Blog Archive | February 2010

Expand your horizons when it comes to hardwood flooring

When choosing hardwood flooring for their homes, most people generally tend to go for traditional varieties such as white or red oak, maple, or cherry. Whilst it’s true that these species are all extremely hardwearing and durable, and come in many different shades and textures; your home could really benefit if you tried something new and unique.

There are estimated to be around 100,000 species of trees in the world at present, but obviously only a few hundred of these are suitable for producing hardwood flooring. The following are a few unusual species that are increasingly gaining popularity:

• Rosewood – This is an extremely beautiful, hard and durable species, known for its decorative features and applications. In terms of colour, you can expect anything from a deep purple with black flecks to a dark brown; all fading to a delightful golden brown over time.

• Jatoba – A characteristically hard wood, Jatoba has rich pink/reddish brown colours that deepen with age.

• Merbau – Also one of the hardest species you can go for, Merbau has interesting characteristics when it comes to colour. The heartwood colour is yellow or more of an orange brown – darkening to reddish brown over time- but the yellow tones change when the wood is sanded or restored, leaving a sort of golden finish.

Refinishing a hardwood floor

It is not always worth refinishing a hardwood floor, but due to the robust and hardwearing nature of hardwood, more often than not a little bit of maintenance will go a long way. It’s the nature of a hardwood floor that it will stand the test of time if looked after in the right way.

Probably the best way to ensure a good result when you refinish a hardwood floor is to make use of professionals. With the right expertise and equipment, they will do a far better job than you ever could, so if you’re serious about returning your floor to its best, take this option. If you’re determined to do it yourself, here are a few tips.

First of all, clear the room and sweep it. Check for nails and any carpet tacks that might remain and either remove them or hammer them down. You then need to hire a sander. Drum sanders are most commonly used, but you need to keep them constantly moving to ensure that no one area gets overworked.

Having sanded once, hoover and then sand again with a lighter grain for a smoother finish. Clean up once again and your hardwood floor is now ready for staining (if necessary) and then finishing.

Looking after a hardwood floor

Whatever the wood, whether it’s cherry, oak or maple, a hardwood floor looks fantastic - and like everything of high quality, it needs to be cared for.

The different woods used for flooring are all tough and hardwearing, which is what makes them fit for the purpose. However, they can still get scuffed and scratched and they do need looking after.

Cleaning

Hardwood floors need cleaning just like any other surface, but the wrong techniques could actually damage them. First of all, sweep up all the major dirt and grit. Don’t use a brush that might scratch; use something with relatively soft bristles. Having done this, you can now mop the floor. Avoid oil-based and chemical cleansers as these can damage the wood.

Maintenance

The sun’s rays can fade the colour of wood, but you can protect it from this with the use of a water-based urethane finish. Alternatively, or in addition to that, curtains and blinds can block direct light.

Water is a major danger for hardwood floors. If the floor gets damp, it will lose its sheen and may distort. Wipe spills with a dry cloth before they stain.

Other measures that can be taken to ensure your floor retains its look are to place floor mats for people coming into the house and to avoid dragging furniture around, which may scratch the surface.

Is it worth refinishing a hardwood floor?

There really is no substitute for a hardwood floor. The look and feel is unmatched by any other type of flooring. However, sometimes you might find that your floor has become scratched and dulled or maybe you’ve just moved into a new home and the floor is not in the best condition. The good news is that you don’t need to replace it. One of the great things about a hardwood floor is that with a bit of maintenance, you can soon return it to its best.

Refinishing a hardwood floor is not a quick task. It will take a number of hours, but the effects are worth it. If you can’t commit the time or you worry that you don’t have the right tools or ability, it’s worth hiring professionals to carry out the job as they should know exactly what they are doing, guaranteeing a great result.

Not all hardwood floors are suitable for refinishing. If your floor is sagging or has become spongy, the boards may need to be replaced. If the floor is in fundamentally good condition, you can make the effort to improve its appearance.

There is no substitute for solid wood flooring

If you want your home to look as good as it can, there is quite simply no substitute for solid wood flooring. New floors look immaculate and old floors can be made to look just as good if you hire someone to professionally resurface and renovate them.

When choosing a new floor, consider the type of wood carefully. Certain woods are harder than others and therefore more durable. For example, ash is generally a good deal harder than cherry or birch. However, all woods used for flooring are hardwoods and will be able to withstand a good deal of foot traffic. Often, if you get a darker wood, scuffs and scratches are less noticeable anyway, so you could bear this in mind when making your selection.

