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

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

Wooden Worktop - the epitome of the British countryside cottage

How many times have you watched that romantic comedy, set in the Yorkshire Dales, in the Cambridgeshire Fens or any other rustic hideaway locale and seen the interior and said, wow, I want that home? And how many times has that been as a direct result of seeing the kitchen? Chances are, it's every time.

The quaint English countryside is the reason more and more people are moving to the rural dwelling of yesteryear...as long as they're WiFi enabled, of course.

What you generally find, sandwiched at the back of the cottage, is the more glorious piece of wooden topped surface you could imagine, or at least a project to reclaim one. 

Wooden table or worktops are the epitome of rustic chic and over and above the best reason to buy one, being it's appearance, is the second; it lasts! A wooden table top counter, while damaged by scars and cuts, hammering and clanging, will survive and at the end of the day, unlike metal tops, the usage only adds to the character. 

Sadly, nothing lasts forever. Re-oiling the surface of your behemoth table top is often a requirement. You know when it's needed, because the shine begins to fade and the wood will appear dull. An oil coating once every 3-6 months should suffice.

bloglovin.com

Of course things can be worse, they always can. Re-surfacing your table-top is a very real situation., but not a dire one. The general wear and tear any surface accrues is understandable, but sometimes it's effects are ignored for sometime. It's then that you need to sand. You can sand your wooden top yourself, that's not a problem, it simply requires time and a strong arm...unless you spring to a motorized sanding machine and then it's slightly less tiring. Art of Clean is a specialist wood sanding company and we pride ourselves in getting the best out of tired pieces of oak, pine, bamboo, what-have-you.

After a darn good sanding, you'll need to oil the top. For this, we recommend Treatex Hard Wax as a finish. It's proved itself time and time again for us and it'll do the job for you too.

adamchristopherdesign.co.uk

If you'd like to give us a call, we'd be happy to answer any questions you have and is you want, we'll even pop along to give you a reasonable quote.

When in doubt, always 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

Black Walnut Wood from a Hurricane

If we were ever at a loss on things to say about wood flooring, here is the be all and end all. 

In March of 2015, this image made it around the world and virally infected our inspirations. Facebook shares topped 20,000 within a month and until now the photograph has been viewed almost 2 million times. Heck, I keep clicking because I almost can't believe it. 

hardwoodfloorsmag.com

The story behind the wood is a testament to recycling and natural wonders. The black walnut wood was the result of a hurricane's force (2011), uprooting the Goliath and depositing it for the Real Antique Wood Company of Irvington, New Jersey to make something spectacular.

The resulting project went on to win the Wood Floor of the Year Award this year and there's little surprise there.

I simply can't keep my eyes from the black trails that guide you all the way around the house.

We're not in the installation business...yet, but if we were, this would certainly be the kind of job we would look to do. Those rich, deep colours, the knots and swirls; they make wood floor sanding a really worthwhile career.

Now, while we haven't had the pleasure of sanding hurricane felled forestry, we have had the joy of sanding the floors at a British National Institution - Norwich cathedral.

 

For the best looking wooden floors, this side of the Atlantic, call Art of Clean and we'll make you happy you did.

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

Bamboo Wood Flooring and Fitting

What do you know about your flooring options? 

Many of you inherited your wooden floors - they came with the property and you probably never really thought changing them was an option, but look at this.

Oak, engineered wood, pine; it’s all very nice, but sometimes you look around and see something truly unusual, well, unusual for Cambridgeshire that is.

Bamboo flooring is unmistakable. It seems to have a rhythm all of its own. The way the strips are glued together - horizontal or vertical - they create a floor that almost acts as an optical illusion. Some tones seem to contrast heavily, while others combine to form almost a wave effect.  

The benefit of bamboo flooring over, say, solid pine wood, is temperature and humidity. Where solid wood tends to bend and warp when the temperatures change, solid Bamboo flooring is stable. There are other options too. You can try strand woven bamboo flooring. Created by compressing the bamboo fibres under immense heat and pressure, this allows for increased strength and durability. It is then treated to colour the bamboo, sometimes resulting in that deep, coffee shade. A resin follows and then the bamboo is compressed into planks.

As you might imagine, Bamboo flooring is eco-friendly, like many of the products we pride ourselves in using. Bamboo reaches maturity in all of five years, so it is a sustainable flooring resource.

Before you lay your bamboo flooring, you need to decide whether you want an underlay or not. 

Typically an underlay is used to provide sound insulation or thermal resistance. For this we would recommend Silver Balm underlay; it’s good for both the sound and the heat.

When your fabulous new flooring is in place, you’re going to want to maintain it. Here’s a simple and easy guide:

Sweep the floor with a soft brush on a regular basis and then, each week, use a microfibre mop and wood spray.

Use protector pads on the underside of your chairs and tables; best to prevent a scratch than fix one. 

Clean spills and water as soon as you see it and make use of door mats at each entrance.

Don’t use a steam cleaner. Only use a vacuum that has a soft cleaning head and if you don’t have a PH neutral wood spray, a damp (wrung-out) mop/cloth will work just fine.

We love floors, all kinds. We're specialists in the field and if you need a helping hand or a listening ear, 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

Quendon, Saffron Walden, parquet floor sanding and oiling

We recently sanded and oiled a lovely kitchen floor in Quendon, Saffron Walden (see images here).

The floor was made of Canadian Maple which you don't see too often however it has become quite a popular floor in more modern high-end refurbishments.  It's chic look, subtle tones and cool light reflective qualities are a stark contrast to the more traditional golden rustic hues of Oak and Pine, and the deep auburn tones of Mahogany.

www.decobizz.com

There are 13 types of Maple grown in Canada and North America.  Hard Maple and Black Maple are very durable woods that rates highly on the Wood Hardness Scale, ranking above Oak,  making making them a great choice for both domestic and commercial flooring.

However, other species of Maple such as the Silver or Red Maple are classed as softwood and would not work well in a busy walkway as the wood would damage more easily.  Do be sure to check with your supplier what species of Maple they supply so you can make the best decision for your property.

The close uniform grain of Maple gives it it's beautiful soft & smooth finish that is so desirable.  Unfortunately, however, it is also also this quality that makes scratches and marks more noticeable.  Laquering a Maple floor would only highlight scratches even further, a matte oiled finish would be most suitable to keep maintenance costs down.

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

Maple floor sanded in Quendon, Saffron Walden ~ finished with a white oil

We have just finished sanding and oiling a maple floor in Quendon (Saffron Walden) this week.

The maple floor was sanded and then we applied the white oil. (Pallman White Oil)

It looks beautiful!

   

If you would like some more information about our professional rug cleaning services please contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or visit www.artofclean.co.uk.

We are a professional cleaning company who specialise in Carpet Cleaning, Rug Cleaning, Hardwood Floor Cleaning, Stone floor Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning and Leather Furniture Cleaning for domestic and commercial clients through out Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.