That Oakey goodness

Ever wondered why Whiskey and Wood often both have that Oakey finish. It's because it both tastes and feels soooo good. Oak flooring is the staple of the wood floor world. It is tough, hard wearing and above all, it's spectacular to look at. I challenge you, get yourself an Oak floor (if you don't already have one, here's a reason to) and stare. The grains swirl across the floor like a ripple in a lake. Just track the spirals and waves, you'll be lost for hours!

Before; layered with lacquer and polish and age and wear and tear.

Below; stripped, sanded, polished and loved.

Oak comes in a variety of styles, ranging from reclaimed, to engineered, from railway to vintage and it's all there for you to choose from. Now, Art of Clean doesn't install wood flooring...yet, but we do strip it, sand it, care for it and even on occasion, repair it. So, if you are thinking of getting an Oak wood floor and simply can't decide which, speak to a professional, ask Ben at Floors2Go - Cambridge, get in touch with the lads at Mackays, or you can simply call us and ask for Pierre; he'll talk your ear off for hours on the benefits of having a solid wood floor. 

And just remember, nothing lasts forever...unless you care for it. Wherever you buy your flooring, protect it, be sensitive to it's needs and if you like, you can always trust us with it, after all, it's our business to finesse your flooring.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Pine, from green to grain

Ordinarily we wouldn't show quite so many photographs on a post, but on this occasion, we simply couldn't help it. There's even a video, no, two! The simple fact is, this job was a challenge. Just look at the green paint on the pine floor boards below and you'll see what we mean. You won't believe it, but there were (count 'em) 4 layers of paint on these pine boards. What that equated to was Paul - our head sander extraordinaire, getting down on his hands and knees for days, scraping, sanding and scrubbing these wooded marvels until they resembled something akin to their natural colour. 

If you look closely, you'll see some black stuff, that's the bitumen paint; something traditionally used as a protection for metal and concrete! So as you can imagine, Paul had his work cut out, but, being the professional that he is and we all are, he got his head down and tore that paint clean off.

Wood floor sanding goes in layers, like painting and there are often hidden extras involoved. As a result, Paul and his compatriots are often tasked with not only sanding, but also repairing damaged flooring. Our videos show the process of sanding the paint from the flooring (not a quite fix as you can see) and also Paul, cutting into the boards to create that even appearance so essential to all wood service professionals, as without it, sealing the floor would be a waste of their time.

To see Paul in action, strip filling a floor (as above) click on this link or his the play button below.

This photograph shows the result of days of worthwhile effort and an end product that illustrates the grain of the wood, the rich colour that can be brought forth and the strip filling down the centre.

For this and many other wood related services, call Art of Clean - Your Professional sanding is but a phone conversation away.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Unconventional Flooring

When you find yourself in the enviable position of choosing a new floor for your home, variety can be both a joy and a devilment. Just type in 'home flooring' into google and look at the choices available to you. Some people take the traditional route, wood or stone flooring, which lend that air of rustic and or classic style. But others go the odd route.

This particular floor is made of bottle caps. I say 'made', it's layered over, one would assume, a wooden floor, but you can see the painstaking effort that went into this. Reminiscent of a mural or mosaic. Unconventional yet mesmerizing. 

This option is a derivative on the parquet style of wooden flooring. Now, whether you choose to paint before flooring, or after, I'd suggest hiring either a professional, or this could work equally well as a punishment for a artistically skilled, yet naughty child.

Have you ever heard of biomorphism? Outside of the 'Alien' films that is. No? It's the artistic movement that models designs on naturally existing patterns. Case in point, the swirly, wiggly wooden floor you see below. So, even if you go traditional, you can do something different with it.

Of course, if you're fairly wealthy, enjoy a tipple (judging from the photo, every night) and have a willingness to experiment with your flooring, you can always make use of your old champagne and wine cases.

But, at the end of the day, whether you go for bottle caps or bottle cases, coloured boards or wobbly trees, your best bet, as always, is to hire the professionals.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Why a wooden floor when I can Carpet?

Why in the world would I put down a wooden floor when I can just put a carpet down? Why spend all that money?

Well, here’s why.

For every person that pops over for a cup of tea, we guarantee a comment of “Oh, what a lovely floor” as opposed to those that pop over and see your carpet and say nothing.

For every penny you spend on your wooden floor, you’ll see constant and added value to your property, year in, year out. For every penny you spend on your carpet, you’ll see depreciation, year in, year out (unless you let us clean it on a regular basis).

Wooden flooring requires little but professional maintenance/care. Carpets require constant hoovering and cleaning.

Wooden floors give you a sense of class; a feeling of nature and warmth.

Wood is sustainable. You’re doing something for the environment and once you’ve bought it or reclaimed it from below that dusty old carpet, it’s with you for life.

Over the years, Art of Clean has seen wooden floors in a variety of styles and conditions. Ranging from the cared for to the down right abandoned, but on each occasion it's been our pleasure to restore said wooden floor to an excellent condition. 

From Pitch Pine to Teak, from Bamboo to Parquet, Art of Clean provides a service that discovers and maintains the glories of your wooden flooring. 

To help us in this endeavor, we joined forces with Pallmann - the leading wood floor finishing provider. Together we have managed to turn the wooden floors of Cambridge, Newmarket and the outlying areas into something special. 

Remember, when you need a job doing, call the Professionals.  

