Signs Your Hardwood Floor Needs Restoration

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Signs Your Hardwood Floor Needs Restoration

Signs Your Hardwood Floor Needs Restoration

With all the time and resources that went into installing the hardwood floor in your premises, you want it to last for long and retain its beauty. Fortunately, with wood floors, you get the opportunity to freshen them up and get rid of those signs of ageing. All that is needed here is having the floor sanded, then new finish coats applied. During this restoration, you can bring back the initial colouration and gloss levels of the floor, or have them replaced with different ones in line with the changing aesthetic preferences. The types of finishes available also enable you to set a protective coating that will meet the wear resistance requirements. 

The number of times that the floor sanding can be carried out is limited.  This depends on factors such as the thickness of the wear layer, since sanding away too much of the wood tissue damages the structural integrity of the installation. While engineered wood floors can be engineered refinished twice or thrice, with solid wood floors this can be done as much as 7 times. For the finishes, there are some formulations where you can increase the duration in between consecutive floor sanding and refinishing cycles by topcoating the surface with an extra layer of the product. 

When should you consider having your floor restored? Here are issues that you should keep an eye out for:

  • Water damage

The effects of water on the hardwood floor will depend on how much of it has been absorbed. Water is one of the main threats to wood, and you will see every floor specialist issuing warnings about it. As long as there will be excess water on the surface of the wood floor, it will be absorbed by the structure – which is one of the reasons why spills should be cleaned up quickly. Cases of pipe leakages, excessive water being used during the routine cleaning, all through to outright flooding can damage the floor. The water damage results in issues like cupping or warping, and professional help is needed to fix the floor. 

These include scratches, dents, gouges and chipping. The extent to which they have affected your floor will determine if it needs to be sanded and refinished. High traffic areas are the most affected, and will quickly wear down compared to the rest of the surfaces. Depending on the depth of the scratches and gouges, there will be additional risks of moisture penetrating into the wood. The floor sanding is carried out to smoothen out the surface, and this is also the time to have the gaps and cracks filled, before new protective treatments are applied. 

  • Greying wood

Usually, wood floors change their colour over time, as a result of natural processes. Some darken, others become lighter, depending on the type of wood species. However, if you particularly see that the wood is becoming grey, this points to a deteriorated finish that is causing more moisture damage. It’s an early sign that should be heeded, since at this stage that issue can be resolved with a floor sanding and refinish. However, if the boards end up becoming black, then the damage will have become too severe, and the floorboards will need to be replaced. 

A couple of stains on the floor are inevitable. With the right cleaning products, these can usually be resolved, scrubbing down the spot and getting rid of the stain. However, if the stains are not removed early enough, they can set deep in the wood, such that the only recourse will be to have the floor sanding carried out, and a new protective treatment applied to ward off the effects of future spills. Remember that applying a finish product on the floor does not mean that spills should be allowed to dwell on the surface. They should still be attended to as soon as possible, to avoid risks of them staining. 

  • Faded floor

This is primarily due to the sun’s effect on the wood surface. The radiation affects the wood tissue, causing discolouration. For some finishes, they form a yellow hue, which will be different to the desired aesthetic effect of the floor. These will call for a floor sanding so that fresh treatments of the desired colour and gloss level are applied. 

Go Pro With Your Floor Restoration

In order to restore the lost glory to your floor – and avoid risks of damaging it, it is highly recommended that you hire the services of a specialist company. One that has been in the business of floor care for a substantial amount of time, and with a track record that you can analyse in order to correctly gauge the quality of the services they offer. Businesses providing residential and commercial floor sanding services should also be licensed and insured. After all, you want to be certain that you’re dealing with a qualified firm, and that you’re also protected from liabilities in case an accident occurs on your property. 

By hiring a specialist floor sanding contractor, you get to leverage their experience, especially those that have been providing the services for years, as well as the high capacity from the equipment they have. The industrial-grade machinery used for the process cuts down the amount of time taken for the floor sanding and refinishing, as opposed to the multiple days or even weeks that a restoration job can take if you go the DIY route. Moreover, they are well versed with the different types of floors and complications that can arise, allowing them to tackle any hurdles that pop up during the process. Additional measures like working with dustless floor sanding systems makes the process proceed more smoothly, taking away the mess that would have been caused in the space. 

The costs of the floor sanding and refinishing services vary from one project to the next. Aspects like the size of the floor, its current condition, the kind of coats being applied and the drying and curing times they need – these all factor into the final quote. Getting multiple quotes from different firms will enable you to gauge the ideal range for your particular situation. 

Signs Your Hardwood Floor Needs Restoration

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