HOW TO LOOK AFTER SOLID OAK FLOORING

 

Your brand hardwood floor has been installed and finished, so what's there left to do?

Thankfully, not much. The beauty of oak flooring, like every hardwood flooring, is you will only need some simple care and maintenance to look after it and keep it in great condition for decades to come.

Choose the Right Finish

One of the most important things that you need to do, even before your flooring is installed, is selecting the most appropriate finish to suit your house. After all, not everyone will want the same look from their floors or have the exact same level of action in their home, all which affect which finish you should choose.

For example, a lacquer finish will give your flooring anything from a set matt to a high gloss finish, depending on what is chosen, and is very easy to care for. An oil finish, on the other hand, will give your floor a much more natural"saturated in" look that tends to leans towards a matt appearance and can be quite easily patch repaired should the demand arise.

Protect Your Hardwood Floor from Furniture

Aside from pets and particular footwear, the most common cause of marks and scratches on solid pine flooring is furniture. Whenever large pieces of furniture and intentionally or unintentionally moved, they could leave a permanent mark. Even something as straightforward as getting up from a chair can scratch your floors if done without maintenance. To prevent this from occurring, invest in certain felt covers for the base of your furniture. These affordable bits of felt readily adhere to the bottoms of tables, chairs, and sofas, giving a gentle buffer between your furniture and the floor. It should go without saying that if you're moving any heavy pieces of furniture in a room with hardwood floors, you ought to lift it instead of dragging it around the floor.

Know How To Properly Clean Solid Oak Flooring

Cleaning solid walnut flooring couldn't be any easier and certainly will go a long way in maintaining your hardwood flooring in good shape. The very first step would be to sweep the ground using a brush to remove dirt and dust every couple of days or so depending on the level of footfall within the room. It is also possible to do this step using a vacuum cleaner but be sure you have an proper hardwood flooring compatible attachment until you do so, otherwise, you can scratch the finish.

To get a deeper clean, you can even mop your wooden floors once each week or so but be careful to use a damp mop and never a wet one.

How To Recoat Oiled Flooring

Oiled wood floors is arguably one of the most natural looking finishes you can choose, no matter whether your floor is solid wood or engineered. An extremely popular choice recently, there's no getting away from the truth that Engineered hardwood floors is less resistant to wear and tear than the likes of lacquered wood flooring. Nonetheless, a well preserved oiled wood floor is highly versatile and practical.

One of the main reasons which Engineered hardwood floors is so hot is because oiling wood helps enhance the natural beauty of the wood, actually enabling the grain from the wood to shine through. That said, it is important to maintain your oiled wood flooring in good condition to keep it looking good.

Assuming your floor has been well oiled at the onset of its life, the continuing maintenance should be relatively stress free. In normal circumstances, you shouldn't even need to use a detergent. That said, if your floor has become excessively grubby, you can add a mild detergent to the cleaning water.

If your oiled flooring is looking somewhat stained in places, you are able to tackle the stained regions by location fixing. Spot repairing involves lightly sanding the stained area of the flooring that has been stained and topping up the oil end on the subsequent patch. But if your floor is heavily stained, the sole choice is to recoat the floors completely.

When it comes to recoating your whole floor, you'll need to be organised if you're arranging a DIY approach. If you are bringing from the professionals, then all you should really should believe about is clear the room and leaving them everything. In any event, when you're clearing your space, take care to lift rather than drag furnishings because dragging furniture across your flooring can lead to damage. Like all tasks of this nature, the success lies in the preparation and the more effort you put into the preparation of your floor, the better your outcomes will be.

Should you plan a DIY recoating of your oiled floor, you'll need to gently sand the floor to remove the top layer of dirt, dirt and damaged end. The explanation for sanding is to prepare the timber to spend the oil to give you a nice, even surface throughout the floor. Once you've sanded the floor, you need to be certain you invest the time needed to make certain you pick up all the dust from sanding before moving on to the recoating procedure. Now, it's also wise to fix any harm or fill any gaps.

Depending on which oil finish product you have selected, you'll need to apply a couple of coats, but you should always follow the manufacturers directions. Be certain you combine the oil thoroughly before starting and attempt to work systematically together the boards of your floor. If your room is large (greater than about half square metres) you ought to care for the area in 2 sections, working in from the edges and towards the doorway. The very best way to tackle this task is by using a brush to get right up to the edges and in the corners. When it comes to the most important surface of the floor, you should pour the oil in tiny quantities on to the ground and use a rubber bladed scraper to disperse the oil along the planks, all the time making sure you don't leave puddles of oil on your floor. Once the oil is bit dry, wipe over the floor with a lint-free cloth to remove any surplus and ensure that your room is well ventilated for the final drying process.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO FIT A HARDWOOD FLOORING TO EXISTING FLOORBOARDS?

Among many installation options, fitting a hardwood flooring to existing or original floorboards is generally one of the easiest and most effective ones. But you have to pay attention to certain details to do it correctly and be completely happy with the final result. Remember that present or original floorboards, which are frequently made from softwood, are extremely likely to have shrunk, bowed or cupped, and thus the surface is uneven. If that is the case with your flooring, consider a screed or a plywood or chipboard sub floor, which will substantially enhance the stability of this new floor.

Typically, the fact that the present or unique floor is irregular shouldn't be a serious issue if you've chosen a hardwood floor whose thickness is at least 18 mm. In such a circumstance, it will generally be easy to fix the new floor directly to the old planks.

As you probably know from our articles, there are in general three primary fitting procedures for hardwood flooring. Those are gluing, floating as well as repainting. After fitting a hardwood floor to existing or original floorboards, the best method is key nailing, in which nails are placed through the tongue of the boards.

When you're about to put in your new flooring, always make sure you ensure that the new planks have been fitted at 90 degrees to the existing boards, as this can make the floor more secure.

Floor Sanding Camden

Floor Sanding Camden

Floor Sanding Camden

The Best Ways to Clean Hardwood Floors

-Prep your floor for cleaning by sweeping or dust-mopping to get rid of large particles of dirt and debris.
-Use a pH neutral cleaner that will be gentle on your hardwood floors.
-Use a fine spray mist to clean your floor in sections. Avoid putting too much liquid on your floors.
-Use a microfiber mop to clean. Traditional mops can work, but they can leave excess water on your floors.
-Skip using white vinegar and water to clean your floors. Using a specially formulated hardwood floor care cleaner is a smart way to maintain the beauty and look of your floors.