Oak – the traditional choice

With so many exotic wooden flooring options to choose from these days, going ‘traditional’ could be seen as playing it safe. But oak flooring is still as popular as ever, and one of its key selling factors is the reason the Navy built its ships from English Oak for centuries – its sheer robustness. Oak is a dense wood with a very tight grain, which means it is far less prone to splitting, warping or cracking than other softer, less dense woods. But if you’re planning on installing an oak floor, there are a few things you need to look out for first.

Oak – a tough customer

Because it’s so much stronger than many other types of wooden floor sanding, oak is actually quite difficult to work with unless you’re a professional with all the right equipment. Its tight grain means that it can be difficult to cut, but it also means that you end up with much cleaner edges as the grain doesn’t tend to ‘rip up’ as easily as some softer woods.

If you’re planning on fitting your wooden floor in a high traffic area then oak is the perfect choice. It is extremely resistant to wear and tear, making it ideal for staircases, hallways and entrance areas where footfall and the risk of damage through dirt and mud being trampled into the wood are highest. With a good layer of varnish or wax on the surface, oak is practically invincible!

Water resistant

Another advantage of using a tight grained wood such as oak is that it is more impervious to water damage than softer woods. White oak in particular is water resistant, making it particularly useful in a commercial setting such as a lobby or entrance area, where there is a higher possibility of moisture reaching the surface of the floor. In the home, white oak is one of the few wooden floors that is suitable for use in kitchens or even in the bathroom, as again its water resistance means that it can cope with the damper conditions.

Coloured oak

While oak’s advantage is its strength and general resistance to wear and tear, woods with very tight grains tend to be quite bland and uniform in colour. Whereas you may have a greater variety of pattering and natural formations in looser grained woods (including knotholes and swirls, depending on how the timber was cut), oak tends to be very even in texture. This can be a little dull in comparison to more decorative woods, so most people choose to brighten up their oak floors by using coloured staining or waxes. This gives the wood greater depth and warmth and brings out the hidden patterns within the boards.

However, staining oak is not a job for a happy amateur! It takes specialist knowledge, expertise and experience to stain oak successfully. Oak’s reduced levels of absorbency can lead to ‘patchy’ results, so it takes years of experience and understanding to ensure that the stain or wax is applied evenly to prevent a sub-standard result.

Easy to care for

But once your floor sanding and polishing experts have finished breathing new life into your oak floor, you can rest easy in the knowledge that it takes very little maintenance indeed to keep oak looking its best. Oak flooring is easy to look after and care for. You can protect it against deep scratches caused by furniture by applying pads to the bottom of chair and table legs. Then it’s simply a matter of basic maintenance on a weekly basis such as wiping over with a duster, light vacuuming and an occasional wash down with a damp mop. As long as you avoid using abrasive cleaners and treat it to the occasional polish, you should have an oak floor you can be proud of for years to come.

Parquet Flooring

Originally created for the royal floors of King Louis XIV in Palace of Versailles in 1684 as an alternative to marble, parquet flooring quickly became fashionable not only in France but across Europe.

In the UK parquet became a popular design style in the early 20th century, now enjoying a popularity revival as both homeowners and businesses discover elderly parquet flooring nestling below tiles or carpet.

Although delicately designed, parquet is amazingly tough and resilient so unless your elderly wooden houseguest is too badly cracked or warped to be used, it is worth having a professional evaluation to see if the parquet blocks can be rejuvenated and coaxed back to the real wood beauty they once were.

Parquet styles and designs

In a nutshell, parquet is geometrically designed wood blocks laid along the lines of a mosaic. The repeated design then covers long hallways and corridors or for a dramatic effect, a parquet sunburst design in the middle of a formal room is a real talking point. Common parquet design tablet are square, rectangular, chevron, lozenge, herring-bone and triangle.

In addition to being a popular choice for floors, parquet was used at the turn of the 20th century as table top design, shelving and bedstead surrounds.  Parquet has retains its charm over the centuries and is now every bit as popular all over again.

Homes with parquet flooring are adding genuine value to their home as well as having beautiful flooring to enjoy. Parquet is a sound investment and can last a lifetime if properly cared for.

Colours and grains

Popular wood for parquet has always been those with pronounced grain such as oak, cherry, lime, walnut, pine and maple. The luxuriously beautiful mahogany and oak are also used although these will be rather more expensive. Other tropical hardwoods such as teak work well too.

