St Albans Floor Sanding (AL1): If your home in St Albans has got wooden floorboards there is always the possibility that you might use this beautiful natural material as your primary floor surface, as opposed to covering it with man-made products like laminate and carpet. This will likely add extra value to your home and will also reduce the likelihood of allergens, mites and dust, which is particularly worthwhile if you have issues with asthma or allergies. Having your floorboards professionally sanded down is going to be the first step in this procedure.
Though floor sanding isn't something that's impossible for you to carry out yourself, you'll need to be able to get access to the appropriate gear and have confidence in the use of it. If you feel you're able to, then be my guest, however you might be better off getting in contact with a nearby floor sanding company in St Albans, who'll arrive fully geared up to do the job properly. If at all possible you should get recommendations from folks that you know who've had floor sanding done before.
The sort of hand held orbital sander that you have in your toolbox isn't the thing that is needed for a job of this size, and you could get yourself in a bit of a pickle if you attempt to take on the task with one of these. Any decent floor sanding company in St Albans would not even contemplate employing tools like this for such a task and will have specialized floor sanding machinery that makes short work of it without much mess or dust.
Obviously, this specialist machinery is available for hire throughout Hertfordshire, if not in St Albans itself, if you decide to go down the DIY option. It isn't cheap to hire out, so get organised and try to do all the sanding work in a single day. You will obviously not need to stress about this if you use a flooring specialist because they'll provide all of this apparatus themselves.
Working in a room that's totally devoid of furniture and other things, is preferable when you are conducting the floor sanding process. The sanding machines are fairly large and needs to be swung around the room, therefore stuff being in the way isn't ideal. Clear away everything from the room and let the dog see the rabbit, it is going to make the job so much simpler.
To end up with a really smooth and damage-free floor surface, some additional repair work might have to be carried out. The entire floor will have to be examined with a fine tooth comb to discover any splits, defects and cracks, which can then be mended and filled with a high quality wood filler. The same attention can be applied to holes left by screws and nails together with damage caused by the removal of threshold strips and carpet grippers. The wood filler needs to be matched at closely as possible to the colour of the wood.
When this has all been completed your flooring can be finished according to your taste with a hard wearing floor varnish. However, before this is done it is a good idea to give the floorboards a minimum of one coat of a quality oil based sealant such as Ronseal or Liberon, which helps to enhance the timber's natural colours, provides a decent base for varnishing, and offers extra protection against stains and scrapes.
Since, pretty much the first thing you think of when looking at the process of refurbishing your floors is all the disruption, effort and dust, you might start to wonder whether it's really worthwhile. If you're having second thoughts about whether you want to put your family through all this hassle, it may be advisable to look at the positives and negatives of the floor sanding procedure. The cons have already been highlighted (disruption, effort and dust), so let's look at the advantages, or in other words - the benefits.
- Polished Floors Are Easier to Clean: When a wooden floor has been sanded, sealed and polished it is going to be much easier to keep clean as all the splits and cracks will have been repaired or filled and your freshly polished surface won't attract as much dust.
- Makes Your Floor Look Beautiful Once More: With a previously exposed wooden floor it's more than likely to show some signs of wear over time and the sanding and buffing process will bring it back to its former glory.
- Discourages Bugs: Even though floorboards don't necessarily harbour as many pests and bugs as a carpet does, these pesky insects still tend to hide away in any available cracks and crevices that they are able to find between the boards. A sanded and sealed floor will leave the pests with very few places to hide.
Floor Staining St Albans
Once your flooring been successfully sanded to a high standard you might wish to stain it to achieve the effect you're looking for. You should not (as many householders in St Albans do) confuse floor staining with the process of floor finishing, as these are two completely different things. Floor staining is the process by which you alter the colour of the floor to achieve the required effect, while floor finishing is the application of the final product which seals the wood and protects the floor from wear and tear.
Before applying stain to the floor, you should test it in an inconspicuous spot. Although the final result will not be exactly the same, a test stain can show you the necessary adjustments. Also, make certain that you apply the stain evenly across the floor. Avoid overlapping areas, since the stain will be darker if there is any overlap.
After applying the stain, you must let it dry completely. This can take a full 72 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature. If the temperature is not consistent, or the humidity is too high, the stain might not dry as quickly as anticipated. It may even need 7 days before the final coat can be applied.