Having had your floor installed, you thereafter need to care for it properly. It will need brushing and mopping occasionally and there will eventually come a time when you need to resurface it. When it comes to this point, you would be well-advised to make use of professionals. Wood floor experts will make use of the right tools for the job and will also understand the properties of each wood type, tailoring their approach accordingly.

Why have your wood floors sanded?

Wood flooring guarantees a great look for your home, but while it’s robust and hardwearing, it still needs to be cared for. One thing that will sometimes need to be done is to have it sanded.

Whatever the wood used, wood floors do get damaged. Planks may split or work loose. When you have repaired them, the surface needs to be refinished and sanding will take out imperfections, returning your floor to its best.

Over the years, the wood stain will lose its lustre. Moving furniture about and simply walking on the floor will scuff and scratch it. If you sand the floor, you can subsequently restain it and you can even choose a different stain if you weren’t 100 per cent happy with the original one.

But overall, sanding is a means of preserving your wood floor. When a floor is sanded, it will also be finished as well and the lacquer will protect the wood from moisture and dust. This will prolong the life of your floor, ensuring it looks good for many years to come.

If you’re planning on having your floor sanded, it is always advisable to make use of professionals. These people understand wood and can ensure you get the best results.

Use professionals to prevent sanding marks from the floor sander

One of the risks when sanding a floor is that you will end up with sander marks or imprints afterwards. Sanding machines are sizable and powerful and this can easily happen. If you have never used a wood sander before, you are almost certain to suffer this fate and it is always best to make use of professionals if you need a hardwood floor sanded.

Precautions need to be taken to prevent these distinctive marks from appearing. Firstly, there are different techniques if you are sanding a stained or unstained floor. Equally, different types of wood need to be treated in different ways and even different ages of wood will respond to sanding in different ways.

A professional will know which type of equipment is needed and furthermore, will have it at their disposal. Proper, high-quality floor sanders are not cheap and you can’t necessarily just go and hire one. A good sander needs weight and power. You need the right tools for the job.

So rather than hiring the sander and risking your beautiful hardwood floor, why not hire professionals to carry out the sanding task in its entirety? You can then be assured that your floor will not be damaged and will end up looking as good as it has ever done.

Bamboo - the environmentally friendly choice for wood floors

Whether you’re designing a home from scratch or just making some changes to one you already live in, bamboo flooring is worthy of consideration. It’s a bit strange to think about bamboo flooring at first, because it conjures images of loosely woven branches, but this is not the kind of bamboo that is used.

Bamboo is actually a very robust wood, which makes it an excellent choice for a floor. It is as tough as maple and harder than red oak, so shoes and pets shouldn’t have too much of an impact.

Bamboo is also less susceptible to the buckling which occasionally affects a wood floor. Buckling comes about when the wood absorbs moisture and expands. Similarly, when moisture is lost, the wood may shrink, potentially leaving gaps between boards. Bamboo is less affected by moisture than other woods which goes some way towards combating this.

The other great advantage of bamboo is that it is more environmentally friendly than many other woods. It is fast growing, meaning trees can be replaced more quickly. The harvesting of bamboo can take place as frequently as every five years, which means there is less environment impact in selecting it for your floor.

Choosing cherry flooring

In terms of colour and uniqueness, cherry is one of the best materials you can choose for your new hardwood flooring. Cherry wood flooring brings a very warm character to your home due to its fascinating reddish hue, making it the perfect choice for homeowners seeking a chic yet cheerful ambience in their homes.

However, there is no need to sacrifice quality and durability for style with cherry wood flooring; it is also a hard, water-repellent, multi-purpose material as well as being extremely attractive to both the eye and the touch.

Here are a few tips to bear in mind before buying cherry hardwood flooring:

• Colour – Decide exactly what shade you would like, and consider which colour will best complement your interior decor. Choose from bright reds to deep, reddish browns.

• Price – As with other types of hardwood flooring, always shop around online to get the best deal. Cherry is not as widely available as oak or maple hardwood flooring, so be prepared to pay a little more for this individual and exclusive material

• Installation – Due to slight difficulty involved in installing cherry wood flooring properly, it is always recommended to hire a professional to do the job for you.