For something a little different, bamboo parquet is ideal, especially for summerhouses and conservatories.

How to fix, how to clean

Parquet is affixed to the floor via a cold adhesive solution which is non-toxic and has no noxious odour.

Brush your parquet with a soft brush and get into any corners, nooks and crannies with a mop head covered with a soft dry cloth. You can also use a light vacuum but care must be taken not to damage the delicate pattern motif, especially if your parquet has been restored.

When mopping use a well squeezed mop which is barely damp as any excess of water will damage your parquet.

Low maintenance and beautiful

When your parquet has been either professionally restored or newly laid you will be delighted to know this type of flooring really needs the minimum of ongoing maintenance. Brush twice a week, light mop once a week – job done.

Always a talking point

Always beautiful whatever the design, parquet floors are forever the centre of attraction in any room. Business owners and senior managers in the 1920’s and 30’s would show their superiority by having parquet designed floors in their offices.

Parquet has a rather warm and cosy feel underfoot, even on the coldest of days and for this reason is perfect for use in bedrooms and halls.

Restoration is everything

You may wish to consider a professional restoration of your parquet flooring for your peace of mind. Restoring ancient flooring is a fairly exacting science and one which you would be wise to give over to the professionals. It could well be the best investment you make.

Properly restored parquet will, as well as adding thousands to the value of your home, make you the envy of visitors and guests.

Restoring Wooden Floors | Sanding Parquet

To Buy or Not To Buy Bamboo

Although many people think of it as wood, bamboo is actually a grass. But because matured bamboo enjoys many of the robust properties of hardwood, it has become a popular choice for flooring. There are many reasons why you might choose a bamboo floor not least because bamboo comes from an environmentally sustainable source – or does it?

Unsustainable bamboo– the new hamburger?

Widely produced in the Far East, bamboo grown specifically for flooring generally comes from India, China, Japan and Vietnam. However some countries are now clearing natural forestation in order to grow the fast growing and lucrative bamboo. It is worth questioning whether, in addition to the unsustainability of growing acreage of bamboo where once stood majestic tropical trees like teak, mahogany and redwood, bamboo is in danger of following in the wake of massive South American deforestation to make way for animal grazing.

Bamboo and VOC

Bamboo flooring can also exude toxins of not properly treated or if the bamboo has been cut too soon. Be aware of the origin of your bamboo, as some Far Eastern countries may not control levels of urea formaldehyde. To ensure your bamboo is free of formaldehyde and has been responsibly produced with fair trade commissions for workers contact the Forest Stewardship Council UK (FSC UK).

Because bamboo flooring is produced by slicing the huge stalk of the plant into lengths before gluing them together using a blend of heat, pressure and resin adhesive, the bonding agent can discharge harmful and volatile organic chemicals (VOC) into the atmosphere of a room over the lifespan of the flooring. Whilst most bamboo flooring does have the resin in its construction the amount of VOC exuded will be dependent upon both the quality of bamboo and the manufacturing process.

Whilst bamboo is a fast growing plant it does require at least three to five years to reach a maturity point where it can safely be used as flooring (as opposed to trees which require 20 to 30 years). Immature bamboo that is laid as flooring tends to be too soft and will last a couple of years at best, making your bamboo floor a costly experiment.

Unfortunately at the time of writing there is no hard and fast classification in place to rate bamboo quality. Sometimes bamboo is sold as Grade A or Grade B, but this is purely subjective and is not generally recognised as meaningful in terms of quality. The only way therefore to ensure top quality bamboo is to purchase from a reputable and accredited wood flooring company.

Now the good news

It’s not all bad however. Bamboo does look good and is fairly simple to maintain. Bamboo can be easily cleaned with a brush or light vacuum. It can also be mopped using a well wrung out mop. Avoid excess water on the floor as constant puddles will lead to warping and staining. Alternatively you can use a wax-free bamboo floor cleaner.

Bamboo, when properly harvested and allowed to mature, is a very hard substance and the distinctive style of bamboo offers something a little different, bringing elegance and character to any room.

Bamboo flooring is extremely popular in health spas, offices and studios where a unique style is required. Bamboo flooring is even and smooth to the touch and, because it is a grass and not wood, it is also knot-free.

Bamboo flooring is available in a wide variety of shades from bright and light natural bamboo through to the intensely dramatic black bamboo. And, jusst like any other type of wood flooring, it is possible to professionally sand and re-finish good quality bamboo flooring that has been scratched and return it to peak condition.

