Tool Reviews & Buying Guides by Trade

If you want to read articles and reviews that are trade-specific, try our Tool Reviews by Trade section. This organizes our site into topics suited particularly for a specific trade such as plumbing, electrical, framing, roofing & siding, concrete/masonry, and carpentry. Roofing and siding pros will find pneumatic roofing nailers as well as tools like cap staplers and hammer tackers. Tile & Flooring Pros will gain easy access to our tile saws, flooring staplers, and floor scrapers. As a painting professional, reviews of airless sprayers and cordless sprayers may interest you the most. You can count on one thing: whatever your craft, you need good tools. Our tool reviews by trade will help you drill down to quickly find the information you need. If you want to avoid anything that sits outside of your trade, this way helps you do it. If you can’t find a tool here, let us know.

How to Install Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

How to Clean Wood Floors and Protect Them

Protecting wood floors isn’t difficult, but it’s important to understand how different sealers work and the advantages and disadvantages of each. There are two basic types of sealers: penetrating sealers and “top” sealers. Penetrating sealers, as the name implies, soak into the wood and seal from within. When the floor becomes worn you can re-apply penetrating sealers. Top sealers, like lacquer, shellac, and varnish stay on top of the wood and cannot be applied for worn spots without showing.