Signs That A Floor Sanding And Refinishing Is Due
Proper care enables hardwood floors to last for decades. Regular dusting and cleaning, getting rid of those occasional spills- it’s all a part of the process. However, it will reach a point where not even the most thorough scrubbing will bring back the lustrous look and feel. You can spend hours scrubbing at those dull spots, yet there is barely any change. At this stage, the floor needs to be sanded down, to remove the current layer of finishes, and have a new treatment applied. This gives it a fresh start. How do you know that it is time for the floor sanding and refinishing? Here are 4 signs:
This is different from just a soiled surface. Here, the finish itself has been worn down, with anything from a faded surface, scratched wood, to sections where the wood grain itself is exposed. Splintering may occur, and there could be patches of the floor that are so rough that they become uncomfortable to walk on. The wearing will be greatest in the high traffic areas, including the living room, hallways and sections around the sink in the kitchen. Floor sanding comes in to give your installation a fresh start, enabling you to apply new wood stains and coats of lacquer or polish, to restore the desired beautiful sheen.
- Failing the water test
This is a quick test that is performed to assess the floor’s condition. Simply pour a little water on the target section of the floor that you want to assess. Should the water bead up in small droplets, or pool together in individual small puddles, then the finish is still in a good condition. However, if the water is absorbed quickly into the wood, then the sealing that had been applied has been depleted, meaning that your floor is exposed to greater risks of water damage. The floor sanding is vital to remove the old layer which has now become deteriorated, enabling you to reseal the surface to protect it from the risks of water damage.
- Deep scratches on the hardwood floor
Wood itself is a durable flooring choice. It can withstand high levels of foot traffic, which is further enhanced when the appropriate treatment products are applied onto it. However, this is not a perpetual state. Over time, scratches will be formed on the surface. They have different causes, ranging from pets claws that dig into the surface as your furry friend runs around the room, the gritty soiling that is at the bottom of people’s shoes getting ground against the floor surface, to the dents that are formed when heavy furniture gets dragged across the floor. The more the scratches, some being small others being deep grooves, the more dilapidated the wood floor looks. This drags down the décor of the rest of the space. With floor sanding, the scratches and dents are removed. The sanding dust, together with the appropriate wood filler, also come in to fill the gaps that may have developed. The surface is smoothened, and thereafter treated with protective finishes to protect it from the abuse that will be meted out onto it in future.
- Colour changes
Whether it is the natural colour of the wood itself, or the hue that is obtained with the wood stain that had been applied, these can gradually change over time. The main factor here is sunlight, where the colour changes are attributed to the ultraviolet radiation, and how it affects the wood species, and the treatment that has been applied. For some cases the wood grain lightens and develops a whitish hue, other cases have golden brown colour or red hues developing- especially with the wood stain. Yellowing can occur, or even a blackish tone which clashes with the rest of the décor. Getting rid of the old fading finish, or that which has yellowed over time, will enable you to apply a fresh coat with your preferred colour of choice. You may even simply want to switch things up and apply a different hue, which will match your changing décor preferences. The floor sanding will prepare the surface, enabling you to achieve the desired aesthetic effect.
Hire The Professionals To Take Care Of Your Floor Sanding Needs
This is a labour-intensive job, and you want it done effectively, otherwise lots of time and resources will be wasted. With the professionals investing in state-of-the-art floor sanding machinery, plus a team of trained and experienced personnel, you get to have the desired results in moments. Approaches such as dustless floor sanding come in to speed things up, by reducing the amount of cleaning that will be after the process, and also protecting the persons on the premises from the toxic dust particles that would have choked up the interior space.
You also want to save on costs. Sanding and refinishing is way less expensive compared to replacing the entire wood floor. Aspects like removing the existing boards, purchasing new flooring, the labour costs of the carrying out the installation, having the boards cut in order to fit at the walls and doorways- and then it will still need to be sanded and finished- it ends up being a costly process. You don’t have to go through this route, unless there is absolutely no other alternative- like then the floor has been sanded too many times before or there are extensive structural problems which need the flooring to be removed so that the subfloor can be repaired. To restore the beauty to your installation, the floor sanding will get rid of the deteriorating finish, enable the scratches and holes to be repaired, and give you a fresh start. What’s more, after a professional floor sanding and refinishing, the wood floor can go for 2 or 3 decades before it needs to be refinished again. In fact, since the professionals efficiently control the amount of the wear layer that is sanded off, the process can be done up to seven times over the lifetime of the flooring.
