Services
Services – Great Wood Floor Restoring
We will assess your floors for the need of major or minor repairs.
Removal / replacement of damaged boards
We adjust and fix loose boards, remove old tacks and nails – and hammer protruding nails flat.
When boards are damaged beyond repair, we will replace them using reclaimed timber – of the same age and quality, wherever possible.Asthma Safe, Pet – Friendly Products, Clean Green Planet, Child – Safe Products in reading
Gap filling
A gap-filled floor has an even look – pleasing to the eye but not always necessary. Filling gaps does help to prevent draughts – and reduces the build up of dust. As the floor is also tightened, timber movement is prevented.
Traditional methods of gap filling include:
* resin – mostly used on parquet and mosaic floors with lots of fine gaps. Dust from the floor is mixed with a resin and applied to the gaps with a filling knife.
* wooden strips – solid fillets of reclaimed pine and other timbers are glued, forced into the gaps, and chiselled back before sanding flat.
A challenging repair job involved a house in Harrow dating from 1460. The boards were three 3 inches thick and some areas needed to be finished by hand. And the gaps were such that we had to fill them with wooden slivers of up to an inch wide.
After five coats of clear lacquer, the floor is ready for its next 600 years!
Staining
Natural stains are valuable in enhancing the wood grain. Coloured stains alter the wood colour (eg: darkening a pine floor). Applied by hand or roller, they take at least eight hours to dry.Services
Strains are water, solvent and oil-based. The modern water-based stains are odour-free and ideal in the home and customer areas where food is served. The colours range from traditional wood colours to contemporary pigmenting: eg white, red, blue or even pink!
We’re happy to create an unusual or specific colour for you. Our biggest challenge was to match the floor colour in an ancient castle. We got there -after mixing 75 different pigments!
Although coloured lacquers do two jobs in one, we always advise staining and applying lacquer in two distinct stages. The colour is easier to control – and the sealant will be more durable. As the lacquer wears away, the underlying coloured stain remains unaffected.
The floor may also be painted – or a coloured wax (such as lime wax) will provide an attractive soft tinting effect on the visible wood grain.
Coloured wax is good for floors with dull, washed colours. It provides quick colour to match your home interior, so you will quickly get a highly different – yet affordable – new floor.
WOOD FLOOR SEALING – VARNISHING
Varnish or lacquer
More durable and easier to maintain than oil sealants, these products are suitable for areas bearing mid to heavy traffic.Zurich Insured In Reading
Modern lacquers are far superior to the traditional varnishes, with their old-fashioned ‘plastic’ look. They give a matt, satin or high gloss finish with a delightful silky sheen.
Wear-resistant polyurethane lacquers are our choice for general use. Being an artificial material, they restrict the breathability of the floor – and may create a degree of discoloration.
Areas with lighter usage are suitable for a part polyurethane/part acrylic floor varnish. This will not yellow or darken the wood in any way.
Lacquers work best with three applications, left for 24 hours for full strength sealing.
WOOD FLOORS – WAXING
Wax is the traditional finish that allows your floor to breathe – under a soothing soft and mellow finish.Eco Home In Reading
It requires at least two applications and is completely natural and absolutely safe – for you, your family, your home and the environment.
Hard Wax Oil
Increasingly popular, this provides a good balance between natural oil and lacquer. The natural look and feel is enhanced by improved durability.
Based on natural vegetable oils and waxes, hard wax oil has similar qualities to natural oil: it emphasises the natural grain of the timber – and brings out its inherent colour.
Its micro-porous nature means that it will not crack, flake, peel or blister. Slower to dry out than natural oil, it can be used in areas of high humidity.Environment Choice In Reading
The value of hard wax oil is shown in a house we worked on in Twickenham. Close to the river, its floor had damp parquet blocks – though these were adhering well to the underlying base.
We found that a water-based finish turned white and peeled off within two days. So we had to sand using an oil-based stain and applied three coats of osmo hard wax. This not only blocked moisture but gave great adhesion to the wood surface.
The owners were delighted: they avoided the major work of replacing the whole floor – and saved a good deal of money!
WOOD FLOOR OILING
Natural Oil
Oil is deservedly popular – an organic finish which combines the natural look with ease of maintenance. Its good water-Eco Friendly Products In Readingrepellent characteristics are allied to resistance to scuffs and abrasions.
Humid conditions make it dry out, but maintenance is easy. Extra coats will top-up the finish and cover minor damage.
Whether a matt or satin finish, each oil coat can take up to 24 hrs to dry.
Let us give you a practical comparison of the properties of oils and the various other floor sealants.
Contact us for a no-obligation assessment and free quote.
Stair stripping
An often neglected feature, stairs can slumber for years under carpets or layers of paint. Although stripping is hard and meticulous work, the results justify the effort.
The entire tread and risers are stripped and sanded – and then coated in a clear natural or stained finish. For a really standout feature, the risers are finished in white paint – with the tread left in clear or stained sealant.
We usually only treat these parts of the stairs and don’t tackle banisters.
Wooden Decking Services
Wooden Decking Services In ReadingDecking can easily become shabby, its surface peeling from the effects of sun damage and severe weathering. We have the remedy – sanding the entire surface to remove the top layer of old and weakened wood fibres.
A fresh set of wood fibres are then revealed – and stain or decking oil can create a new finish.