Must-Have Tools for Refinishing Floors

 Hardwood floors give any home an elegant, classic appearance and can add thousands of dollars to the resale value of a home. Hardwoods are beautiful, and they're also long-lasting, easy to care for, ecologically responsible, and a healthy choice for a family. If you're thinking about installing hardwood floors in your home, here's some basic information to keep in mind.

Hardwoods are Ecologically Responsible

We all know that wood is a renewable resource, but may not be aware the North American hardwood used for floors today mainly comes from a highly managed woodland resource. US Forest Service statistics indicate that almost twice as much hardwood timber is added each year as is harvested, and there is more standing timber today than 50 years ago.

Hardwoods are Healthy

Unlike soft surfaces, hardwoods don't harbor dust mites or mold, so help provide a cleaner environment for your family. Since hardwood floors don’t give off any volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from synthetic components they won't cause breathing problems for anyone living in the house, particularly anyone suffering from Asthma.

Hardwood is Versatile

One of the great features about hardwood is its versatility. You can put hardwood on your floors in virtually any room — living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, and even kitchens. It can be installed over concrete or directly onto conventions wood joist construction either on or above grade. Engineered hardwood can even be installed below grade (in basements).

All Hardwoods Aren't the Same

In the US we generally consider oak, maple, and cherry as the primary woods for floors, while other native woods like ash are popular and are also commonly used. "Exotic" hardwoods such as Tasmanian Oak or Brazilian Cherry from other parts of the world are also widely available. While exotic hardwoods can be beautiful and quite different in appearance from American hardwoods, keep in mind they didn't grow in North America's temperate climate so may react differently in our air-conditioned home environments.

Hardwood Grades

Hardwoods are graded based on their appearance. Grades range from clear (with virtually no eye-catching blemishes) through select (some burls and markings) to common (more grain differences to catch the eye). All are equally strong and serviceable and the choice of one grade over the other is essentially a personal choice based on appearance.

Engineered Hardwoods

Engineered hardwoods are a manufactured product. Planks are made using three to five layers of wood laminated in a cross-directional pattern then covered with a top layer of premium hardwood. This method of construction helps prevent the natural tendency of wood to expand and contract with changes in temperature or moisture content in the air.

Prefinished Versus Unfinished?

More and more hardwood is being sold already finished. Prefinished gives you the opportunity to see exactly what your floor will look like before it's ever installed. There's no dust from sanding the floors after installation and no objectionable fumes. As an added bonus, a prefinished floor can be installed in a shorter time than an unfinished floor since it's a one-phase project rather than two-phase.

However, since prefinished floors aren't sanded after installation, both your subfloor and installation need to be perfect. There's no opportunity to remove any minor imperfections that you get with the sanding step necessary as part of installing unfinished wood.

Maintaining Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are amazingly easy to keep clean. Keep them dust free and clean with a dust mop and regular vacuuming and have dirt-trapping walk-off mats at doors and entrances to pick up any grit or dirt.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

Deep Cleaning Old Quarry Tiles in Devon with Tile Doctor Remove and Go

This client called us out to look at their grubby Quarry tiled lobby at the front of their property in Kenton near Exeter. Being the main entrance to the property it saw a lot of foot traffic so once the sealer had worn down it wasn’t long before the dirt started penetrating the pores of the tile and became difficult to keep clean.

 

The property was originally a school and dated back over 200 years. The Quarry tiles in the entrance lobby were probably as old as the building and as mentioned earlier were looking worse for wear having been partially covered for years. They weren’t sure how old the tiled floor was, but they were keen to see it restored. They were therefore desperate to get the floor deep cleaned and a fresh seal applied. They agreed to my quotation, and we arranged a convenient date to carry out the work.

 

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

I started by taping up the skirting to protect it from the cleaning products we would be using. I then applied Tile Doctor Remove & Go to the floor and covered the area with plastic sheets to stop the evaporation of the products so that I could achieve a longer dwell time. This would really get to the deep-seated dirt and loosen it so it can be lifted from the pores of the tiles.

I then worked the floor with 200-grit carbide brush fitted to a rotary machine to remove the dirt ingrained in the clay pores of the tile. Some of the grout was loose and dislodged in the process, however my client was expecting this and had already arranged for his tiler to complete a full re-grout once we had finished cleaning. The soiling released by the cleaning process was rinsed off the floor with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

 

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Lobby Floor

I wanted to seal the floor the next day so I left a couple of driers in place overnight to speed up the drying process. The next morning when I returned, I first checked the floor to make sure it was dry with a moisture meter.

The dryers had worked their magic so I was able to begin sealing the floor with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an effective interior and exterior sealer. With the lobby being a high traffic area, I applied four coats to ensure a durable seal. The benefit of this sealer is it gave the floor a nice sheen really bringing out the depth of colour in the tiles, and with the newly applied grout the floor looked great.

