Timber floors
Solid wood timber floors. Not engineered not click clack. Solid bits of wood. Why it’s a bit blase considering were running out of wood. However, the actual floor I’m on about to review for you guys is cheap as chips softwood. Stuck to a concrete floor with an expensive adhesive, it does not work out that cheap. Having laid this floor myself Eighteen months ago in a brand new timber frame house. With superb insulation and heating, let us have a little review.
Timber Floor Adhesive
So this is the gear I used on this particular job and Eighteen months on can safely say it works very very well. Now usually a hardwood floor will swell and a softwood one will cup and shrink. This one softwood floor didn’t cup much which I believe is thanks to this adhesive and a good sealer. However, at twenty-six degrees in the house not long after the floor was laid with a newborn child in the house. She did eventually shrink. A little bit.
The right and wrong finish for your floor.
This was originally a beeswax finish which was absolutely a lovely shiny finish. Reflections could be seen and I’m sure everyone took their shoes off and slid around for a while…
Introduce some heavy traffic, some nasty winter weather the hall was the first to feel the pain. I have gone back twice and re-waxed the whole floor making it fresh again. Unless you like polishing floors every day beeswax really is for schools. With an abundance of kids some of whom are surely going to land detention, you can be sure it will be waxed and polished daily. So the client found another product which I have heard some good reviews.
Restoring a Timber Floor
In this example, the floor runs from the front door to the back. With what furniture could be moved upstairs and the rest crammed into a kitchen. The owner took a couple of day’s breakaway leaving us a nice empty space to crack on. Dust is a bit of a factor but with a good extraction unit, it’s not too bad.
You basically sand the big area with a floor sander like above or even a hand sander on a softwood floor. In this case, we used 36 grit then 60 then filled gaps. Did this with wood glue and sawdust from the floor after the original sealer dust and dirt was lifted. More 60 then followed with 100 grit finish. You then have to hand sand the edges with an edge sander or orbital sander. Always sand with the grain. Once the dust has settled and you have hoovered every bit up you can seal it up.
Osmo Oil
This stuff was very easy to apply with no sealer required. You just start with the edges with a brush. Then you can use a microfibre roller to do the rest. Two coats and the job’s done. With a ten to twelve hour drying time between coats.
It looks very yellow when first applied especially in this softwood example. Do not panic it then does turn clearer and more natural as it dry’s.
Finished Result
Boom! I have to say this hard wax oil does a very nice job of bringing out the natural grain of this wood or whatever wood is used. Also, it’s very functional
- It’s got a grip a matt gritty finish
- It does what it says on the tin, you can mop it.
The reason the customer wanted this product after much research on their part. Was because you could mop a stain off, without having to whip out the wire wool wax and polish an everyday stain out, every day. After painting and caulking up the skirting board, and getting the odd flick of paint on the floor. I can confirm a damp microfibre rag does the job. Oil-based paint too not water based.
Shoes Off
I always take my shoes off when entering a customers house. It is a very hard rule to enforce. Especially in a busy house or one with kids or dogs. So I will
Any advice on Timber Floors don’t hesitate to contact us thanks Mart