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Showing posts from November, 2013

Hardwax Oil vs. Urethane Finishes

In the early to mid 1980's,  a new type of urethane fini sh entered the market; water-base urethane was the new craze. With the entrance of water-base into the market-place, contractors quickly began to realize its value. The new water-base finishes added extra durability, dried much faster than its counterpart, and reduced the amount of labor hours. Prior to urethane finishes, hardwood floors were often sealed with multiple layers of shellac (lacquer was also popular); contractors would apply a coat of hot wax, which acted as a protective barrier. Finally, contractors would then polish the floor; finishing it up. Now, almost after a half of a century, the new craze is here; "Hardwax Oil".  Made from waxes and oils, such as carnauba and parrafin wax, and natural oils, such as sunflower and linseed. Hardwax Oil is quickly gaining favor in the hardwood finish industry. So, the question is, which is better. Urethane or Hardwax Oil? The following material will compare the tw

Ripoff Report

  St Augustine, Fl- According to numerous reports, Richard Hersey, owner of Old City Design Center is accused of cashing deposit checks and failing to deliver merchandise to their retail customers. Shortly after Channel 47 news released the story, Old City closed its doors; citing reorganization. Several years ago, a man named Jim Lee; owner of Floor Territory, did the same thing; taking in thousands of dollars in deposits, and never delivered the material. Shortly after his last "private sale", Jimmy Lee left town with several hundred thousand dollars in customer deposits; never to be seen in Jacksonville again. A little over two years ago or so, I met the owner and staff at Old City Design Center. During My first initial visit, I did a sales presentation for the owner and his staff. During our meeting we discussed various product and display options, and specific ways to penetrate the St Augustine market. At this point, Old City Design had no experience in the retail hard

Lumber Liquidators; Raided by Federal Authorities.

On September 26, 2013 federal officials raided Lumber Liquidators home office in Toano, Va. The raid was carried out by special agents; including, Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United States Justice Department. The details of the search warrant were sealed; however, there is evidence that Lumber Liquidators has been importing illegal lumber from Russia. During the initial investigations, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) Traveled to the Russian sawmills. They disguised themselves as fictitious buyers and secretly recorded conversations with executives from the Suifenhe Xingjia Economic and Trade Co. When questioned, the Chinese Executives "blew the whistle" on Lumber Liquidators; claiming that Lumber Liquidators was fully aware that they were purchasing illegal lumber. Illegal harvesting of lumber is a multi-billion dollar industry, but Ill save that for another article. If the accusations