Parquet floor filling in Cambridge

Although it’s not always necessary we sometimes have to fill the gaps between the boards before sanding, here is a recent floor where we had to fill the gaps between the boards, please pics before and after. The process is quite simple and it can really make a difference to a floor. If the floor has gaps of 2mm max we will be able to create mix of fine sand with resin (an alcohol based product is better than other solvents), and then we fill the gaps in the wooden floor, we would strongly recommend that we fill the gaps in the entire floor so that there are no parts which stand out afterwards as being different. However we can only fill the gaps if the floor is solid, i.e situated on a concrete floor, as if the floor is placed on a flexible surface it can cause movement and the filler will come out over time. But our specialised team will be able to offer advice on whether it is a viable option for your floor. If the gaps are more than 2mm we would need to fill the gaps with strips of pre-manufactured V shaped tips of wood, as if the gaps are too large these would come out over time.

The strips are then dipped in glue and then driven between the gaps. If the strips of wood then protrude above the level of the wooden floor we will then sand it flat, once it has dried the next day. Here are some pics of the before and after, the customer was really impressed with how the floor now looks as good as new.

Watermarks on wooden floor - use suitable tray under pots

Protecting your wood floor from water staining from your pot plants:

Here is a real issue to wooden floors - water.  Wood is a porous material which will absorb water if

it is left sitting on the floor long enough.  Mopping is not such an issue as you will use only a small amount of hot water which will dry quickly.  The issue is when the water sits for some time and the worst place for this in most homes is under plant pots.

Here you can see the damage that is caused from moisture entering the wood...

To prevent this damage use plastic trays under your pots so they wont leak, and do not over water. 

If you have sustained this damage to your Wood Floors you will need the to be sanded and protected.  The sanding will take the wood back to an unaffected level and the protection applied will give an amount of water resistance to the wood to help prevent this occurring again. 

For further maintenance contact us about our wood floor services us on 01223 863632 or visit www.artofclean.co.uk

What can I do with my newly discovered wood floor?

Discovering that a beautiful wood floor lies just beneath a shabby old carpet can be really exciting, and it’s at this stage that you will do a search on-line for a professional sanding company. Before you search on-line for sanding company you will need to consider a few things:
•Is the floor worth sanding and which service do you require?Before getting anyone to carry out the work on your newly discovered floor you will need to check out their credentials:
• Are they insured? Ask to see their insurance papers if unsure• Have the had professional training? Check out their certificates
• Do they have experience? Ask to meet previous customers, check out references if necessary
• Do the company offer a guarantee? Make sure you ask for this in writing
• What finish do they recommend? These are some photos of a floor we recently restored with the above type of damage.

The floor was strip filled (this is the gap between the planks) and then we filled them strip with resinYou will need to think about what type of wood flooring you have. If you have a traditional wood floor and there are large gaps between the boards then it is likely to have been made from pine. If your boards are butted neatly together then they are likely to have been made from oak, but a professional opinion would be recommended at this point. If in doubt then ask Art of Clean for advice, we have specialist wood flooring experts in our team.A pine floor is very soft and is not exceptional quality, whereas oak on the other hand if looked after well will serve you well for many years.

Oak wood sanded and oiled in Saffron Walden

Have a look at this video! You will see the process of sanding and oiling the oak floor.

Wood floor sanding and sealing in Norwich Cathedral...

Art of Clean was recently awarded the work of sanding and sealing the floor of the beautiful Norwich Cathedral. The historical Cathedral has been beautifully designed inside and out, since the start of its construction in 1096.

Inside the building the wood floor is made by the manufacturer Junkers who make top quality hardwood floors. The floor inside the Cathedral had started to show signs of wear and tear, especially in their refectory, so the customer knew that it was time to clean the floor by sanding and sealing, before it got so bad that it needed a complete restoration. They asked us to clean two floors within the Cathedral.

Throughout this project we worked closely with Junkers, to make sure that our customers warranty stayed in tact. We followed the following process when cleaning the first floor:
• Stage 1 – First of all we applied Junkers wood cleaner
• Stage 2 – We then screened the floor back with a light sand to ensure that the fresh coating of polyurethane lacquer adhesive to the floor.
• Stage 3 – We then applied two new coats of Junkers Lacquer onto the wood floor.

