Ask The Expert

The appearance of blobs may be a result of not sufficient and perfect bonding between the different coats of varnish or between the first coat of floor varnish and the timber. This sometimes happens if the floors had not been perfectly sanded to a very smooth finish before the application of varnish or when the previous sealant was not completely sanded down before the new varnish was applied. The only solution we would recommend is to re-sand and re-varnish the floors again to ensure a smooth sanded surface and a proper application of the coats of varnish on top, ideally done by a professional flooring company to avoid this happening again. However, you need to ensure that your floors have sufficient remaining solid wood top layer available for another sanding.

For further advice, or to book our wooden wooden floors sanding services, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Hi Tom,

Yes, any engineered wood flooring can be sanded with or without underfloor heating, as long as the thickness of the top layer of the product is at least 3 mm.

Engineered flooring products are manufcatured in thickness of 14-15 mm, 18 mm and 20 mm. Thicker planks go with thicker top layer (between 3 mm and 6 mm), so in case you can check the thickness of your plank, you will be also aware how many times the floors can be sanded. 

You can achieve a durable whitewashed effect on your engineered wood flooring with both lacquers and oil-based products if you choose the right product and apply it properly. The choice of lacquer or oil will define the final appearance.

Achieving whitewash effect with lacquer will result in a more uniform colour. This is done by either by mixing a white colourant with a clear lacquer / primer, use ready-mixed primer, or by applying white stain on the sanded floors, followed by the application of multiple coats of clear floor lacquer on top. For our floor restoration projects where staining to whitewashed finish is required, we use mainly white pigmented primers by Bona or Junckers.

Oil-based products have ready-mixed stains and colours in various shades of white - available from all major brands - Osmo, Blanchon, Woka, Loba, Bona, Rubio Monocoat, Treatex and more. Hardwax-oils colours create more prominent grain than lacquers - main difference between the two finishes. Clear coat on top is required after the application of the colour, except for Rubio, which is a 1 coat system.

Solid oak restoration requires a careful consideration of the best applicable type of sealant. Once the flooring is sanded to a smooth finish, there are two options available – sealing it with either laqcuer or hardwax-oil. Both sealants offer different advantages and disadvantages and while we can recommend one or the other, it often comes to your personal choice.

Between the two, lacquer will give a better and longer lasting protection, without the hassle of re-coating and hardwax-oil, may give you more textured / natural appearance, however some areas with higher traffic will require re-oiling and waxing every couple of years.

Engineered wood flooring is available in various thicknesses of the top layer, ranging between 3 - 6 mm, which defines its sanding potential. As your floors have already been sanded once, there may be a limited opportunity to sand it again.

As you mention your floors are not in bad condition (several scratches), cleaning and polishing service may be applicable. This is maintainance service to an existing lacquered finish before it is badly damaged and worn out. "Cleaning & polishing" applies an extra coat of sealant, where the new coat bonds to the existing lacquer (not to the bare wood). If the lacquer is worn out in places, then a proper sanding and re-sealing will be required.

Gap filling usually refers to a procedure part of the floor restoration process, which uses a mixture of clear resin and saw dust, collected from the initial sanding and is used to fill in the gaps between the floorboards or between the parquet blocks. It is a very common service that often goes along with floorboards restoration and parquet floor sanding services. Sometimes, bigger gaps appear between the wooden planks and they require the use of wooden strips to be filled. This is called strip filling.

Floorboards refitting and replacement is part of our regular floorboards repairs services. We work with local flooring reclamation yards and we can supply reclaimed or seasoned pine floorboards to replace your damaged planks. Pine comes in either yellow, red or orange colour and tends to change over time. Therefore, we will always try to supply the closest possible match to your existing floorboards to ensure a uniform appearance once the floors are sanded and sealed with hardwearing varnish.

While bamboo (as final product) is not exactly timber, it is possible to sand and varnish bamboo flooring. However, bamboo floor sanding needs to be done with extreme care and it requires a specific approach and highly skilful flooring technicians. We will not recommend sanding and varnishing bamboo flooring yourself.  Bamboo floor sealing, for example, requires the application of solvent based, rather than water-based sealants. Also, wood floor staining is not recommended on bamboo floors.

Engineered wood floors can be sanded and the restoration process is done in the same way as hardwood or parquet floor sanding, allowing you to remove deeper dents and scratches and to renew the floor’s appearance. However, sanding engineered wood flooring should always be approached with extra care, because it is only the top layer of solid wood that is sandable, rather the whole plank. Therefore, before you do any works on engineered floors, you need to make sure that the top layer is at least 3 mm thick to avoid any unrepeatable damages. You can do this by checking the thickness at door bars or around radiator pipes.

We strongly advise hiring a professional floor sanding company for your engineered floor restoration rather than trying to do it yourself because if you do not have the required skills and knowledge, you can easily cause damage and may end up having to replace the floors all together.

The short answer is lacquer. The timber of the original floorboards is pine - soft, porous wood, which is not ideal for a sealants, which rely on penetration. Hardwax-oil will leave a better protection on hardwoods and lacquer, which leaves surface coating layer is more universal and will provide better protection on any type of wood, including the original floorboards.