The Pros and Cons of Different Wood Types of Wood Floors

Throughout history wood has been a very popular flooring option.  In Cambridge, there are many homes with solid wood flooring, it was at one time, one of only a few alternative to stone or brick flooring, and has been used long before cheaper alternatives came along, such as Medium-density Fibreboard (MDF) or Plywood.

So as with any financial commitments, take your time and consider your options and for any flooring, whether its Hardwood and MDF, look at the cost of purchasing and installation, where is it for? And how do you want them finished? Do you want to have them painted or waxed? etc.

But never-the-less, wood is hardwearing and durable, it has been used in almost every house and for every interior design and colour scheme.  Wood is a very en-vogue and an interior designers dream

Here at the Art of Clean, we don't know anyone who has chosen wood flooring and hasn't been pleased with the results.  The only problem is, it can be a difficult choice of what kind of wood flooring is right for you.

This is just a simple guide to the three different types of wood flooring:

SOLID WOOD is the most popular and is considered to be the original wood flooring.    It is cut into planks or blocks from the log and go through a process of kiln drying, which enables the wood to reduce the moisture level.  The net process is to machine cut into various sizes and a profile is given, either square edged or tongue and grooved.  They are then finished in the factory with a coating of lacquer or wax or can be left unfinished and finished later by the installer.

ENGINEERED is basically a veneer applied to a plywood base.  Consider the installation methods as it can be very different to Solid wood flooring.

LAMINATE is not the same as Engineered Flooring.  Laminate is basically a high quality picture of wood.

I just wanted to finish this blog, with a couple of photographs from a pine floor sanding job our Service and Sales Technician, Nathan was sent on this week to a clients home in Cambridge.

Our client was really chuffed with the results and said "that all his floors look fantastic now".

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-pros-and-cons-of-different-wood.html

What are the benefits of oiling a wood floor?

Preserving, saving, restoring, up-cycling, - These are all buzzwords these days reminding us to make things last as long as possible or re using items if you can. Wood floors are certainly no exception.
For many years all wood floors where sealed or varnished with polyurethane finish over the top and then once the coating has worn through the floor will be sanded back and re sealed using the same method. Over the years oil finished on wood has slowly grown in popularity. Let’s explore the benefits of oiling your wood floor:

Oiling a wood floor provides you with a natural finish – do take note if you require a modern high shine finish – most oils cannot offer you this.

If you restore wood floors on a listed building the oil option is ideal as it is permeable and allows moisture to move through the wood floor.

Pallmann Magic Oil has a dry time of 4 hours and cure time of 12 hours – this means you can use four floor much sooner – if you opt for a lacquer finish you will have to wait 7 days for the lacquer to cure and 8 hours for it to dry.

Using an oil on your wood floor will allow for localised repairs – Yes if your floor gets scratched or damaged you can sand the damaged out and sand the surrounding area of the floor lightly to blend it in and apply oil to the area and is most cases the floor will be as good as new (consult a wood sanding professional for more advice before you attempt to do this yourself!)

Oiled wood floors can be given a good clean and fresh application of oil to give them a new lease of life.

Caring for your oiled wood floor is much easier than you think – You can use Pallmann Clean to clean your oiled wood floor followed by Pallmann Magic Oil Care – This gives the floor a fresh look

For easy day to day cleaning and care - Use Pallmann Clean and Go

You can find the wood care products on  www.artofcleanonline.co.uk

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/what-are-benefits-of-oiling-wood-floor.html

How do I look after my newly sanded wood floor?

Our aim at the Art of Clean is to bring you the best cleaning service in Cambridge, Hertfordshire and Essex.  We also want to help you with any queries you might have about all aspects of cleaning.

So here's a helpful guide to keeping your floor looking good as new, just after you've had it sanded.

We're under no illusions, floors will get dirty and time is of the essence but any amount of cleaning will be useful in limiting the build up.

Here are a few tips on keeping your wood floor clean.

To keep your floor free from dry soil, use a good quality soft broom or a vacuum cleaner with a special soft floor attachment.

To limit any damage, knocks or scratches by your furniture we recommend Felt pad protectors under all your furniture, which last much longer and are much safer for your floors.


1 - MAINTENANCE ROUTINE

We strongly recommend your weekly cleaning of your wood floor is done correctly. 

 You will need wood oil care Kit:

• A 2 compartment mob bucket
• Good quality mop (clean)
• Cleaning solution - We recommend Pallmann Clean (available in 0.75 litre or 10 litre)
• Clean water

Fill one side of your mop bucket (the side you will wring your mop in) with clean water.

Make your cleaning solution mix as described on the bottle in the other mop bucket compartment.

Wet your mop in the clean water and wring it out. Dip the tips – (3 – 6 inches) into the cleaning solution and wring your mop. Now start mopping your floor. After cleaning about 3 – 5 sq meters rinse the mop in the clean water side of the bucket and dip the tips of the mop (3 – 6 inches) into the cleaning solution side – wring out and repeat as above.

