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

Solid oak Wood Kitchen Worktop Sanding and restoration in Cambridge

Art of Clean the proud Cambridgeshire affiliate to Ultimate Floor Sanding has recently had the pleasure to restore a Solid Oak Wooden Worktop for a client in Hinton Avenue in Cambridge.

During our initial inspection we found a very think and sticky build-up on the worktop surface.

This was caused by the built-up of Tung oil that was constantly been applied by the Domestic cleaner.

The problem was caused due to the lower levels (older layers) of Tung oil has started breaking down and forming a sticky residue.

What cause a wood worktop to go ugly? 

The application of the wrong oil finish to your wood worktop. Many people apply Tung oil to worktops and though it leaves a nice finish - this finish is not ideal for the harsh environment 

How to finish your wood worktop?

The best finish for a wood worktop in a kitchen is to use a 2 component hard wax oil. This means the oil contains a hardener that is much more chemically resistant than a single component oil like Tung oil or similar. It is also important not to apply the oil over an old layer or layers of oil. 

The surface should be fully sanded back to 100 - 120 grit and free from moisture and other contamination. 

Proceed then and apply one even coat of Treatex Hard-wax oil for worktops with hardener.

Let the coat dry - best left over night - Key the surface back to 120 grit to generate a key for the next coat

Apply a second even coat - Let this dry overnight and your worktop is now ready Any silicone sealer that was removed during the restoration can now be replaced. Your Solid Wood Worktop should now be as good as new.

Few before and after pictures:

More pictures of the kitchen worktop:

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

Beech wood floors, brought back from the brink

Beech flooring is a clean and crisp looking floor. A traditional look for many houses and you can see why. The planks are craved from the heart of the Beech tree and result in a pink-brown colour, but from time to time, you'll see a reddish-brown tone; that's the result of steaming the lumber.

If you look at the images below, you'll see that these boards weren't steamed, or sanded or even used; they were simply left to rot. Renovation and rejuvenation; it's all part of our wood floor business. The poorly boards sadly cannot be saved and as such it was Paul's job to tear them from the floor and replace them with replacement pieces.

Now there's a lot our friends at Pallmann can do and using their Magic oil (that's actually what it's called and what it does) we can bring life back into old boards, but when they're damaged, rotten beyond repair, well, then it has to be about replacement.

We MUST see ALL the floor before we quote on your floor. By that we mean, we have to inspect and analyse it before we give you an incorrect idea of what it would take to save your floor. This client wasn't aware of the damage the floor had endured over the years and as such, the job takes longer. Rest assured, we can fix it (like Felix from Wreck it Ralph), but we need to see it first.

Having seen it, Paul set to work. Just look at how full that sanding bag is...and there was more to come. After peeling back the years of abandonment, he made use of Pallmann Magic Oil. Now, here's the science bit. Smooth, "...velvety...matte..." finish, no, not a bar of Galaxy or a name brand conditioner.

The results of a professional sanding are beyond compare. 

Don't Do It Yourself, Do Hire A Professional.

Call Art of Clean for a free, no obligation quotation.

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