By day, Christian Roberts and Shane Peters were working their regular 9 to 5s. By night? One might find them crouched on a floor, covered in sawdust, sweat and stain, sanding away to expose a new, fresh layer of wood that would eventually become a homeowner’s cherished hardwood floor. It was a love for improvement, a passion for seeing the before and afters, and the joy on homeowners’ faces that ultimately led them to leave their jobs and join forces full-time. After a few busy years of working together “on the side” nights and weekends—and a quick creation of an LLC—it was official. Christian and Shane left their 9 to 5s and Blue Jay Flooring was born.
The Beginnings: From Side Hustle to Full-Time
According to Christian, when it got to the point where they were booked out every weekend for three months straight, he knew it was time to go full-time. As Shane said, “We were booked so far out we had to take vacation days to do floors.” It didn’t make sense anymore to keep their day jobs. That’s when they knew it was time to make the jump. In their minds, there was nothing to lose. If it didn’t work out, “the worst-case scenario for us, we could just go get a job.”
It turned out to be the best-case scenario.
Creating an LLC and going full-time led to many benefits for Christian and Shane. When they were doing it as a side hustle, they had to talk homeowners into letting them work in their houses over the weekend and at night. They were also “doing floors for cheap” in those early days to get better jobs, get their name out, and build a reputation.
Now, as a full-fledged operating business, it was a relief to work normal hours, and even better, charge normal prices. In addition, now “nothing is rushed.” They have more time for details and prep work, which is key to making sure each job is done right.
It’s Not Just a Floor
From the beginning, Christian and Shane set out to do things differently. They wanted to do things right, to create wood floors that would stand the test of time. They wanted to do floors the best way possible, and to educate homeowners on the fact that this new floor of theirs was not just a floor. It’s an investment.
Both Christian and Shane know that wood is a living thing and they always strive to educate their customers about this quality and how to properly maintain their new floors. Teaching them to keep the house at a constant relative humidity and temperature was first and foremost. Otherwise, the customer would see issues such as gapping that would harm the appearance and integrity of their new investment.
The Rewards of Refinishing
Specializing in hardwood floors and specifically refinishing brings many benefits to the homeowner. That old floor that has “yellowed” over time? Give Shane and Christian a week and it’ll be brand new. Have old carpet you’re pulling up only to discover hardwood underneath? As Shane puts it, that’s when “you see wood and you struck gold.” That’s because the homeowner doesn’t have the costly expense of buying new material. Instead, the wood can just be refinished to create a beautiful “new” floor.
The process for having a floor refinished is fairly simple. “We’ll come out to do the bid and we look at your floor and see what’s going on with it,” says Shane. “We do a little education with the customer, tell them the dos and don’ts.” When it’s time to do the project, Christian and Shane will sand the floor and put three or four different stain samples on it, giving their customers an idea of which way they can go. Shane always tells homeowners “You don’t want your floor to walk up your wall.” By that, he means you don’t want the floor and wall to blend. “You want a little bit of contrast.” So, if the homeowner has a stained cabinet and wants the floor color to be in the same realm, he suggests going at least one to two shades lighter or darker.
Changing Times, Better Technology
Christian and Shane are happy about the positive changes that have been made in the flooring industry over the years. When they first started out, dust was everywhere.
“You would dust the whole house out,” Shane explained. Today, thanks to dustless vacuums, that is no longer the case. As one can imagine, homeowners are quite happy about that as well. Another positive change has been the base that is used on flooring. Previously, floors were refinished using an oil base. Not only do oil based polyurethane take forever to dry—eight to 16 hours, and “if it’s humid, good luck on it drying”—but they also give off a strong enough scent that homeowners pack their overnight bags and stay elsewhere. Today, with the invention of water-based polyurethane, that’s also no longer the case. Water-based stains not only dry much quicker—often taking only four hours—but they also don’t stink–a huge improvement for everyone involved.
Dreams for the Future
When asked how far they might be willing to go for work, Shane and Christian said on a normal basis, two hours outside the Omaha area. However, if it’s a historic building in New York? They’ll be at the airport in an hour. Christian and Shane have not only dreamt about working on historic buildings in NY, but they’ve actually talked with other contractors about really doing it.
“That’s some of the oldest wood in the United States,” says Shane. “There may be even 200-year-old floors out there. That’d be super cool to put your name on.”
The next time you need a wood floor refinished, think of Blue Jay Flooring. Give Christian or Shane a call at 402.979.3322. As long as they’re not out in NYC working on some 200-year-old floors, they’ll be happy to work on yours.
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