The refectory wood floor was badly stained from through traffic

Stage 1 – We sanded the entire floor
Stage 2 – We applied Pallmann Magic Oil, which gives a great finish for commercial applications.

If a standard lacquer had been applied, then if certain areas wear more than others the whole floor would need to be sanded. This can be a problem between two rooms if there is not a door break dividing them. One of our other customers had this problem previously, so we advised them to have a brass strip installed between the two rooms. If you require this here are the details of a company we recommended.

Pine floor board sanding, filling and finishing in Cambridge

We completed work on a pine floor in Cambridgeshire. The floor had been recently sanded and sealed by another floor cleaning company. This floor had several unique challenges; the first one was the fact that client had already had this floor sanded 6 weeks before by another company. The company had sanded a really large room in only one day, and then on the second dasy only spent a few hours to seal the floor. The following day the customer walked on the floor to find that her socks stuck to the surface. The reason was because it was water based and resulted in the grain rapidly raising in the wood giving it a very rough surface.  They then failed to key the wood floor back.

The client also asked us for the floor to be a darker colour - We therefore advised the following:

For a more superior finish we filled the pine floor boards with strips of special pine slithers, then we carried out the sanding of the floor (see photo above). There were also some repairs we had to carry out to the floor boards. Some knots where filled with our special Knot Kit glue gun. The final filling process included filling the floor with a specialPallmann Allkit resin mixed with very fine wood dust from the floor. This helped to hide the imperfections in the floor like woodwork holes in some boards.

After this preparatory stage the wooden floor was ready for the application of a special DARK brown Pallmann magic oil (see photo below). The benefits of using a product such as Magic oil from Pallmann is that our client could use her floor much quicker.

The downside of using some oils for finishing your wood floor is that several coats need to be applied and many hours of drying is required. With Pallmann Magic oil we do not to wait that long before normal foot traffic can return.

The benefit of using a contractor that uses Pallmann Magic oil is:

You can use the floor much sooner - light foot traffic can commence within 4hours after the oil was applied (in ideal drying conditions)

Localised sanding can repairs can be carried out - unlike a lacquered floor - if it wears you do NOT need to re sand the while floor. A scratch can be sanded back on the spot the scratch appeared on the wood floor and just re-oiled. Above is a picture of the finished floor.

Oiling wooden floor in Aromi, Cambridge

Art of Clean were asked to prepare and oil and newly installed rustic oak floor in the centre of Cambridge. This was a very interesting job as it was in a new Sicilian café, called Aromi opening up in the heart of Cambridge Centre.

Aromi had already invested in a good quality floor, so our work was relatively straight forward. We chose to seal it with oil, as it’s the best treatment for a floor that is going to receive lots of wear and tear. Oil, unlike other finishes just needs another coat when it starts to fade. A varnished or lacquered finish would need a full sand and new application to make it look good when it starts to wear.

Beechwood floor sanding in Waterbeach, Cambridge UK

At Art of Clean, professional floor cleaners in Cambridge we were recently asked to sand a beechwood kitchen floor in Waterbeach, Cambridge.

The customer was delighted with the result as the wooden floor looked as good as new after we had sanded and hard wax oiled it, in a natural wax colour.The project took our team at Art of Clean a couple days to get back to its original state. The first stage was to use a high filtration vacuum which sucks up any dry soil which could cause damage to the floor whilst sanding, and then we sanded the main surface area of the kitchen with our large industrial sander, the great thing about our sanders is that there is hardly any dust created whilst cleaning the wooden floors, as 99.9% of the dust is sucked up into a large sack.

The next stage was to sand the corners and edges by hand, this is a fairly long, painstaking part of refurbishing a wooden floor, but it is also a necessity, as if any corners are not sanded properly there will be a colour difference at the end of the job.Once the floor had been properly sanded and prepared we then applied Pallmann Magic Oil, by hand, it comes in a choice of colours; Neutral, Cherry, Walnut, Silver Gray, White or black. One of the benefits of the hard wax oil is the fact that it dries in 2-4 hours (depending on the drying conditions), where as some other sealers take up to 8 hours to dry.

There are also no nasty chemicals or nasty smells, and if you accidently damage your wooden floor, then it is much easier to touch up, compared to other types of finishes such as lacquer.Beechwood floor sanding in Waterbeach, Cambridge