Looking after the floor under your feet

Once solid wood flooring has been manufactured and installed, there are the important tasks of finishing, refinishing, sanding and caring for this precious floor.

Sanding is used to level the floor, compensating for the unevenness of the primary floor below. Another use for sanding is to renovate an existing floor so that it can once again be given some finishing or refinishing. Sanding is done by using increasingly finer grade of sandpaper to help eliminate the signs of the courser paper initially used, as well as to allow for even stain penetration should a stain have been used.

The two most popular ways of doing finishing and refinishing are oil and polyurethane.

• Oil finishes (and refinishes) are the most commonly used.  This is because the oils used are 100% natural and derived from vegetables etc.  This makes is VOC free and very environmentally friendly.
• The 1940’s introduced solid wood flooring to polyurethane finishes.  Although there are various kinds of polyurethane finishes, the most commonly used are straight polyurethane and oil-modified polyurethane.
  Straight polyurethane finishes produce a harder finishes, but offers a higher abrasion resistance. This makes it is easier to maintain and provides the floor with a variety of glosses – from a matt gloss, to high mirror gloss. However, as it ages, this finish may darken.  It is also very vulnerable to scratches which are not easy to repair. Expect some malodorous air in your house while this finished is being applied to your floor.
  The oil-modified polyurethane has similar properties to the straight polyurethane and is also quite abrasion resistant. It provides a different gloss to that of the straight polyurethane –its gloss being smoother and could be described as satin. This finish may also require more frequent maintenance.

Solid wood flooring is a hardy floor and with proper vacuuming, sweeping and washing, the floor will remain scratch free and easy to maintain. It is always important to follow the manufacturer’s advice on which floor soap to use when washing the solid wood floor and to avoid any oil-based soap.

When maintaining the floor, it is important to remember that heavy traffic on the floor, along with dust and dirt will affect the quality and the appearance of the floor.  This may result in more frequent refinishing than could be desirable. The use of linseed oil on an oil-finished floor will also help to keep the floor in good condition.

With a well-kept, cared for solid wood floor, there is no doubt that you will have many pleasurable moments just walking on your floor.