Customer, Frequently Asked,
Floor Sanding Questions
Q. Is there any dust?
A. The service is, in
the main, Dust Free Sanding, however, if your floor requires more brutal floor sanding to
remove stubborn areas, then other machinery may need to be used and in this case,
slight dust should be expected. We
suggest that provisions are made regardless.
Q. How long will the sanded wooden floor last?
A. This depends on the
general footfall, the type of footfall, cleaning and the general maintenance of the wooden floor.
On average, domestic sanded and varnished wooden floors should last 5-10 years and commercial areas 3-5 years, however in all environments, we
highly recommend that a maintenance contract is in place with an appropriate daily or deep clean process and a periodic
‘buff’n’Coat’ revive regime, which should create a lifelong finish to the
floor.
Q. What to do with pets when having your floors sanded?
A. Its best to have pets
vacate the property whilst the work is taking place or at the very least, have
them contained in a separate room.
We are a floor sanding company, however
Q. How soon after can I walk on a newly sanded and varnished floor.
A. This depnds on the type
of floor lacquer used. We have acid catalysed
lacquers that are dry in around 15-20 minutes and this can vary up to around 1-2hrs,
but we do recommend its left overnight. After this, albeit the room can be used, there is a curing period.
Q. How do I look after the floor?
A. Please refer to ‘Cleaning
& Maintenance’ on our website.
Q. What area of the country do you provide the floor sanding service?
A. We primarily provide our floor sanding services in Manchester, Stockport, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow, Altrincham, Knutsford, Cheadle, Macclesfield and all surrounding areas. That said, large area floor sanding is booked nationwide from floor sanding, london to floor sanding, Edinburgh.
Q. Does the varnish/lacquer smell?
A. Water bourne and Oil based products have low levels of odour and clear as the varnish dries. Solvent based varnishes
can be quite strong and this is exaggerated with the catalysed versions that
have a rapid drying time, because of the accelerated evaporation, so be aware
of this and ventilate the room with open windows/vents as much as possible and close off to the rest of
the property.
Q. Why does the sanded floor go orangey/yellow when varnished and can I
avoid not have this?
A. Some standard varnishes
naturally make certain timbers yellow or become a tint of orange. This is not necessarily down to the quality
of the varnish as many think (several varnishes at the top of the price and
quality range, yellow floors) but more down to the actual make – up of the varnish
itself. All varnishes and lacquers used by ourselves are at the top range of
varnishes available and if you specifically want to avoid yellowing or orange,
we have non-yellowing products and methods to help achieve this. In contrast,
if you want to specifically create this effect, then we have methods to create
it. You tell us want you want and leave
the rest to us!
Q. We're not sure whether to have sanded floors or carpets. What's the most cost effective?
A. Wooden floors
have become extremely popular in domestic environments in recent years, but
they’ve obviously always been around. Apart
from the general look and the warmth, this is predominantly down to the
durability aspect of a floor, hence floor sanding in Hotels, floor sanding in Churches, floor sanded Dance Floors, floor sanding in Schools and school Halls, Gyms
etc etc always have had wooden floors. Since
double glazing, insulation and central heating, wooden floors have soared even more in
popularity and because of their durability, offer a far more cost effective
option to carpets.
A. Sanding an existing wooden floor is usually
the cheapest and most cost effective option! Go to our online quotation section for more information.
Usually, we can also give you an accurate idea of the cost for sanding a wooden floor over the phone, and
discuss the choice of finish etc. We will always give you a written fixed price
quote before starting any work; this quote is completely free of charge, as is
the manager's site visit (if req) and advice. As a guide, sanding and
refinishing a wooden floor costs less than a mid range carpet.
Q. I've got paint splashes on the wooden floor, can you remove this when floor sanding?
A. Yes, don’t
worry about this, the floor sanding machines are able to lift this as part of
the sanding process. The same applies with staples on the wooden floor. Nails or screws are best removed or hammered in and perhaps countersunk. We will check your wooden floor before proceeding with the work.
Q. There's black (or brown) paint round the edges of the floor - what is this, and can it be removed?
A. Before the
days of fitted carpets, it was customary to have a central rug and to paint an
insulated bitumen type product around the edges of the room. This was usually in black or brown. When sanded, this immediately turns into a
liquid tar-like product and, in doing this, quickly clogs the sanding
belts/discs. The bitumen can be removed
but there may be a small premium payable to cover the additional cost of
materials. Please be aware that, in some
cases, there may be a very slight difference in tone. This is because the wood underneath the
bitumen has not been exposed to the same levels of air/moisture as the
remaining floor has.
Q. Can all stains be removed sanding a floor?Q. Can all stains be removed?
A. Mostly. This all depends on the type of stain, the
level of saturation and the time that’s elapsed since the stain was made. Water
stains on wooden floors can be problematic as there is a high saturation level. This also true with ink, however there is
usually a lesser quantity and therefore the saturation levels are normally
minimal and removable as part of the floor sanding process.
Q.What colour will my wooden floor be after you've completed the floor sanding and varnished?ha
Should you wish
to darken your floors then you will have to have a floor staining process and we
will advise you on your specific requirements. Please be aware not to go too dark in colour, as the only way to go
lighter afterwards is to re-sand, attracting additional cost to yourself.
In instances
where liming or whitening is desired, it is advised to be very careful. Some home renovation/interior design
magazines illustrate these types of floors as part of room sets. In most cases, these floors have been laid
specifically for these room sets, using new or hand picked floorboards. They are subjected to various photographic
retouching techniques and have been optimised by use of photographic lighting
effects etc. In most real cases,
floorboards are not as perfect as this and, therefore, do not turn out as
refined as this.