Different wood species react to different stains differently. White oak, for instance, can take a grey stain without showing too much yellow or red. Conversely, red oak, which has a more tightly-grained wood structure, calls for a much darker grey stain. Also, make certain that you use a stain controller, which helps the stain soak into the wood pores more evenly.
If the floor is made of rare or exotic wood, you may not need to stain it. These types of wood already look stunning in their natural colours. Many home owners in St Albans choose to stain these floors to imitate the look of these floors. However, it is best to consider whether you really need to stain the floor or not.
Petroleum-based floor stains contain a solvent similar to motor oil. This substance soaks into the wood and leaves a deep colour. This kind of floor stain is durable and looks natural. In some circumstances, you may need to re-oil it to give it a deeper hue. If you have any doubts about this procedure, you should seek expert assistance - a floor sanding specialist in St Albans will have all the necessary experience. (Tags: Floor Staining St Albans, Staining Floors St Albans, Hardwood Floor Staining St Albans, Staining Wooden Floors in St Albans)
Floor Sanding Machines St Albans
A floor sanding machine is the principal piece of equipment that is needed for floor restoration on a wooden floor in St Albans. That's not the full picture however, because so as to do a proper job, at least 3 different sorts of floor sanding machine will be needed. In order of use, the machinery that will be required will be a belt sander, an edging machine and a buffing machine. Experts regularly also use use corner sanders, staircase sanders and orbital sanders, during the process.
There are several manufacturers who specialise in floor sanding machinery, and the best known ones are Pallmann, Lagler, Hummer and Bona. These machines are expensive, so if you are hoping to try restoring your own floors in St Albans, you'll need to hire them. Whilst the cost of renting floor sanding machinery is quite affordable, the expenditure can be pushed up significantly by the necessary add-ons like abrasives. Calling on an established floor sanding company in St Albans, means that you won't have to stress about all these choices and options, and can be assured that the job will be done successfully. (Tags: Floor Sanding Machines St Albans, Floor Sanding Machine Hire St Albans, Floor Sanding Equipment St Albans).
Floor Restoration St Albans
Floor restoration comes in many forms, and doesn't invariably involve intensive sanding to restore a floor to its former splendour. In order to have your flooring restored successfully, whether it's made of wood, concrete, tiles or stone, it is advisable to seek the advice and expertise of a decent St Albans floor restoration specialist, who will have the experience and knowledge of all of these materials.
In general floor restoration entails a variety of different procedures and may require disinfection, decontamination and dehumidification before any real aesthetic work commences. Moisture can rapidly soak into cracks and imperfections in the floor surface, in cases when there's been a leaking water pipe or washing machine, and serious issues can soon begin to present themselves. Standing water that goes stagnant and remains in your floors can readily encourage the growth of mould, bacteria and mildew, none of which are acceptable guests. Without causing any harm to the flooring or the residents of the property, skilled floor restorers in St Albans know exactly how to take care of these issues. As with most things in life, prevention is better than cure, so to stop these types of things happening from the get go, keep a regular eye on washing machines and water pipes and keep your floor surfaces as squeaky clean as possible.
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Hardwood floor polishing - article 231.
Near St Albans
Also find: Chiswell Green floor sanding, Saint Julians floor sanding, Townsend floor sanding, Marshalswick floor sanding, Gorehambury floor sanding, Napsbury floor sanding, Saint Stephens floor sanding, The Camp floor sanding, Fleetville floor sanding, Frogmore floor sanding, Porters Wood floor sanding, Park Street floor sanding, New Greens floor sanders and more. All these places are served by companies who do floor sanding. St Albans home and business owners can get floor sanding price quotes by going here.
Floor Renovation Tasks St Albans
St Albans floor sanding experts will likely help you with floor varnishing, floor sound proofing, domestic floors, floor care, hardwood floor restoration, residential flooring, floor finishing St Albans, village hall floor sanding, floor sealing in St Albans, Granwood floors in St Albans, floor refurbishing, floor maintenance, office floor sanding St Albans, pine floor sanding, custom staining and finishing, stair sanding St Albans, parquet floor sanding in St Albans, floor repair, pine flooring, floor colouring, wood flooring, cheap floor sanding, antique floor restoration, wooden floor cleaning, oak floors St Albans, floorboard sanding, timber floor restoration, oak floor sanding, floor staining, maple floors and other flooring services in St Albans, Hertfordshire. These are just a selection of the activities that are accomplished by those who do floor sanding. St Albans specialists will tell you about their whole range of services.
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