Last Updated on February 22, 2019 by Royal Stone Care
There are many clear benefits to having a wooden floor, from the naturally stunning appearance of real wood to the fact that it will harbour fewer germs and dust mites than a carpet. It will also be a lot easier to clean. Real hardwood floors need little regular care. Clearly, what you do and when is a matter of personal choice. However, if you’re refinishing, especially if you’re using oil, sanding lets the oil seep deeper into the wood. And, after an original sanding, which may only need to be done 15 years after you lay the floor, sanding your floor every decade or so is recommended.How to do it
- Remove furniture and rugs, wear a dust mast and safety googles and hammer in any protruding nails. Close the door but open the windows.
- If there are any gaps in the boards, fill these in first, either using a thin strip of glue-covered wood or papier maché for smaller holes.
- Sand with coarse paper. If you’re using a machine, this needs to fit very tightly around the drum. Sand with the grain, moving the sander slowly from side to side. Remember to unplug the machine when changing the paper.
- After the dust has settled following sanding, vacuum thoroughly, and then wipe the floor with white spirit and let it dry out completely. You can then varnish the floor to seal the wood. Use a floor pad to do this, moving in the direction of the grain. Apply a couple of coats, or three, and allow a good two hours between coats for drying time.
- Clean varnish brushes thoroughly afterwards with warm water and washing-up liquid.
Should I use professional floor sanding services?
One of the problems is that the machines you hire tend to be very powerful. Mastering them takes practice, and you can end up damaging your floor if you’re not careful. (It’s also quite strenuous work.)
Use professional wooden floor sanding services and you will, quite simply, have someone who knows what they’re doing. They’ll understand how to finish a floor properly and appreciate, for example, that you can’t finish off an exotic timber like rosewood with a water-based varnish.
At Royal Stone Care, we offer professional wooden floor sanding services London customers love. Our work is cost-effective, especially when compared with the price of hiring a sander, and thorough, so that your floor is left looking like new. Talk to us today.
