Before the restoration works...
The oak solid wood flooring in this Chigwell house was overall looking tired and in serious need of refinishing. During our free survey, we did detailed inspection of the floors and discussed with the client all possible options.
Our client has decided to go for floor sanding, gap filling, of 17 sqm oak solid wood flooring and finishing the floors in matt Lacquer.
How we made it happen...
Solid wood flooring comes usually as "tongue-and-groove" planks and would have approx. 6-7 mm sandable depth, measured form the surface to the position of the T&G on the plank. This upper layer defines what is the remaining thickness available for sanding on the plank. Depending on the overall condition of the floors, the initial solid wood floor sanding may start with coarser or medium grid. The task of this initial floor sanding stage of the hardwood flooring is to remove the previous finish and provide a good level throughout all planks.
Overall, the level of the hardwood flooring is expected to be good, due to the "tongue-and-groove" locking between the planks, however due to presence of past, current or seasonal damp in some cases the planks may get slight sides curving with the time.
Next stage in the process of wood floor sanding was the application of the gap filling. We aim to apply resin filler in late hours of the working day, so it settles properly overnight and we can repeat it on the following morning , if required. The putty is after that removed by next stages of the floor sanding process in medium grids .
Sanding the floors with fine grids (80 - 120 gr) and a good rotary buff to the oak timber surface with high grid buffing screens is the most important stage in the preparation of the wooden flooring for finishing.
The solid wood flooring was consequently sealed with 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of Junckers MT500 Lacquer in matt sheen with another light screen buff between the coats, for an excellent final touch to the finish.