Modern Oak

"Thank you to everyone in your firm for saving my Oak floor; I thought the dogs had ruined it but it looks better than ever now!"

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Oak floor Restoration

Our Oak wood floor services:

Lacquer or Oil wax finish?

Based upon our experience and after listening to feed back from our customers - some of whom have already had an oil/wax finish we have drawn the conclusion that lacquer normally provides the best finishing choice. Our opinions are based on the fact that oil/wax requires frequent re coating, and sometimes machine polishing. As always we consider 3 important points when choosing a floor finish:

Depending on the amount of foot traffic and type of use your floor will be subjected to a properly prepared Lacquered floor can last for up to 8 years without the need to recoat (which is simple to do without the need to ‘deep sand’ the floor again) whereas oil wax may only last a few years before it becomes contaminated especially in high use areas and will need deep sanding and re oiling again.

As both the colour and finish of both systems are almost the same there seems to be no reason to opt for oil/wax. For the above reasons we almost always recommend a water-based lacquer to finish your wood floors. There are of course exceptions to the rule and we do use oil wax where the wood type demands the use of an oil-based product to deeply penetrate the grain such as our period floor renovations.

What to expect:


Worn oil waxed oak floor in Cambridge

Before

This is an oak floor in Cambridge that had been oil waxed; the finish was wearing and the customer asked us to install a harder wearing refinishing system.

After

We sanded the oak floorboards with our specialist machinery; our modern machines are almost dust free and produce a perfect finish; sanding a floor is like anything else ‘get the preparation right and the floor finish will look and last longer’! After sanding the oak floor was primed and coated with 2 layers of high quality lacquer. As well as being easier to care the beauty of the oak has come to the fore!

Before

Oak boards in this kitchen were subject to very heavy use and with the narrow walk through area not suited to the applied oil/wax finish.

After

Now sanded and lacquered.

Sanded oak staircase in Stratford-Upon-Avon

Before

An oak staircase before sanding and refinishing

After

Sanding oak staircases is quite time consuming and requires a selection of hand sanding machines and consumables to produce an even finish .In this instance all areas of the wooden staircase were sanded and varnished including the treads, risers, balustrades and newels.

This is an ash floor in Oswestry treated with a completely matt version of the lacquer

After only

The lacquer is available in a variety of finishes from dead matt, matt, satin and gloss. Most of customers close the satin finish as it provides a very similar finish to a polished wood floor.

Common problems with oak floors and Solutions - We provide the full range of services

Common Problems Likely causes Our services
Damaged oak boards and other in appropriate floor boards fitted
  • Previous electrical or plumbing works.
  • We will remove of all damaged sections and inappropriate woods.
  • Supply and fit matching oak replacement boards.
Floor boards movement and ‘squeaky’ boards.
  • Joists rotten - especially prevalent on areas adjacent to damp external walls
  • Poorly fixed boards
  • Incorrect nail types
  • We will remove the affected area of oak floorboards investigate the damaged joists and replace as necessary with new treated joists.
Incorrect board fixings e.g. Unsuited nails, screws etc.
  • Inappropriate board fixings can look unsightly.
  • We will remove all inappropriate fixings and replace with suitable fixings.
General poor appearance including scratches, stains and boards and lacking in definition.
  • General wear and tear; inappropriate seals applied which attract soiling.
  • Previously badly prepared and sanded
  • Existing seals are inappropriate and obscure the wood.
  • General wear and tear.
  • We will sand the oak wood floor and lacquer the floor.
Boards are difficult to clean and absorb water; flaking seals and polishes.
  • Incorrect or lack of floor protection.
  • Previously badly prepared and sanded
  • We will Sand the floor to remove the old seals then apply a good quality finish to protect the boards and produce an easy to clean surface; for modern oak boards we recommend a water based lacquer finish.