No. 1, or second quality, is a common grade, and its relation to Clear is similar to that between second and first grade of finish. It is just as serviceable as Clear, and equally as desirable when there is no objection to the appearance; and it can be used in the same class of buildings as the Clear grade, at a material saving in the cost of construction.
Factory, or third grade, will give excellent satisfaction in factories, creameries, granaries, mills, warehouses, workshops, and in other buildings, at mines, on farms, etc. Where a low-priced floor is wanted for wear, nothing better or cheaper can be obtained than this grade.
Nail a-inch thick flooring with an eight-penny flooring brad. For thick flooring, a finishing brad No. 15 is recommended.
Maple flooring for ordinary purposes should be left as it comes from the factory. Even for kitchen floors it is not well to fill it, for the oil tends to make it look dirty and greasy. If, however, a finish on a maple floor is desired, omit the filler. By doing this, the natural color of the wood is preserved.
After being laid, if it is needed, scrape until perfectly smooth. If a wax finish is desired, apply two light goats of wood alcohol shellac. Let the first coat stand one hour before putting on the second. When the second coat stands about two hours, sandpaper with No. 0 sandpaper, and the floor is ready for the wax, an article made expressly for this purpose and ready for use. Put on this wax as thin as possible, and let it stand half an hour. Then, with a weighted brush (made especially for the purpose), brush first across the grain of the wood, and again lengthwise, until the brush slips easily over the floor. When this result is effected, place a piece of soft carpet under the brush and rub until the desired polish is derived. This finish, when complete, is very desirable, but it requires quite an amount of labor to keep properly. When there are many and large rooms and sufficient help to do the work, it is doubtless the best.
To those, however, whose dwellings are not large and spacious and who desire a modern floor, we recommend the following as a convenient and durable finish: Apply two coats of good floor varnish, and the floor is complete. Should the gloss, which is the result of a varnish
finish, be not desirable, rub the floor with a good rubbing oil and pumice stone, with a piece of burlap, lightly; wipe dry, and the gloss will disappear. The last coat of varnish should stand 48 hours before rubbing.
Floors that have been finished in shellac should be kept clean by thoroughly brushing off the dust with a soft hair or feather brush, or by wiping with a cloth of soft texture. If the cloth is slightly moist, the dust will adhere to it more readily, but wipe with a dry cloth afterward. If any dirt that will not wipe off with a moist cloth should be deposited on the floor, wash it off thoroughly with clean, warm water (not liot), using soap, if necessary, which also cleanse off with water us quickly as possible, and wipe dry.
When the face of the floor begins to look worn and shabby, after cleansing off the dirt and wiping dry, if water has been used, rub the surface all over nicely with a mixture two-thirds turpentine and one-third raw linseed oil. To do this, saturate a soft cloth of any kind with the mixture, wring out half-dry, and rub the floor with it evenly. Do not use the oil so freely as to leave it standing on the surface to catch dust. To prevent this, wipe off with a clean, dry cloth. After the shellac is worn down to the surface of the wood, sandpaper it all over evenly with a No. 1 sandpaper, and give it another coat of shellac, after which continue to keep as before.
Floors finished in a plain oil only, should be kept in the same manner as above, more soap and water being required and more frequent rubbing with the mixture of turpentine and linseed oil spoken of above.
Waxed floors can be cleansed by washing off thoroughly with turpentine and benzine, after which they can ,be re-waxed if desired.
Floors finished in "hard oil" should be kept like floors finished with shellac. A maple floor for a kitchen that has not been finished in wax or oil, is best taken care of by being scrubbed or rubbed with any of the scouring preparations now in the market for that purpose.
Every prospective user of maple, beech, and birch flooring will find it to his advantage to write to the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association, Chicago, Ill., for a copy of the "Official Maple Flooring Book."