Like any investment, a beautifully finished floor requires on-going maintenance and care to ensure it looks beautiful for many years to come. You can preserve its value and finish by looking through the following tips and advice for before, during and after your flooring refurbishment.

Preparing for your floor for sanding

  • Before our team arrive, you will need to remove all furniture off your timber floor, including dishwasher, fridge and oven.
  • If your have floor boards to be refurbished under carpet or other existing coverings, these will need to be removed (including staples, tacks and other items), or if this is not possible we can do this at a charge.
  • Cover up – Please remove any food, and cover all surfaces with drop sheets, seal cupboards etc in the room and close and seal up doors to other rooms. Cover any furniture and items in the same space.
  • Ensure that adequate lighting and power will be available for the applicators and their equipment.
  • Provide clear and safe access to the site for the workers.

What to expect with your flooring finish

  • Our expert floor sanders will give a professional sanding and coating job.
  • The floor nails will be punched.
  • If you want nail holes or gaps filled, please discuss this with us prior to us starting. Please note that this is an additional charge.
  • A coating that will provide many years of beauty, provided it is properly maintained. There are options on coatings and differing finishes – we can work through these prior to starting.
  • Matt, satin or gloss options are available in some finishes, as well as staining, wire brushing and other effects.

What NOT to expect with your flooring finish

  • Your environment will NOT be completely dust free. While we use the latest sanding machinery and dust extraction equipment, it is not possible to clean away all the dust. Our equipment will extract as much of the dust as possible, and we will clean up prior to the final coat but there will be a few resulting consequences due to the difficulty in getting rid of all the dust:
    1. There will always be some dust particles that settle on the newly finished surface.
    2. There will be an amount of dust throughout the rest of the house.
  • Deep cuts, or some stains especially around nail holes in solid timber floors, will NOT be entirely removed from the timber floor boards.
  • Gaps will not be filled in between the floor boards, unless prior argreement. The reason for this is because subsequent shrinkage and expansion in the timber will cause cracking in the filler.

Things to consider during your new home build using unfinished timber.

  • Ensure you know when the start and end dates should be for the floor sanding and coating job, this is important if you’re building or renovating your home and are doing other work on the home as well.
  • Your timber floor work should only be started after all other electrical, carpentry, plastering, plumbing and glazing work has been completed.
  • We also recommend finishing any and all painting (except for the final coat on skirting boards) before beginning on the floors. The final coat for skirtings may be done after the floors have been sanded and coated.
  • Be wary that any silicone or silicone based product that come into contact with the floor after sanding, but prior to any of the 3 coats have been done, will result in the coatings being rejected. Silicone can often be found on the footware of plumbers and glaziers.
  • Don’t lay out any carpets until after the floors have been finished. Please avoid mats or rugs for the first weeks while the floor finish settles in, then routinely move the position for these especially for the first six months, to avoid colour change due to the sun.

Preventing scratches and dents

Dirt and grit introduced into your floors will result in scratches, and also reduce the floor’s sparkle.

It’s important to sweep or vacuum your floor at least once a week to remove any of this dirt and grit.

To ensure the floors are kept clean, put door mats outside and inside each external door to capture dirt.

High heels and stiletto shoes can cause dents in your timber floor, so ensure people entering your home or office remove these before walking on your floors.

Preventing discolouring

Over time, direct sunlight can cause changes in the colour of your wooden floors.

You can avoid this fading and discolouring by closing curtains and blinds whenever possible.

You will also find that certain placement of rugs can cause the timber to fade unevenly, so moving these (and other furniture) occasionally will allow it to ‘even out’.

Cleaning and maintaining your floors

It’s important that your wooden floors are cleaned with as little water as possible. Vacuum or dry mop your floors on a regular basis, then use a microfibre mop to clean your floor as required and check with us on what timber floor cleaner to use specifically for your floor finish, and how often. This will vary with the finish you have on your specific floor.

Never use a wet mop or other non specific cleaners on your floor, as they can affect the moisture content of the timber and may result in cupping. Do not use household cleaners on your floors, as they may contain certain harsh chemicals which can affect the floor finish.

Liquid spills should be wiped up straight away using a soft cloth.