Q. Does the price quoted include staining as well as varnishing?well as varnishing?
A. Unless
staining/colouring is specifically requested, the price that you will have been
given is for the sanding and varnishing of your floor with a clear
varnish. The staining process is a
separate application and will be quoted for in addition to the standard
price.
Q. How long does the job take?
A. It depends on the amount of rooms and the size. Usually 1 day for one standard sized room, 2 days for 2 rooms and 3 days for 3-4 rooms. However, we have multiple sanding machines and floor sanders (manpower), so please enquire - for example, if all rooms are avaialble and free of furniture, we could floor sand 3 or 4 rooms simultaneously and effectively have 3 or 4 rooms floor sanded in one day! This is only done by specific prior arrangement and shouldnt be expected as the standard work completion times. In commercial environments where there are larger single areas to be sanded, i.e. halls, gyms, dancefloors, reception areas etc, we would carry out the floor sanding works with several floor sanding machines as we have the space availalble to do so. We can agree a time period specifically to yuor job.
Q. I have heard a lot of different replies to my question about gap filling. Some floor sanding companies I asked, promote filling gaps on wooden floors, while others are completely against the idea!?
A. Successful gap filling on wooden floors is one
of the skilled parts of floor finishing - a lot of floor sanding companies can't or won't do this.
The most successful way despite taking longer is,(for gaps less than 4mm or so), to use a mixture of polyvinyl resin and the finest grade sawdust from the floor that is being sanded, (we use a wood floor
resin specifically for this job). The mixed resin is spread accross the wooden floor at a specific time of sanding the floor and when dried, is sanded off leaving the remaining residual filler held within the gaps. For floor gaps larger than 4mm, slivers of wood (of the same type) are glued on both sides
and carefully secured in,- if it is a pine floor, we use reclaimed pine slivers so they
blend in and oak slivers for oak floors and so on. Please note that, when
choosing any of these methods, this does not create a 'perfect floor'. There could be some degree of compromise
on the final finish, as both floor filling and slivers filleting, do require
adding third party separate pieces and/or filling with an artificial resin filler. Wood floors will naturally continue to expand and
contract with temperature and age and, whilst the resin product is designed to expand and contract to a point, higher levels of movement can result in gaps re-appearing, (albeit usually to a lesser degree).
Q.
I want my floor sanded and I’m having a room decorated as well. Which should I do first?
Q. I'm having my floor sanded and my room(s) decorated as well, what should I have done first?
If you have the luxury of choice, we
would recommend that you have your floors renovated prior to decorating and
then to protect your sanded floors sufficiently to avoid any damage, when your room is going to be decorated. When protecting your wooden floor, we would
recommend a plastic cover to prevent paint spillages from seeping and a cloth dust sheet also. (Cloth and plastic dust sheets are now availalble as one sheet). You may also want to consider using some form of wood ply cover (say 6mm) to prevent any damage as a result of
decorators’ ladders etc. We can arrange
to do this for you at an additional cost or ask your decorator to ensure they practice due care and cover their ladder feet appropriately.
Q. What about badly damaged or rotten
floorboards
Q. I have asthma. Is it better to have sanded wooden floors?
A. Yes. Dust mites are responsible for many asthma
related conditions and allergies and they obviously live in carpets and soft
furnishings. Dust mites are
significantly reduced by having wooden floors and are, therefore, ideal for
asthma sufferers, as well as providing a far healthier environment. Rugs etc. can be washed or dry cleaned to
kill any dust mites. Dust mites are not
visible to the naked eye but under a microscope they look like this:
Refer to www.healthyflooring.org for more
information.
Sanded wooden floors does not provide the environment to harbour dust mites and therefore provieds are far healthier living area.
Q. I have a piano and/or grandfather clock and/or
heavy furniture, which we can’t move. Can you help us with this if we have our floor sanded?
A. Whilst we ask you to
remove all items for the room being sanded, we are happy to assist in moving
more bulky pieces of furniture upon request. Every care is taken when doing this but, unfortunately, our insurances
do not cover us for any damage as a result of us moving any items. Therefore, in the unlikely event that damage
does occur, we would not be able to cover the repair or replacement of the item. Items like pianos and grandfather clocks are
generally moved minimally, to avoid disturbing any delicate mechanisms, and we have a process that we use to floor sand and varnish in, around and under these items.
Q. I have a concrete hearth. Can you do anything with this?
Yes, we are able to remove a
top section of the concrete and prepare it to have reclaimed boards installed. There is an additional cost for this. Please mention this when requesting a
quote.
Q. There are staples in the floor and nails
protruding on the surface. What should I
do with these?
A. Staples can normally be
removed as part of the floor sanding process. Any protruding nails need to be counter
sunk and we are able to do this for you when sanding a floor.
Q. Will you remove my carpets?
A. Yes, we can arrange
carpet removal upon request. Commercially, we are charged at refuse sites for disposing of trade
waste and, therefore, a minimal charge is made for this service.
Q. We are a hotel wanting floor sanding. How do you deal with the need for customers to continually walk on the
floor?
A. We are able, by arrangement, to work weekends and/or overnight and, if need be, we can separate sections of a floor and barrier tape off, to avoid any footfall whilst the floor is being renovated. This applies to most commercial public environments. We are more than happy to discuss your individual requirements in more detail.
You are probably asking yourself many questions – obviously we cannot list them all - please email us at info@floorsanduk.com with your questions and we'll answer them usually straight away. Otherwise, call 01625 582567 and we'll be happy to help you with any questions not listed.