Goodwin was both honored and humbled to work with Artisan Hardwood Flooring in Austin, Texas to provide beautiful, historically accurate wood flooring for the Texas Governor’s Mansion restoration. The Texas State Preservation Board managed and was responsible for the project, ensuring each and every aspect of the restoration was historically accurate. Pat Bailey at Artisan Hardwood Floors oversaw the selection and installation of the flooring and selected Goodwin to provide the first growth wood for the floors.

Pat visited two homes designed by the same architect who designed the Texas Governor’s Mansion. Working with the State’s project manager, he examined the grade, lengths and quality of the boards used in those projects and discussed what was expected on the Governor’s Mansion Restoration Project to ensure the wood he used was historically appropriate. Pat then traveled from Texas to Goodwin’s plant in Micanopy, Florida to hand select wood to meet the exact requirements of the project.

The overall scope of work was quite a challenge. First, the original subfloor was not always consistent, though built with 1” longleaf pine in 1856. Some areas had been altered and leveling was required. Room transitions also needed adjusted, so special consideration and accommodations were made. For instance, although the length of the boards extended up to 16 feet, everything was end matched (tongue and grooved at the end of the boards) to preserve structural integrity. Second, two additions had been built onto the original structure through the years so a few of the subfloors were concrete (specifically in the 2012 addition). Pat had to make transition adjustments so the entire mansion “flowed” as a single structure. He was asked to hand scrape the wood rather than flat sand, and used a traditional wax finish.

Special thank you to Pat for inviting Goodwin to be part of this restoration and choosing us to provide the material for the magnificent replacement flooring. This will go down in our books as one of Goodwin’s most celebrated projects!

The next time you happen to be in Texas, consider touring the Texas Governor’s Mansion – we would love to hear your feedback!