard wood alone is
used, fortevery builder knows that the
best door is not one Of solid hard wood,
but one Of two thicknesses of hard wood
over pine core. These doors are natu-
rally more expensive, because they are
more trouble to make. So the veneered
floor is more durable, though very OK
oellent floor may be laid in hard wood
seven-eighths thick over rough floor
Of pine, providing the wood has been
properly seasoned. Or thinner floor
may be laid over a perfectly level floor
Of pine. 4 Z.
Builders recommend quartered white
oak as the very best material for floors.
This is q western wood and costs about
500 1000 feet in this state. Maple
and birch, which are much cheaper
woods, also make excellent floors Ma
tive birch, which may be bought in this
state as low as $40 1000 feet, is a
very hard, smooth wood, and makes a
very durable kitchen floor which does
not silver up like Georgia pine. Marrow
boards, measuring about two inches OF
less laid, make most desirable floor.
The skillful carpenter matches his joints
with faultless precision, planes and
scrapes his floor and polishes it down
with hard wood shavings after it is laid,
as well as finishing it before When this
is properly done, hardly joint is visi-
BILE, and it is then ready to be filled.
It is this process that is SO often neg
lected and upon which so much depends.
It should be thoroughly trustworthy
wood filler, purchased from dealer
whose name is a guarantee for his goods.
These filters usually come by the pound,
often in paste form, and may be thinned
to a proper consistency with turpentine.
It is applied to the wood with brush,
and all that remains on the surface is
polished off with hardwood shavings OF
excelsior. This filler is allowed to dry
about IL hours, when coat Of wax is
applied, or of prepared oil If you prefer
it. Where oil is used it should be thinned
with certain amount Of "drier."
The best wax is a preparation Of tur-
pentine and beeswax, properly melted
together, and is kept by all dealers in
parquetry floors. The chief mistake that
amateurs make is to apply this wax too
generously. An expert in this matter
says that pound of wax ought to cover
800 feet of surface. After the wax is
applied and rubbed in with weighted
brush it should be allowed to stand for
awhile and q second coat applied before
the floor is used
A great many American families at
tempt to take care of a hardwood floor
without a brush. This is waste of
much laborious energy. The work can
be accomplished by the use Of brick
wrapped in flannel and then in cotton,
but it cannot be properly accomplished
except by strong man, while an ordi-
nary servant can readily WELD the %
pound brush, which sells in our shops at
from So. so to 81 and with care will last
many years. 1t should be passed first
across the grain of the wood. Then the
floor should be vigorously polished with
the grain of the wood.
Finally piece of old carpet is laid
down and the floor is polished under
this. A properly cared for floor should
be polished with the brush once week.
It should not be rewaxed oftener than
once month or once in two or three
months, according to the amount Of
wear on it, After certain period of
time it may be necessary to scrape the
floor and apply some kind Of restorer,
though this should be hardly required
unless the floor has been improperly
dressed
Of course the best way Of polishing
such q floor is in the foreign fashion,
with brush attached to one foot OF a
robust man, who goes Skating about
until the s-rface CLEANS like marble.
But this laethodis hot eef fteeii possible in
this country except in those households
where there are. foreign menservants. -
New York Tribune
In, a Hurry.