A good shellacking

Ask any competent home repair professional to come in and shellac your floors, and he’ll probably look at you like you have two heads, mutter something as he walks off to his van, and never be seen again. Luckily for us, I’m no competent professional. This old house’s hardwood floors were originally finished in shellac, and though some nincompoop (probably a competent professional) put a poly coating on top in some places, on the whole the floors have been untouched and have that wonderful amber glow that oak floors are supposed to have. Elder daughter is away for a week and wanted her room painted, but once I took a hard look at the hard floor, I knew I’d have to do it the hard way. She’ll be lucky if I’ve finished painting the walls by the time she gets back, but her floor will have been hand-sanded and lovingly coated with the secretions of the lac beetle. Unlike polyurethanes, shellac is a natural product, isn’t toxic, produces far fewer fumes, and dries to the touch in about an hour, not a day. You can patch a spot easily, and it’s plenty hard for floors. Thanks, lac beetle!