Trick of the Trade: Taking The Temperature—Literally—Can Save Your Floors

May 19, 2026

Jj26 Tot Taking Temp

This tip is from Sprigg Lynn at Washington, D.C.-based Universal Floors:

A $40 temperature gun from the big box store can save you on your wood flooring jobs. This is a photo from last winter—look how cold the floor is where the air is coming from underneath the door! Finish would fail in this area. You can also use this to check hotspots on the floor. No matter which season it is, it’s cheap insurance that can prevent a finish failure.

See a collection of previous job-site tips on our Pinterest Trick of the Trade board. Do you have a Trick of the Trade to share? Email it to WFB. If we use it, we'll send you a WFB T-shirt.

Jj26 Fundamentals Miters

How to Cut Miters Beyond Your Saw’s Limits

Am26 Tot Hanger

Trick of the Trade: Getting the Hang of It Wrinkle-Free

Fm26 Articles Tot Flashlight

Trick of the Trade: Shining a Light on Problem Areas While Sanding

Trick of the Trade: A Cart To Help With Self-Preservation

Tools + Equipment

How to Cut Miters Beyond Your Saw’s Limits

On a recent project, we needed a 65° miter, which was beyond the saw’s adjustment capacity. Instead of switching tools or risking a freehand cut on a critical piece, we used a simple auxiliary backstop to extend the saw’s capability.

Jj26 Fundamentals Miters

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Getting the Hang of It Wrinkle-Free

Many wood flooring pros will just tie the curtains into knots to get them up off the floor, but that puts wrinkles in them that the customers will have to deal with later.

Am26 Tot Hanger

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Shining a Light on Problem Areas While Sanding

I own a lot of tools, but my flashlight is the most-used tool I own ever since one of my mentors, Rob Clarke, showed me why it’s so important for sanding.

Fm26 Articles Tot Flashlight

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: A Cart To Help With Self-Preservation

When Cuyler Rigney, a wood floor pro in Ohio, started his business last year, self-preservation was a top priority. Here's how he kept that promise to himself.

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Creating a Tight Squeeze When Installing

Wood floor pro Steve Bumpus has this handy trick for times when it's tricky to pull in a board tight while installing.

Steve Bumpus Trick Of The Trade Pulling In A Board Tight On25

Tricks of the Trade

My MacGyver Moment for Sanding This Newel Post

Angelo DeSanto of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based Dande West had a fit of inspiration when he had to figure out how to sand this newel post despite it being a tight squeeze.

As25 Tot Newel Postjpg

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Easy Tip for Snug Stair Treads

Steve Osborn, president at Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Black Forest Hardwood Floors, has a great tip for making stair treads fit snugly.

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Getting Those Glued Wood Vents to Pop Right Out

Here’s an easy solution from wood floor pro Lorie Davidson 'for the times when some moron has glued a wood vent into a floor with water-based finish.'

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Clever Contraption for Scribing to Rock Walls

Daniel Caffo of Daniel Caffo Hardwood Flooring Inc. in Woodlyn, Pa., built a clever jig for scribing wood flooring to stone walls.

Fm25 Tot Scribing

Trick of the Trade for Doing a Wood Floor Board Replacement

Lifelong wood floor pro Ron Teljeur, owner at Aldergrove, B.C.-based Acorn Wood Floors Ltd., demonstrates an easy tip that helps protect existing flooring when doing a board replacement.

Board Replacement Tot Intro

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: A Safe Way to Get a Big Machine Up and Down Stairs

Casey Ditsworth at Woodshed Flooring Inc. in Pearl City, Ill., explains why he believes his Magliner stair-climbing dolly for getting the big machine up and down stairs is worth the investment.

6 D 1224 Wfb Dj25 Tot Actionshot

Tricks of the Trade

Trick of the Trade: Keeping Track of Your Finish Made Easier

Aussie wood floor pro Troy Stanfield at Plankd Flooring in Mt. Barker, Australia, has a couple handy tips for helping keep track of wood floor finish.

3 I 1024 Wfb On24 Otj Opener Tot 2

Page 1 of 6

Resource Book

Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.

Podcasts

All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.