When Keith Graff started a large white oak plank install project in a private home for a family he had never met last fall, he had no idea it would be the most meaningful project of his career. Graff, who owns Fenton, Mo.-based Graff Floor Sanding LLC, had noticed he would be installing in every room on the second floor except for one. Under the closed door he could see carpeting, and the door had a note asking not to open it. Then one night on the news Graff saw the father talking about the family’s charitable organization, PK’s Prayers. Their nine-year-old daughter had recently passed away from diffuse midline giloma, an aggressive and incurable cancerous brain tumor. The family had started PK’s Prayers, a charitable organization that supports families of children diagnosed with DMG. Graff realized the closed door was the late daughter’s bedroom.
As Graff was installing, he came across a long board that had damage on both ends, and he set it aside to use in a closet. He walked past that board for days until one moment he spotted a heart in the grain of the wood about 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide. “I’m always looking for objects in the grain of wood, but this time it found me,” he says. “I immediately knew this board had to go by the daughter’s doorway.” After getting approval from the GC, he installed the board in the middle of her doorway. During the sanding process, he had the chance to show it to the father. “I knew I did the right thing when he got down on his knee and traced the heart with his finger and thanked me for putting that board there,” Graff says. Sadly, recently the father died after a sudden heart attack. “I was so saddened to hear that this family had just recently suffered another loss,” he says. “PK’s Prayers has helped numerous families with medical bills, other bills, funerals, and spiritual and emotional support. I think it is amazing that they had the strength to carry on and make a difference in this world.” Not long ago, Graff had the chance to speak with the mother, who mentioned she had been finding and saving heart-shaped rocks. “She said she looks at that board every time she walks past her room. I never knew a board would hold so much emotion, and I’m thankful and honored to be a part of this.”
(For information on how to donate to PK’s Prayers, go to www.pksprayers.com.)
SUPPLIERS: Abrasives: Bona, 3M, Diamondback | Adhesive: Bona Quantum | Buffer: American Sanders RS 16 | Dust containment: Powr-Flite, DeWalt dust separator | Edger: American Sanders Super7 | Filler: Bona | Finish: Glitsa 500 satin | Laser: Bosch | Moisture meter: Lignomat | Nailer: Primatech | Router: Ryobi | Big machine: Lägler Hummel | Palm sander, Saws: DeWalt | Multi disc: Ceno Satellite (Gundlach) | Stain: DuraSeal Provincial | Underlayment: Bostik | Wood Flooring: Middle Tennessee Lumber | Distributor: Intermountain Wood Flooring
