This is a question I had been asked a few times over the years (try a few thousand), but never-more than since Wickes said on their advert that their floor can be sanded up to 3 times.
Since that advert aired this has been one of the most common questions people ask when buying wood flooring products. How many sandings can it take? How many times can that species be sanded? Etc etc etc.
The truth is... Read more>>>
I have just been asked something that I get asked frequently, but today I was inspired to answer it in a blog. I was asked this on another blog that I run called Woodfloorguru, in a post about Kahrs Oak Sienna:
"Hi, I have a question about another oak, white oak. We're trying to decide if we should go with hand scraped or sanded due to concerns about heel dents, etc. Solid HW, not engineered. It's a darker, "antiquish" stain but we don't know if we would like to make it even more antique/rustic looking with the hand scraped. We don't want to be overly stressed when we entertain is our primary issue."
The answer to that question is: Either.
When buying a wood floor, hand-scraped is a surface texture effect. The effect is applied by a machine when the floor is being manufactured. It is not an alternative to floor sanding, and any difference it makes to the durability of the wood is unintended and probably marginal.
The hand-scraped effect can not be easily re-done, so when the floor becomes worn it will most probably be a case of sanding and re-finishing anyway.
Therefore, whether to choose hand-scraped or sanded is a matter of personal choice and whatever you think looks/works best in the room.
Here are some things you could consider in order to get a floor capable of withstanding a dance party or two:
Consider laminate flooring. Laminate flooring is basically a photograph of wood planks covered with a sheet of high tensile plastic, therefore it is one of the toughest flooring products around.
If you really want a real wood floor, consider applying a thick coat of lacquer or clear varnish. This will harden the floor without taking away too much from the look of the wood.
It is a fact that hardwood flooring will last a lifetime if properly maintained. In our last post we covered how to protect floors from damage, and how to keep floors looking beautiful with regular light cleaning, and occasional deep cleaning when necessary.
But what if its too late for that? What if the floor is damaged or simply loses its shine? Well, my first answer there is to get in the professionals. The price they charge is well worth the peace of mind you get from knowing that they will make a perfect job and bring your floor up good as new. Not to mention removing the risk of you damaging the floor in a catastrophic mistake/accident.
Thus, below we will cover how a floor can be sanded and refinished to make it look as good as new. Call it a DIY guide if you like, but more importantly it will give you the knowledge necessary to make an educated judgement about quotations, and whether or not it is worth attempting yourself.
This is the bit that you should really have the professionals in for. Floor sanding is not difficult, but you only want to have one go; every time a floor is sanded is 1 sanding off the length of its life, and maybe more if you lean too heavily. That is why you should get the professionals in, to ensure that it is done properly in one go, to prolong the life of the floor. Not to mention removing the potential of accidental grooves in the floor.
If you do want to do it yourself: the best advice is to hire an orbital sander.
You will also need to get the four different grades of sandpaper, 36, 60, 80, 100, and a dust-mask.
Most importantly: make sure you keep moving whilst the sander is on; long, steady strokes along the grain of the wood. If you leave the sander stationary while switched on it will leave an irreprable recess in the wood. Also, never sand across the grain! If you accidentally make a small gouge in the wood, simply make long strokes back and forth over the affected area to even it out.
Start with the roughest sandpaper, 36. Then using the slightly lighter-grained sandpaper (60 grit), sand scratches and lines in the floor as many times as necessary to remove them. Then attach the next grade, and the next, to sand the floor to a beautiful smooth finish.
If your sander doesn’t reach the edges of the floor you will need to use an edging sander, or a hand sander to sand down the edges of the floor in the same way as covered above.
You should then brush up the saw-dust, and then use a hand vacuum to pick up the even finer dust.
This is another advantage of hiring Glasgow floor sanders Mckay Flooring, we have expensive dust-free sanding machinery, which removes any possibility of a grain of dust ruining the finish.
By now, you are looking at a smooth, sanded hardwood floor, as bare and beautiful as nature never intended. You have to choose whether you want to keep its natural beauty or give its beauty a different shade, texture and/or tone.
This is a decision you will already have made when buying wood-staining products, but no one says you can’t change your mind when presented with the natural beauty of the wood.
If you have decided not to stain you can move on to step 3. Otherwise, the next step is to test your shade on a corner of the floor and leave it 5 minutes to dry, to make sure you like it on.
If you do: the next step is to apply a first coat of stain to the rest of the floor. Use a brush and smooth out with a rag if you want heavier, darker coats. Use only rags for lighter and more controlled strokes. Either way, apply with long, even strokes, going with the grain. Allow the first coat to dry. If necessary, apply a second coat, or touch up light spots.
You can just imagine how devastating it would be if you made a mess of this job, so please be careful. Of course it can be sanded again, but this is again shortening the life of the floor.
Firstly, ensure that you do the opposite of how Bond likes his martinis; stir the polyurethane finishing solution, do not shake. Shaking would create air bubbles which would ruin the finish on your floor.
Apply polyurethane with a brush or roller, using smooth, even strokes with the grain to avoid marks in the finish. Then leave to dry for at least 3 hours, before applying the second coat – check the label for drying times of the brand you have bought.
Add a second coat. Allow the final coat to dry overnight at least, and leave it up to 3 days before moving furniture or rugs back on the floor.
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