Let the floor dry and return to normal use. If it is a large area replace the rinse water when dirty. You will get into a rhythm to get the ratio of cleaning water and rinse solution just right so when the rinse water is dirty your cleaning solution will be finished in the bucket.

Why do we advise the above method?

Simple – if you mop a floor with a single compartment mop bucket you will collect the dirt on the floor and contaminate your cleaning solution with this. You will then keep spreading this onto the floor every time you rinse your mop in the solution

PLEASE NOTE – DO NOT PLACE METAL FURNITURE IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH YOUR

WOOD FLOOR AS THIS CAN CAUSE MARKS – FLOOR PROTECTORS AS DESCRIBED AS

ABOVE IS STRONGLY ADVISED

2- TOP UP OIL – Magic Oil Care (available in 0.75 Litre or 10 Litre)

Over time the floor will tone down after use. To give the floor a fresh lift it is best to apply a coating of Magic Oil Care to the floor after a clean (ad described above) Use the T bar applicator and apply a very thin layer of Magic oil care evenly to the floor. This should be done when the floor appears a bit dry or every 3 – 6 months depending on use. 

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/how-do-i-look-after-my-newly-sanded.html

Sanding An Ancient Pine Floor

Just before the holidays, Nathan (Art of Clean, Service and Sales Technician) carried out a remarkable transformation of an ancient looking pine floor.

After removing the carpet grippers and underlay we were faced with a really rough floor. The floor was covered in adhesive black edging and old remnants of previous foam backed carpet.  It certainly took some sanding but we got a good finish considering what it looked like before the sanding.

As we were leaving the job, our client informed us that the floor was going to be painted, which would be a shame to hid the beautiful warm feel of pine boards beneath a layer of paint.  We're keeping our fingers crossed, hoping the client might change her mind and use a varnish or stain instead.

Maybe you've recently had your floor sanded.  We would be interested to know your thoughts and what do you think?  How would you like to see your pine floor finished?  

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/sanding-ancient-pine-floor.html

Getting wooden floors - oiled or varnished?

Who has wooden floors, do you have varnished or oiled, and why?

There are many way to treat our wooden floors to protect and get the best out of them.  There are a couple of advantages of a varnished floor.  Varnished wood floors are easier to look after and clean on a daily basis.  They are also less likely to get damaged in the first place and the occasional dent is character anyway.  But if they get stained or damaged you can't really do much about it yourself.

Advantages of oiled wood floor -
If they get stained/damaged you can lightly sand and re-oil either small patches or the whole area yourself and it will look okay.

But it's not as easy to look after on a daily basis. e.g. you're not supposed to use microfiber clothe on it, neither wet nor dry as any large amount of moisture will swell floorboards. Sweep floor at least once a day, but both wet and dry with microfiber.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/getting-wooden-floors-oiled-or-varnished.html

You'll Be Amazed At The Transformation Of These Old Floorboards

As our homes become the most expensive purchase, we'll ever make.  It's no wonder we want to spend time and money on their upkeep.  But sometimes we find the prospect of having work carried out daunting but with annual maintenance, your home will bring you many, many years of solace and happiness.  

At the Art of Clean, our technicians love a challenge and we also like to help with the solutions to your cleaning and restoration queries.  No job is ever to big or to small and over the years we've had one or two challenges in our time.  But that's what we thrive on.  Why? You probably ask.  Could it possibly be that we love to see the transformation process.  We all love seeing how interior designers take something old and tired and transform it into something new, to show-off and be proud off.  We also like to amaze ourselves and think, 'was that really there before?'  and 'if only I had those floorboards sanded sooner.'    

Each job brings its own rewards and triumphs and at the end of a working day, if only you could see the joy on the faces of our technicians, when they've finished a job (honestly, I'm not being sarcastic), they really do have smiles on their faces!

Last week, Nathan was sent out on job to sand a floor in a Cambridge home.  You'll be amazed at the transformation of these old tired pitch pine floorboards.  From our estimation, this floor was probably laid down in the 1900's, so this pine is a better quality than you would get in the new white softer modern pine. 

Our client had a bespoke brown oil floor, which had been originally quoted with the carpet down, so we didn't have the opportunity to see the condition of the floorboards.  But the quote was for sanding strip filling and brown oil or darker. 

When Nathan arrived at the house, he found a room in a bit of a mess.  The floorboards were totally covered in the dreaded black stuff which is a nightmare to sand off.  Nathan had to remove all carpet grippers and take up nails and staples.  He then walked the room and found loads of boards loose which obviously needed fixing down.  He proceeded to fix them and the problem was the boards were actually tongue and groove and not standard boards. 

Nathan proceeded to sand the floor and it came out amazing.  After the floor was done, our client was ecstatic with the results and couldn't thank me enough.

