Before the renovation works...
The pine floorboards in this Wimbledon house was overall looking tired and in serious need of refinishing. During our initial survey, we did a thorough inspection of the floors and discussed with the client all possible options.
Our client has decided to go for floor sanding, staining, gap filling, of 35 sqm pine floorboards and finishing the floors in extra-matt Lacquer.
How the renovation of the floors went...
One of the challenges we experienced while working on this project, was the amount of furniture, which we had to work around in stages.
The original thickness of the pine floorboards used for properties is approx. 20 mm when laid. Pine timber shrinks with the time and also becomes thinner every time the floors are restored. The minimal thickness, after which floorboards cannot be restored any more is approx. 15 mm.
Depending on the overall condition and level throughout, the initial floor sanding of the floorboards may start with coarser or medium grid. The purpose of the preparatory floorboards sanding stage is to remove the previous finish and level the floorboards throughout.
If the pine floorboards have been sanded in past 10 - 15 years, they will usually not have a good level. Floorboards covered previously by carpets, may have cupping and larger gaps.
Next stage in the process of wood floor sanding was the application of the gap filling. We aim to apply resin filler in the second half of the working day, so it settles properly overnight and in case it is needed we can repeat it on the following morning , if required. The putty is after that removed by next step of the finishing process with medium grids .
Our team prepared few samples on the unfinished sanded timber surface for the client to approve prior to application of the finish. The client chose to go for a beautiful stain colour to compliment the room interior.
Sanding the floors with fine grids (80 - 120 gr) and a good rotary buff to the pine timber surface with high grid buffing screens is the most important stage in the preparation of the wooden flooring for finishing.
The floorboards was consequently sealed with 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of Bona Mega Natural Lacquer in extra-matt sheen with another light screen buff between the coats, for an excellent final touch to the finish.
Did you know this about pine flooring?
Pine is softwood timber widely used in construction for structural and finishing elements, due to its resilience to moisture. As a porous wood, rich in resins when its fresh, pine will shrink over time slightly, but it also changes colour and makes the original floorboards, which we love to repair & restore, such attractive asset to our environment.
