Before the works

The oak engineered wood flooring in this Wandsworth home was looking very tired and in need of urgent restoration service. During our free home survey, we did thorough inspection of the floors and discussed with the client all possible options.

Our client decided to go for staining the oak flooring in walnut colour and finish the floors in matt lacquer.

Most of the furniture will be cleared priot to the works, however few larger sofas will remain and we will complete the floors in section, which would normally extend the works with an extra day.

How we did it...

Engineered flooring planks come in 3 main standards of thickness, which also defines how thick is the available for sanding oak top layer of the product. Depending on the overall condition of the floors, the initial floor sanding may start with coarser or medium grid. The task of this stage is not only to remove the previous finish and get the floors to bare wood, but also to provide a good level throughout the entire floor. In the case of engineered wood flooring, the level of the floor is usually good, due the "click" or "tongue-and-groove" locking between the planks.

Sanding the floors with fine grids (80 - 120 gr) and a good rotary buff to the new oak timber surface with high grid buffing screens is the most important stage in the preparation of the wood flooring for finishing.

A number of colour samples were provided on a sanded surface for the client to review and approve the colour, prior to application and finishing the floors. The client decided to go with Walnut stain frorm Morrells light fast range of colours.

Floors were consequently sealed with a coat of primer and 2 coats of Bona Mega water-based lacquer in matt sheen with another light screen buff between the coats, for an excellent final touch to the finish.