The client had requested the floor to be stained a bit darker, so black was introduced to the oil.  The end results meant that our client had a very bespoke colour which was unique to her home.  It was fantastic!

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/youll-be-amazed-at-transformation-of.html

How do I look after my solid oak floor?

Here at Art of Clean, we love to keep you informed on what the team have been working on recently. 

This week, Nathan and Ben were sent out to sand and oil a oak wood floor.  

The oak wood floor was in pretty good condition, but over time wear and tear had become apparent and with a high volume of traffic through the house, scuff marks and dents in the oak floor had become obvious but with no other issues, made the sanding very straight forward.    

Due to wood being natural it needs expansion gaps around the edge of the room, so the floor boards were cut short of the wall to allow for movement.  To cover these gaps quadrant beading was placed to finish off the floor to hide these gaps.

Our client wanted all the old beading replacing which was a relatively big job in itself.  

We sanded the floor and finished it to 80 grit.  After sanding, the rest of the day was spent measuring, cutting and pinning down the new oak quadrant beading.  

Solid oak wood flooring is a joy to have and looked after carefully will be an investment that needs to protecting with the correct care and attention.  Here are some simple steps to maintain your oak wood floor.

• keep dust and dirt particles away by mopping the floor about once a week, with hand-warm water.  Don't soak the floor with water, just dip the mop into the bucket of water and squeeze firmly.   
• to prevent furniture from damaging the solid oak wood floor, use pads on feet of chairs and tables and rugs are great to stop high volume of traffic from scratching the surface.
• immediately wipe up all liquid spills of any kind.  Don't risk liquids staining the floor or getting into the gaps between the boards, which could cause swelling.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/how-do-i-look-after-my-solid-oak-floor.html

Loose floor boards! What should I do?

 A few days ago, I took a call from a carpet cleaner friend yesterday. He has over 32 years experience and always does a super job ... He cleaned this commercial carpet and a few days later the client phoned to say all the blocs are lose and it is uneven and a trip hazard

What has gone wrong? Too much water left in the carpet? Too strong vacuum from his machine

None of the above!

The problem is down to the age of the floor and how the wood blocks are kept in place

The old way to secure the wood floor blocks was with bitumen

Over time the bitumen that holds the wood block floor down dries out - yes that's right the bitumen contain some moisture - that is what keeps it somewhat flexible

Once it gets dry and start to break down after many years anything can push it over the edge

In this case the carpet on top of it was cleaned and the sudden increase in moisture  (even so little) made the floor let go off the wood blocs

Now, no one could foresee this happen.

As we are full on busy at the moment and we could not travel all the way to the other side (near the sea!)  of Essex so we put him in touch with a great Ultimate Floor Sanding Affiliate (also a good friend of mine) in his local area

What can you learn from this?

As a client it is good to check  the credentials of a company and their track record so that they can put things right if they go wrong - even if they could not foresee this or even if it was not their fault (he might charge a little extra to repair the sub floor - I'm not sure).

As a carpet cleaner ... It is god to have the number of a good floor sanding professional like a Ultimate floor sanding Affiliate to hand as you never know when you might need to make that call

As a floor sanding expert - its good to have the number of a good carpet cleaner as you never know when the shoe might be on the other foot.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/loose-floor-boards-what-should-i-do.html

Flood damaged floor - remarkable transformation

However old your house is, whether it's a contemporary build or something a little bit more classic, as with fashion, our tastes and styles change over time.  One year we like particular decorating techniques and architectural features, such as cast-iron fireplaces, but one mainstay in fashion is the humble floorboards, which has transcended the generations of house building and Cambridge city has its fair-share.

So when Art of Clean, had been called out on their latest job, they new just what was needed to restore and bring new life into the flood damaged pine floorboards.

On  first call-out to assess the situation.  As the floor had been flooded and left to dry out, the edges of the boards had cupped very badly.  A moisture metre reading was taken and a normal reading, should be between 7-11%.  When our technicians took the reading, the result was 25-35%, which was far too wet to start any work.

It was decided the floor needed to be left to dry out further.  And for an additional two weeks, our client was given a dehumidifier, to advance the process of drying.

On our second visit to the clients home, our service technicians, Nathan and Ben had to use several specialist sanding tools, including a belted edged and rotex sanding machine, followed by flexi sander, to smooth out the edges and strip the boards back to their original colour.  This can make the boards look very pale and even colourless. But don't worry.  As soon as you add a clear wood finishing product like a stain or varnish, that warm golden colour will come flooding through.  Our client had requested a dark brown oil, to seal the floor.  We used Pellman Magic Oil 2K Colour, which we carry as on board stock.

As the pine floorboards were modern, possibly laid down in the 1980s, this age of pine is acceptable to apply stains.

The floor had also been 'water popped' before we left to accept more colour into the grain before the final application.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

Source: http://artofcleanuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/flood-damaged-floor-remarkable.html