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Teak wood flooring

When you look at the types of wood flooring there is available, your mind might boggle. Beech, Oak, Pine, Bamboo, even reclaimed pallet wood, but today we're talking about Teak.

Teak wood is found predominantly in Asia and in particular, the country of Myanmar (Burma). A large, deciduous tree, Teak has small, fragrant white flowers and papery leaves. Valuable for it's durability, Teak has been milled and fashioned into boat hulls, due to it's durability, water resistance and ability to withstand almost every weather condition.

Found on theultralinx.com

Here's an image of the largest Teak bridge in the world, not surprisingly, it's in Myanmar (U Bein Bridge - Amarapura).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teak

On a recent job, Nathan found himself faced with the task of stripping and re-oiling a large expanse of Teak flooring. It had been quite a while since the floor had seen natural daylight and as such it was a joy to see the reveal. Using only the best products, that thick, oily surface gave way to a rich, golden base and later yielded to an enhancing re-oil.

 upon arrival

 after sanding

 after oiling

Teak has that wonderful, mottled grain that's toned and allows for light to almost dance off it, so when you have the opportunity to sand and enhance your floor, make the most of it, oh and always call the professionals.

Art of Clean is an affiliate of The Ultimate Floor Sanding Company and professional wood floor sanders of all types of wooden flooring. Out goal is to reclaim and maintain delightful looking and working wooden floors around and sometimes beyond the greater Cambridgeshire area. 

If you are in need of our services or simply have a question, call and we'll happily pop out and give you a FREE, no obligation quote.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Strip Filled Floor

Friday just gone, Paul popped over to a client's house to strip and fill. Please, refrain from the jokes.

As you can see from the first photo, the black between the boards lends nothing to the overall appeal of a wooden floor. So, manned with his tools, Paul (and his assistant, Greg) stripped back the varnish and lacquer, and began the process of renewing this wooden floor.

before

during

after

It's not until you see the before and after images that you truly realise the difference between the two. How dated and worn your wooden flooring has become. Some people like the rustic look and that's fine, but upkeep is essential for any wooden floor. The filling, that once blended seamlessly into the grain, then effectively becomes dark track marks and do nothing but highlight the dirt that has accumulated over the years, sometimes, decades of neglect.

Too much repeated varnishing may look like it's protecting your floors, but all it's really doing is layering it and hiding the beauty below. 

Here at Art of Clean, we pride ourselves in the service we provide. The floors that benefit from the expertise of a specialist like Paul or Greg, will stand the test of time. They are cared for and guaranteed to last.

If you'd like to see a brief clip of the mighty Paul in action, click on the link below or go to our YouTube channel for more fantastic videos in the world of wood floor sanding and many other adventures.

For the best, happiest and most professional wood sanders in the business, just call.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Pallet Heaven

Every once in a while, you find yourself flicking across the hundreds of channels on your ridiculously Smart TV. You stop on a home D.I.Y. program and your imagination is tweaked. 

You think, I can do that!

And you know what, it's entirely possible that you can.

Pallet design has been all the craze for a little while now and shows no signs of stopping, but when was the last time or even the first time you saw a pallet creation in a home, any home? You don't and that's why this weekend is your time to shine. 

Dust off the saw, take the hammer off the shelf, hunt out that jar of rusty nails and pop down your local Homebase or B&Q and ask if they have any spare pallets they no longer need. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Once you've strapped a bunch of them to the top of your estate car or managed to fit them half out the boot, it's time to take them home. Advise your other half that you will be spending the day creating a pallet marvel and if she likes, now might be the perfect time to see her mother.

Now that the back garden is all yours, it's time to get to work.

Below are just a few suggested ideas. 

Found on spaceshanty.hubpages.com

Found on etsy.com

Found on buzzfeed.com

Just imagine how surprised your other half will be when she gets home after a few hours of nattering with her mother to find that, yes, you have built her a new home or Castle, whichever suits her best.

Found on prakticideas.com

For further inspiration, go to www.1001pallets.com and hav a look at their how-to guides.

Don't forget to sand. If you can't be bothered, call the professionals. We'll be happy to do it for you....the sanding that is, building a castle was all your idea, buddy.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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

Pitch Pine, neglected but loved

The other day we sent to boys out on a job and this is what they found.

Pitch Pine flooring, for those of you that don’t know is a very popular wood, mainly due to its hard wearing nature. It has this rich, unmistakable quality that you don’t find in new flooring and as such requires special attention. Often found in old Victorian buildings, its grain is symbolic of authenticity and the colours tend to grow warmer and even redder over time.

Like people, it is easy to forget that over the years wooden flooring can age, accumulate wear and tear and thicken ;-)

What the boys found was a floor that had spent the last fifteen years absorbing ever drop of moisture and wax thrown at it. Its colour had in fact deepened, but to a degree that the intrinsic grains and knots were all but invisible.

This called for some intensive care!

Breaking out the tools of the trade, the lads set to work. They huffed, they buffed, they sanded, they…did something else that rhymes and after some hard slog, they turned a much neglected pitch pine floor into a rather snazzy and fresh looking show-piece.  

If you find yourself sitting in your home one day and your eyes linger on your wooden floor, ask yourself, could it look better. If you start to um and ah, the answer is YES.

Don't delay, treat your flooring to the care it deserves, call the professionals.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

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