How Floor Sanding Is Beneficial To Your Home
Hardwood floors are renowned for their charm and elegance. They add character to the interior space, and the wide assortment of wood species to work with, and treatment products- from the stains to the varnishes that can be applied, adding to the flexibility with the décor. You get to set up the installation that accurately brings out your personality, enhancing your style and sprucing up the room. They are also easy to take care of, given that the surface doesn’t lock in soiling as opposed to situations such as when you’re dealing with carpets. The durability of the structure also makes it one of the top choices even for the areas that witness high levels of foot traffic. A properly maintained wood floor can last for long under the barrage of daily abuse. Then there are attributes such as the enhanced energy efficiency of the home, where the insulation properties of the wood come in handy in reducing the amount of heat lost from the building, meaning that you won’t be running your HVAC system as hard as you would with alternative types of flooring. The same structures that give it the insulation properties- the tissues of the wood, are also great for reducing sound reverberation, making the rooms quieter. With all this going for them, hardwood floors will eventually look worn down. This is normal- though without proper care it will happen at a much faster rate. Over time, due to the foot traffic, routine scrubbing, issues like solar radiation and and other aspects that the floor is exposed to, the finish coats that have been applied dull, change colour, and in some cases get so worn out that the bare wood underneath is exposed. Pet’s claws, furniture and caster wheels that contribute to the scratching of the surface also result in the appeal of the installation being ruined. Focus here shifts to giving your floor a new beginning, which is where the floor sanding comes in. This brings us to the first major benefit of the process:
- It renews your floor
Signs of dilapidation- those scratches that have covered the floor, the wood stain that has dulled and dragged down the ambience of the premises, patches where there are stains that have set into the wood- the floor sanding enables you to get a fresh start. The old finish coats are removed, grinding through to the bare wood. This leaves the floor smooth and opens up the wood grain for the new treatments to be applied. Blemishes such as scratches that had been formed are also got rid of. Filler agents are used, which are mixed with the sanding dust in order to prepare a product that will have properties similar to the rest of the flooring, which is key for uniformity.
- Add a new wood stain or varnish
This follows the floor sanding, which is necessary for it to be effective. Applying the treatments on the old coats of polish will prevent them from bonding well with the wood, which reduces the effectiveness of the treatment. It even affects factors such as the resultant colouration that is obtained. On the other hand, with a proper sanding, the wood will be ready to accept the new wood stain, sealants, varnishes and other products that are to be applied. It will allow them to bond strongly with it, which makes for a high-quality result. Here, you can choose to restain the floor with the same type of product that had been used initially in order to remain consistent, or choose to work with different colours in order to spice things up, and get a different final look for your home.
The whole process, from the floor sanding to the refinishing, does more than just enhance the aesthetics. By applying the protective layers to the surface, it increases the hardwood’s resistance to everyday wear and tear, thus prolonging the life of your installation. That way, you get to avoid hefty repair and replacement costs that would have ended up being incurred due to the floor being neglected.
- Makes subsequent cleaning easier
The grooves and scratches all over the surface provide collection points for dirt. As such, you end up being forced to sweep much more often. The floor sanding process leaves the surface smooth, and this, coupled the finish products that are used, means that there will be less soiling latching onto the floor, and you will be in a position to quickly sweep away the particles that are on it.
Turn to the professionals for your floor sanding needs
The task itself is huge. Without the requisite skills to handle it, and the machinery with sufficient capacity to tackle the workload- it can end up taking days. Remember that the sanding process is the first stage of the floor renovation job, and any delay here will push the rest of the aspects- including the finishing- down the road, hence it will take longer. Through all this time, the floor will be out of commission. Note that the longer that the sanding takes before being completed, the higher the risk of damage to the wood since sections of it will be the bare wood itself which has been exposed. Your peace of mind also factors in. You don’t want to spend your weekends or days off from work dealing with a monstrous floor renovation project. All those hours spent in a sweat-filled room, pushing around heavy machinery can put a strain on you. It gets worse when mistakes are made that result in damage to the wood, since it means that you will end up digging deep into your wallet to pay for repairs. Swirl marks, divots and similar issues affect the quality of the results. Even scratch marks that seemed miniscule when sanding will be glaring anomalies when the finish coats have been applied on them. You don’t need to put yourself through this. By hiring professional floor sanding services, you get to kick back and relax, and wind up with quality results in a fraction of the time that a DIY job would have taken.