Wood Flooring Sanding | Sanding Wooden Floors

wooden floors and pets – a match made in heaven?

One of the key reasons that many people go for polished wooden floors over carpeting (apart from the sheer beauty of a really well looked after wooden floor!) is ease of maintenance. In our increasingly busy lives we have less and less time for housework, but we still want our homes to look like the ones we see in the pages of interior design magazines. Cutting out the carpets and replacing them with polished wooden floors can save you both time and money. But if you have pets there are even more reasons for choosing wooden floors over carpets.

Putting your time to better use

Nobody wants to spend hours vacuuming every day but it can become a necessity, especially if you have pets. Dog and cat hair can mat into the fibres of your carpet, particularly if you go for a longer ‘shag pile’ style (of carpet, not pet!). No matter how thoroughly and vigorously you attack it with the Hoover, there will always be hairs that will bury themselves deep into the fabric of your carpet.

And not only are carpets great for trapping hair and dust particles – they’re also rather good at trapping odours too. If you have carpeting throughout your home and pets in the house, you can guarantee that the smell of your animals will linger, no matter how scrupulously you clean. Choosing the polished wooden floor option removes all of these problems at a stroke. Dust particles and hairs don’t have a chance to stick to the surface, as they are easily brushed or vacuumed up. And wooden floors certainly don’t trap odours either, so your home smells fresher and cleaner, even if you have half a dozen damp Cocker Spaniels bouncing around the place!

Unwelcome visitors

Wooden floors also help keep your pets healthier too. Fleas and mites can use the warmth of a carpet to breed and multiply rapidly, re-infecting animals that have already been treated with anti-flea products. If your animals suffer from unwelcome visitors, those fleas and mites can easily transfer into the carpet. A sure sign that you may have to treat your carpet as well as your pet for fleas are characteristic small red bites around the ankles and on the feet of human occupants. Treating a carpet for flea infestations can be very expensive and may involve the use of harsh chemicals that can result in further skin complaints or complications later on. Continual exposure to flea bites can aggravate skin complaints in animals, making life miserable for both you and your pet.

With a wooden floor, fleas and mites don’t have the chance to get comfortable, and they can be easily removed without the need for calling in outside contractors. All it takes is just a simple wash down with a damp mop, and there’s no hiding place for unwelcome critters! It also reduces the possibility of your pets becoming re-infested and in turn minimising the risk of skin reactions to continuous flea bites.

Scratching the surface…

There is one consideration that you may have to think about if you have dogs in particular, and that’s scratches on the surface of your wooden floor. While cats can retract their claws and pad about softly, dogs’ claws are permanently extended, and an over-excited Fido galloping around on your precious wooden floor can quite easily leave some scratch marks. However, these scratches will be very shallow, and can be easily buffed out. For slightly deeper scratches, your local floor sanding experts will be able to recommend products that offer an instant ‘touch up’ remedy to scratches that should make them practically unnoticeable.

So apart from the occasional scratch (which is an inevitable part of owning a wooden floor anyway!), polished wooden floors and pets really are a perfect match.

Floor Sanding Company | Wooden Floors Sanding

Green cleaning – taking care of your hardwood floor naturally

Is there anything more natural or environmentally friendly than a wooden floor? By stripping away the surface dirt and grime with Floor Sanding and Polishing, you can reveal the inner beauty of your hardwood floors. And they’re sustainable too – look after your wooden floors properly and they’ll probably outlast you! Just look at the quirky floor boards you find in buildings that are hundreds of years old. They may be a little uneven here and there, but with a bit of TLC they’ve managed to survive wars, floods, famine and everything that man and nature can throw at them.

So without doubt, hardwood flooring is a natural choice. But if you really want to fly the environmentally friendly flag high, choosing ‘green’ cleaning techniques can ensure that your hardwood floor stays looking beautiful without having an impact on the environment.

What are ‘green’ cleaners?

Green cleaners are products that do not use man-made or harsh chemicals. Not only are they kinder to the environment, but they’re kinder to you, too. The excessive use of domestic cleaning products has been shown to increase allergic reactions in both children and adults, and some cleaning products can be positively dangerous if mixed incorrectly. The fumes that chemical cleaners give off can cause headaches and nausea, while contact with the skin can cause dermatitis and other conditions. Those suffering from breathing difficulties such as asthma can also be hypersensitive to the effects of the fumes, even some time after the cleaner has been used.

