RESTORE, REPAIR AND RENOVATE
Wood finishing expert and Managing Director of Osmo UK, Steve Grimwood, shares his advice on how to recondition wooden floors.
While many people think wooden flooring will last decades, even the simplest and everyday occurrences can deteriorate the flooring’s quality. In addition to the daily knocks, bumps and scratches, exposed sunlight can fade the wood’s appearance and dry heat can crack and splinter the wood over winter months. Wood’s natural expansion and retraction over time can also warp the flooring. It’s therefore important for flooring contractors to remember a few simple restoration techniques, for when customers get in touch about reviving their old wooden flooring to its original condition.
REVIVE WORN WOOD Worn wood can be sanded, cleaned and re-finished to present a fresh canvas with an as-new appearance. To start, you should look at the wood closely to see if there are any abrasions which need to be covered up. If there are any dents or small scrapes, use a wood filler product to remove these marks by evening out the damaged wood surface.
Using a high-quality product that is compatible with your specified finish is key. This will ensure that, once the wood has been sanded and the final finishing treatment is applied, the repaired surface will be camouflaged against the rest of the wood flooring without leaving unsightly marks. After the wood filler has dried, which usually takes around 30 minutes, sand the wood with fine grit sandpaper, so that the surface is smooth, and ready to be applied with a finish.
My best advice for finishing any up- cycled flooring is to use a finish that is full of natural ingredients as this will complement the wood’s properties. This will ensure that the wood continues to breathe and respond well to environmental conditions, removing any possibility of cracking and/or blistering. The best products to use
38 | RECLAIMED & GREEN FLOORING
“My best advice for finishing any up- cycled flooring is
to use a finish that is full of natural ingredients as this
will complement the wood’s properties.”
are oil-/wax-based finishes as they penetrate into the wood, protecting it from the inside and out.
ADD A SPLASH OF
COLOUR Further to this, alike the past few years, the trend for incorporating colours is crucial to the interior design market. Wooden flooring is versatile as it is easy to tint, stain and even apply bright opaque colours to.
Applying a coloured finish instantly revives any tired looking wooden floor. If balanced correctly with neutral colours, this can create a really positive change to the room by providing an instant refresh at a fraction of the cost of a complete overhaul.
PROTECT AND PRESERVE After sanding, shaping and finishing your floor, it is vital to keep it protected for a durable and long-lasting look. As a natural material, wood will react and change with its environment, especially in rooms that are exposed to moisture. Wood protectors will preserve your latest restoration and prevent the need for future maintenance in the short term. A good wood protector will also prevent the wood from becoming dry and brittle and enables it to adjust and respond naturally to the room’s moisture content, as well as reducing the effects of shrinkage or swelling.
The following products from Osmo UK will help restore wooden flooring:
• Osmo Wood Filler • Osmo Polyx-Oil • Osmo Polyx-Oil Raw • Osmo Polyx-Oil Tints • Wood Wax Finish • Wood Protector
www.osmouk.com
www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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