Restore & Renovate

Restoring wood floors

Emile Botha, Maintenance Specialist at fine wooden flooring company Weldon, shares advice for restoring and maintaining wooden floors…

You should look to restore your wooden floor once it starts looking tired and the finish starts fading or wearing through in certain areas. Depending on the finish, we would advise you to apply a maintenance coat at least once a year to have the floor looking its best.

Restoration of antique oak boards in a historic London residence;

Consider a full restoration of a wood floor every five to 10 years, depending on the traffic.

The most common problems associated with old wooden floors are gaps between the floorboards, cupping boards (when external forces cause the wood to move, typically ‘cupping’ at the edges) and even cracks and splits.

To prepare a floor for restoration work, first make sure that it is completely clean (using the right products). And if you’re planning just to refresh the floors by applying another coat of finish, you should make sure that the new coat is compatible with the existing one.

Sanding should only be considered as a last resort. Before sanding any wooden floor, consider deep-cleaning it using an abrasive pad as the first step.

To change the colour of a wooden floor, you have to sand off the existing finish and apply a stain, followed by a protective topcoat to seal it. We suggest doing samples on the existing floor underneath a rug, or somewhere that’s not visible.

The most effective way to close gaps in old floorboards is to lift all the floorboards and relay them tighter to each other.

Another way is to remove the existing finish and fill the gaps using a mix of sanding dust and resin filler before applying any finishes. In both cases we’d recommend using a professional.

Before employing a professional to help with a floor restoration, make sure they have relevant experience in finishing hardwood flooring, and agree beforehand on any processes and finishes before they begin the job.

To maintain your floor, the most important thing is not to use an excessive amount of water when cleaning it. In addition, make sure you use the cleaning products recommended by the floor’s manufacturer, and always use felt pads under moveable furniture to avoid scratches. weldon.co.uk