 

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is a pH neutral product which is gentle enough for daily use. It won’t compromise the newly applied sealer which can be a problem with the stronger bleach-based products you find in supermarket products.

The work completely transformed the Quarry tiles and my client was very happy with the completed job and told me they wished they had tackled it sooner.

Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Devon

How do I remove porcelain tile grout haze?

You need porcelain tile grout to make your floors professional, but after installation, you may notice a haze from the grout that seems impossible to remove. There is a simple solution to the problem. Add a cup of white vinegar to very hot water, and saturate a heavy sponge with the solution. Rub hard and the haze will come right off. Be sure to rinse out the sponge often as you move to different areas to prevent putting the haze back on the floor. If you find an extremely stubborn area, pour some white vinegar directly to that spot and rub away with the sponge.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

How to Restore old Victorian Tiled Floors by South Yorkshire Expert

During renovations at this beautiful house in Sheffield the discovered an original Victorian tiled floor underneath the hallway carpet, incredibly they also uncovered access to a cellar, neither of which they knew idea existed and both were a massive bonus!

    

Once the floor had been fully uncovered it was in a pretty good condition, some repairs were needed but nothing too dramatic. There was damage around the radiators where the heating engineers have just chiselled through the tiles. Plus, the tiles were stained by adhesive where the carpet grippers had been glued to the tiles.

 

I discussed with the client the work needed to carry out a full restoration and gave them a quote. They were happy to accept and asked us to proceed as soon as possible.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the removal of the carpet grippers and scraping up as much of the glue as possible, it took some shifting, but it did come up. Any remaining glue was softened up with the application of neat Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then carefully scraped off. Tile Doctor Remove and Go is a multi-purpose stripper that is ideal for removing adhesives and other stubborn coatings such as sealers.

 

The repairs were done next which involved colour matching replacement tiles and cutting them to the right size. A fast-setting adhesive was used to fix them in place and once the floor had dried it was time to move onto the cleaning.

More Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied, left to soak for ten minutes, and then worked in with a weighted 42kg buffer machine fitted with a very coarse diamond burnishing pad. This combination not only removed the old sealer but did a good job of removing ingrained dirt as well. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum.

 

Once done the process was repeated using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this removes stubborn staining and being an acidic product will counter any efflorescence which is a common problem with these old floors. Old floors like this one don’t have a damp proof membrane installed to prevent moisture underneath the tiles rising through the floor and depositing salt as it evaporates at the surface.

A wet vacuum was used to extract the soiling generated during the cleaning process and every tile was rubbed with microfibre cloths to remove the last of the residue.

 

A nice feature seen on a lot of Victorian floors is an upside tile left by the tiler on purpose, the picture shows the one on this floor. They believed it brought good luck.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and I returned the following morning to continue with the final phase of the restoration. Before starting though, the first job was to check the floor was dry using a moisture meter. Once satisfied six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra we applied leaving the floor with a beautiful sheen finish.

 

The client was very pleased with the newly restored floor, and for ongoing cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This product has a neutral Ph which is ideal for sealed surfaces; stronger bleach-based cleaners are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will erode the sealer prematurely.

 

Source: Tile Cleaning and Restoration Contractor in Sheffield Yorkshire

How to Remove Stains from an Oak Hardwood Floor

Oak hardwood floor can provide a rustic look that is unmatched by any other type of flooring surface. However, when this type of flooring gets stains on it, it can begin to look bad quickly. When you see stains forming on your oak flooring, there are some tricks you can use to try to remove them. While not every stain will come out of oak flooring, you can remove many of them with a few simple procedures.

What You'll Need:

• Iron
• Towel
• Toothpaste
• Baking soda
• Dishwashing liquid
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Cotton
• Plastic
• Cloth
• Water displacing spray

Follow the simple steps below to effectively remove some of the most common stains you will find in oak hardwood flooring.

Step 1 - Pet Stains

One of the most common stains you will find on hardwood flooring is pet urine (Fig. 1 & 2). If you have indoor pets, this will likely be a problem for you at some point. If you find urine on the floor, saturate a piece of cotton with hydrogen peroxide. Then rub the cotton into the wood, covering the entire stain but not completely saturating the area.

If you use too much hydrogen peroxide on the area, it could bleach out the color of the wood. Allow the hydrogen peroxide to dry, and then reapply as needed.

Step 2 - Water Spots

If you spill water on the floor and it soaks into the finish (Fig. 3), it can create unsightly water spots. If this is the case, you can remove most of them with a simple trick. First, lay a thin towel on top of the area. Then, program an iron on the medium setting. Rub your iron back and forth on top of the towel for a few minutes. You can lift up the towel periodically to check for progress in removing the water spots. You can do this for as long as it takes to remove the spots out of the wood.

