Top Shelf Flooring Testimonial

We get these all the time but this one sums up what we hear the most:

Thanks very much, Dan - The floor is lovely-we sometimes just stand and look at it. The shellac finish is very much what we wanted.
-Jeff K

At Top Shelf we take great pride in our craftsmanship and really keep a close eye on the details. Customer satisfaction is not our focus, it is our goal. When a customer tells us they sometimes just stare at their floors we feel pride and we know how they feel. For hours on end, we did the same thing.

Please call Danforth at:

319 321-5814

so we can come look at your floors.

Refinishing Oak in Iowa Farmhouse

This job halfway between Hills, IA. and Riverside, IA. presented some interesting challenges. The original layout of the house had been changed leaving patches where walls once were, new doorways and walls, and many different surfaces coming together. In fact the entire house had been moved thirty years ago from some other location. The old finish was a mixture of Shellac, polyurethane, wax and untold layers of cleaners and polishes. The floors were dirty and damaged and in need of some TLC. Above you see one of the before views and below you will see the same floor (from a different direction). We believe the results were spectacular.

Our customers wanted a look that was clean and bright but not totally unlike the original finish. After trying three different stains (in samples applied directly to the floor) we sanded them off and went with a base coat of de-waxed Shellax sealer and two coats of Ce-rox water-bourne polyurethane. I believe we met their goals.

Top Shelf Flooring

serving Eastern Iowa

319 321-5814

A Top Shelf Remodeling Project

Top Shelf Construction bought a house in January and has slowly been remodeling. The Floors have just been finished and trim is going up currently. This was a total top to bottom project and when finished there will be no surface in this house that did not get treatment. As you can see there was quite a bit of damage. These pictures will show what a customer can expect those old floors underneath their carpet to look like after Top Shelf has been through.

These are all before and after Photos of the same areas.

This last picture shows an area where new floor had to be blended in with old.

The results were seemless. As is any Top Shelf Project.

Top Shelf Installing and Finishing in New Construction

These Foors are waiting for Their Final Coat of finish. In this instance we installed and did the first two coats of finish then waited until all the rest of the work was done in the house (painting, cabinets, vanities, fixtures, trim, etc.) and then returned to do the final coat.
Call Top Shelf Today:

319 321-5814

Top Shelf Installation in a new Davenport, Iowa Home

The First Photo here is before the final coat of finish and the second is halfway through the final coat.

Eucalyptus Flooring and Cabinetry by Pearl City Wood Products!

Many of our customers ask if all woods in a house need to be of the same species. Absolutely not! In fact, different wood types tend to compliment each other. As you can see, these Eucalyptus Floors are the perfect match for these Cherry Cabinets. We have had the opportunity to work with Pearl City Wood Products on a number of projects and are continually impressed with their craftsmanship, reliability, affordability and professional attitude. This company from Muscatine, Iowa is a Top Shelf recommendation.

Another Example of Eucalyptus

3 1/2" Board widths Showing the Rich Variety of Color in this Forest Stewardship Council Certified Product

Eucalyptus Solid Wood Flooring

This is Country Grade Eucalyptus (the least costly of three Eucalyptus options) showing that a beautiful Exotic floor is well within reach for any budget. It was installed and finished in a Muscatine, Iowa home where carpeting was making family allergies a big problem.

Hardwood flooring is a hypoallergenic option for those who suffer from seasonal or allergen specific problems because it does not trap dust and pollen as does carpet.

Reclaimed Kitchen Floor!

Underneath a layer of vinyl and a layer of linoleum you will

most likely find a floor that looks something like this:

As you can see what is left is the paper, glue, and damage done by years of moisture creaping underneath the linoleum and sitting. At this point most homeowners and some flooring companies will begin to consider new flooring.

Top Shelf knows that there is beauty underneath all that and would prefer to take the time and spend the energy to reclaim a floor like this. It costs less than a new floor (hardwood, tile, or vinyl) but more importantly it is original to the house. This particular house was built in 1916 and it would be a shame to throw away a perfectly good fir floor for the sake of ease.

The next few pictures will show you the difference that a little sweat and integrity can make.

Looking better!

Now it's beginning to look like a kitchen someone could cook in.

This process is extremely labor intensive and most would not take on such a project. However, this floor speaks for itself at this point (and it is only halfway through the sanding process). After loosening up at that glue and paper this floor has seen three grits of sandpaper in three passes. It will now get at least one more pass to take out any imperfections that may be lingering and generally smooth out all the other passes. It'll then get 2 MORE passes with the buffer (each pass mentioned being a seperate grit of sandpaper) and finally finish. Extra care must be taken with a project like this as much of the required sanding and scraping has to be done by hand. Check back to see more photos of this and other projects. We can't wait to see how this floor looks with finish.

Call Danforth at Top Shelf for a free consultation and estimate: 319 321-5814

Eucalyptus Flooring

This installation is an example of a new product on the market and Top Shelf is the first in our area (Iowa) to work with it. Its coloration varies from dark reds and browns to light ambers and blonds. Eucalyptus from Argentina comes in three grades: Country (as shown above), Colonial, and Prestige. As the grades move up from Country to prestige you will find more uniformity in color and imperfections on the face of the wood will disappear. The floor shown above was of the lowest quality and had a few knots in the grain that did not alter the profile of the wood at all. This floor was 600 square feet and we counted a dozen small imperfections. Not bad!

We found this flooring to be easy to work with and extremely affordable and recommend this floor for its uniqueness, FSC certification, beauty, and cost (much lower than most products on the market). This is the second Eucalyptus floor Top Shelf has installed and as far as an endorsment goes the pictures speak for themselves.

This wood flooring is made from Eucalyptus Grandis grown in Argentina , the wood species has a Janka Scale rating of 1150, softer than Red Oak and slightly harder than Teak. Eucalyptus Grandis flooring is made of wood sourced from plantations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. This means the forests are being managed in a way that ensures long-term productivity and protects local cultures, economies, wildlife, soils, recreation and other uses. So instead of contributing to the destruction of the tropical rain forest in Latin America ,buying this flooring actually helps keep tropical rain forests intact.