I was at someone's home yesterday. They had hard wood floor which seemed to be affixed to the floor with half inch circular wood pins. I was looking on the internet for this type of floor but I have not see anything close. What is this type of floor called and where can I get them? Are they professionally installed?

What you most likely saw was a floor with wood plugs. Most often, these plugs are purely decorative and serve no mechanical function. Sometimes, an installer will screw the floor down and plug the screw holes. I recall seeing an article about a contractor doing this with a reclaimed oak plank floor over concrete (which I wouldn't recommend). The plugged look was more popular in the 70's and 80's but I'm sure some factory finished floors still have them. I remember installing walnut plugs in plank floors years ago. I haven't had a request fot that in some time.

Bruce use to have an engineered product with that look. I don't know if they still do. Just keep in mind that it is a Bruce product.
Good Luck!

sounds like a dowel, still put them in every so often, make sure if you have it put in that the contractor uses sufficient glue to hold them in, i've seen a lot of refinish jobs need new dowels after only a couple of years, they seem to just pop right out

Yeah, that happens. I recall refinishing a Bruce prefinished engineered plank floor. It had PLASTIC plugs that were HOLLOW. I sanded through a few of those plugs. Not only were the plugs hollow but they were only held in by a pressure fit, no glue. I had to dig around in my sander dust bag looking for plastic plugs that popped out in the sanding. Glad to see these floors are history.

Will you come sand the 2000sqft of it in my house Gary? How much?

Lets see, I have a question for ya?

If its been waxed for 19 years and has a beveled edge. Can you sand it effectively enough to recoat with a good finish instead of wax? And which finish would you suggest?

Maybe this should be in the finish section?

If you live in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, I can. How often was the floor waxed? Once a year? Twice a year? Ever stripped? In your case, sanding will probably be sufficent but will need to clean up the grooves/bevels by hand It's the finishing that is most important. After sanding and staining (if you want it stained), I'd recommended sealing with Zinsers "Seal Coat". It is a wax free shellac that will bond extremely well to just about anything. Once thats dry (about 1 hour) then any finish you like can be applied. My two favorites are Basic's Street Shoe for a commercial quality waterborne finish or Bona's Woodline OMU, a solvent based poly that is durable and economical. e-mail me!

Zinzers sand and sealer works good, but for the finish, skip the steet shoe. Basic's 2K with the hardener(not catalyst) is the hardest most durable stuff I've used, recoats every 4-5 yrs. runs about $65 a gallon. I guess I kinda shoot myself in the foot ongetting those recat jobs, but my reputation in the area is unmatched.

Well I used to live in the east bay. Way east bay in Dublin.

But thanks for the info. I might try that.

Hey Artisan,
I haven't tried the 2K select. Does it apply as easily? How does it level out? On those big jobs where one needs to tie multiple areas together, how much working time do you have? Compare it to Street Shoe. The features I appreciate about Street Shoe XL are it is 90% cured in 24 hours and it has UV inhibitors in it. It flows out better now than in the past and is fairly durable (been the industry standard for 12 yrs.) Thanks!

Artisan,
I spoke with Basic today. They told me Street Shoe is still their #1 floor finish, in durability and ease of use. They likened 2K to Bona's Traffic and said if you don't use the mixed product in 6 hrs, it's history. Street Shoe can be re-catalized and used again for a first coat, making it more economical to use. I've used Traffic on a number of jobs and did not care for it's working characteristics. It was/is durable; and so is Street Shoe. To each their own.

Hey Gary, to each there own is right! I have used the street shoe, it is easy to work with. I have also used the traffic and think it is hard to work with and not that great a product overall.The waste problem is solved by only mixing what you need--10:1 ratio. I find it easy to work with maybe just out of habbit, its the only waterborne that I use now. It's characteristics sound similar to the shoe.

Back to the question about wood plugs.
Those are professionally installed in hardwood flooring, then floors get sanded and finished. The sizes of the plugs are 5/8 or 3/4 inch. Usually walnut, because it looks nice. Drilling a holes for plugs - installer can do that, but in some cases manufacturer can do it as well.

Take care