Step 3 - Heat Stains

If you have heat marks on the oak hardwood flooring, mix together some toothpaste and some baking soda. Apply the paste to the entire area of the stain, and then use a cloth or a toothbrush to rub the paste around on top of the stain

Then use a different cloth to wipe up the paste. This should remove some of the stains. You can reapply the paste to the stain several times to help remove the stain from the wood. Make sure you remove all of the paste after this procedure.

Painting Pine Flooring

 Pine flooring is simple to deal with. Many people get bored of the look of plain pine planks. Fortunately, painting pine flooring is simple and can change the look of a room without much effort.

There are a few things that need to be done in order to create a flawless painted floor. You should also know that this process can take several days, so you should plan accordingly.

What You'll Need:

•  Vacuum
•  Floor enamel
•  Soft paint rollers
•  Masks
•  Painter's tape
•  Sponge brushes

Step 1 - Clean the Floor

Before you start taping or painting, you want to make sure the floor is completely clear of dirt and debris. Sweep, vacuum, and go over the floor with a lint-free cloth to ensure it's clear.

Step 2 - Turn Up the Thermostat

A warmer floor will take paint much easier, and it will allow for a quicker dry time. Make sure your thermostat is set on at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep it there for a full day before you start to paint.

Step 3 - Add Tape

Just as you would with painting a wall, you want to tape off the areas that you don't want paint to bleed through. Tape and cover the baseboards or floor molding to prevent the paint from accidentally getting on them.

Step 4 - Start in the Corners

It's best to start in the corners of the room and cut the paint in with an edger or small roller brush. You want to use a thin layer of paint for this. This way if you need to go back over the edges while you work on the rest of the floor, it doesn't become a darker color or stick out.

Step 5 - Paint the Rest of the Floor

Working in sections, start to roll the paint onto the rest of the floor. Use thin layers of paint and work slowly to reduce the risk of bubbles and wrinkles forming in the finish.

Step 6 - Add the 2nd Coat

After the paint has been applied, leave the area for at least 24 hours to allow the floor to dry. After this time you can begin to work with the second coat in the same manner in which you applied the first.

Depending on the color you choose and the condition of the floors, you may need to repeat this process several times.

Step 7 - Clean Up

Once the floor has dried and you have the finish you desired, you can remove the tape from the baseboards. Any areas around the edges that need to be touched up can be done with a sponge brush and a small amount of paint.

Clean up the area, and wait a full day before moving the furniture back into the room.

Tips

Painting on a rainy day, or during humid weather, can lead to wrinkles in the dry paint that are very hard to deal with. Try to paint during a time when the weather is clear and not humid.

Floor enamel is toxic. Be sure to wear painter's masks while working with it.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

What You Should Know About Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring imitates the aspect of traditional wood. Its biggest advantage is it’s very easy to install and very durable.

Laminate flooring is suitable for many of your rooms: hallways, family spaces, bathrooms, kitchens. It’s also perfect for an active home.

At first look, laminate flooring seems to be a natural wood floor, but in fact is a layer of paper under a tough protective film that is glued and pressed to a high-density backing board.

There are also types of laminate planks that are installed over a moisture barrier which levels any uneven areas of the floor.

You don't need any glue or nails for them because the planks snap together.

Before choosing a laminate flooring material you should think about the type of traffic in your house.

One other advantage for laminate flooring is the durability. So this type of floor is one of the best choices for households with heavy foot traffic, kids, or pets.

But, best of all, laminates will look like new for years.

Laminates are also highly resistant to stains, fading, and moisture.

Many laminate flooring manufacturers offer warranty protection against them for a long period of time (usually from 10 to 25 years).

Laminate flooring can be installed over floors like wood, tile, vinyl, or linoleum because most of them are floating, which means they do not fasten directly to the subfloor.

Also, at this moment, many manufacturers offer snap-together laminate flooring systems.

A typical laminate flooring is an extremely economical solution, if you take in consideration the costs of alternate flooring solutions.

Solid hardwood floors will require four or five refinishings, and carpets and vinyls will need to be replaced at least twice (depending on traffic loads), while laminates don't require anything.

Laminates come in different styles and types. You can find transition strips, end caps, stair nosings, moldings and baseboards.

Almost anything you need you can find at a laminate flooring manufacturer. There are companies that offer floor registers for heating and air vents.

Laminate flooring provides a much cleaner and healthier living environment when compared to other floorings such as carpets, with regular cleaning cycles.

It accumulates less dust, pet dander, allergens and it doesn't hold residual stain contaminants on the surface.

Allergic people will often be recommended to remove the carpets from the living space.

In conclusion laminate floors are a very good choice for your home because they are durable, resistant, economical and easy to install.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com