Wood Sanding and Finishing Cambridge UK: floor sanding

Thursday, 28 January 2016

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

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

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.

Art of Clean stripping the wood back to its natural colour

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.