Harsh chemical cleaners can also affect your pets, causing skin irritation and breathing difficulties in dogs and cats just as it does in humans. So the use of green cleaners is something that we should all be considering as a sensible alternative to harsh bleaches and chemicals.

What kind of surface do you have?

There are two primary types of finish for wooden flooring – surface-finished or penetrating-finish floors. Surface-finish floors are those that have a glossy or highly polished look and are often varnished. Effectively, the surface of the wood is sealed using an impenetrable layer of varnish. Penetrating-finish floors are those where the finish has penetrated into the wood, such as oil or wax. With these finishes you can often feel the texture of the wood grain through the surface finish. What kind of surface you have will dictate how you look after your floor.

Dust that broom…

But whether you have surface-finished or penetrating-finish floors, the real beauty of any wooden flooring is how easy it is to look after. Daily maintenance is simple – a quick brush over with a soft broom is all it takes to gather up all the dust from the surface and make your floor look radiant again. Using a soft broom is important to avoid scratching the surface, and is probably the ‘greenest’ way you can clean any wooden floor.

But for that once a week clean-down, choosing a citrus-based natural cleaner that is designed specifically for your type of flooring is the most natural way to keep your floor looking beautiful. There are specially made natural floor cleaners on the market that you can use that won’t dull the surface of your wood. For emergencies, scuff marks can be rubbed out using a sprinkle of baking soda on a damp sponge.

Prevention is better than cure…

As always, prevention is better than cure, so to keep your wooden floors looking their best without the need for constant cleaning, make sure you place doormats in high-traffic areas and keep wet, dirty or muddy shoes outside! There is really no need to use harsh chemical cleaners on wooden floors, so try going green and if you want to know more then talk to your local wooden flooring experts who will be able to recommend green cleaners that won’t damage the planet, or your wallet!

Cutting wooden flooring’s carbon footprint

Does a Wooden Floor have a carbon footprint? Well, according to new legislation from Europe it does, and it’s an issue climate change organisations feel should be addressed across the globe, and quickly.

In a move that is being fully supported by wooden flooring companies with a strong ethical policy, The European Commission has considered and discussed the inclusion of harvested wood products in the EU’s list of climate change commitments.

This basically means that the Commission’s Environment Committed wants to add harvested wood products to their accounting rules to calculate a country’s greenhouse gas emissions, and to set new targets for reduction. This is the first time that harvested wood has been included in the debate, but it is obvious that any industry needs to be part of the calculations for a country’s carbon emission levels, even one that is supposedly as ‘green’ as forestry. When you consider the amount of heavy machinery that is required for the harvesting of timber (machinery that runs on fossil fuels and produces a high amount of emissions), it seems strange that the industry has until now been excluded from the calculations.

Checks and balances

However, it is a case of checks and balances with forestry, as the trees themselves absorb carbon dioxide whilst they are growing, and produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. But do the two balance out, and what does it mean to the environmental policies of the future? And how could it affect your wooden flooring?

Forestry has a major role to play in the fight against climate change, and timber production has to be a vital part of any low carbon economy. Production methods may need to change to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by timber mills, and this in turn will make timber flooring an even ‘greener’ choice for homeowners. 

Making an ethical choice

But even before the EU has ratified this new legislation, homeowners can play an important role in the fight against greenhouse gasses by making an ethical choice when it comes to their wooden flooring. Suppliers are acutely aware of the issues surrounding the supply of ethically sourced timber flooring from sustainable forests, and that customers are far more concerned as to exactly where their wooden flooring comes from than ever before. Homeowners who want to make sure that their flooring is coming from a truly ‘green’ source should look for companies with accreditation from organisations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). If in doubt – ask!

A greener future for timber flooring?

The proposal still needs to be ratified by both the European Parliament and the European Council. But successful implementation could eventually lead to EU member states being forced to include the new accounting rules in their wider climate change mitigation strategies. It could also play a considerable role in helping countries to develop incentive schemes that will promote timber production as a viable business option and as a sustainable industry.

It is a technically very complex issue that will need careful consideration, but for homeowners and businesses looking to replace or renew wooden flooring, it means that we are all doing our bit to reduce the impact on the environment of greenhouse gasses. Choosing timber flooring that has been cut from sustainable sources ensures the health of both the timber industry and the planet. We cannot continue to exploit unsustainable sources, not just for the sake of the local wildlife, but also for the sake of the planet itself.