Timber Floors: Sanding and Polishing in Old Homes

Timber floors are a favorite for many people. Timber floor sanding and polishing in Sydney is a dreaded task because it requires a lot of care and hard work. Moreover, people living in older homes want their floors to look exactly like the freshly laid ones in display houses. It is just not practical to have that kind of expectation from a floor that has been used a lot.

Old timber floors can have any number of imperfections which will affect how the floor will appear after polishing. Listed below are a few imperfections that you may encounter:

•    Stains 

No matter how much you want to preserve the finishing of your flooring, there’s always that one spill or a leak that has stained your floor. We don’t bother polishing the entire floor for just one stain so we cover it with a mat or a carpet. But you do not need to worry; they can be removed completely or partially, depending on the stain. After sanding is done, some sand out completely and some sand out to a certain degree.

Though there are some stains which are impossible to remove from a wooden floor:

1.    Burns

2.    Rust stains around a nail

3.    Animal Urine

4.    Water stains; if a portion of floor has been exposed to water for extended periods

•    Cuts and gouges

It is not uncommon to find cut marks on the outer edges of the floor caused by a utility knife. These cuts are made when carpet installation is going on because carpets are first fitted onto the floor and then cut for resizing. These cuts and gouges make way for moisture to enter the floor at the particular point where the cut is made.

Although the scratch marks can be almost completely removed after sanding when the coating is applied, a darker stain forms at the place where there the crack was original.

•    Wall removal

Over the period of time, the configuration of the room might have been changed due to the removal of a wall or two. There might have been some changes made in the kitchen cabinetry. This shifting usually leaves a dark moisture mark on the floor. It would generally be in the shape of the wall or cabinet. 

When doing timber floor sanding and polishing in Sydney, know that these stains will not be easily sanded out depending on the amount of moisture it has been exposed to. For example, the stains in the kitchen would have been more exposed to moisture compared to the living room.

•    Termites and wood borers

Over the course of time, there might have been some damage done to the floor from wood borers or termites. The extent of the damage will not be officially revealed until you first sand the floor. Then, if the damage is minor, a filler can be used which would match the color of the floor. Otherwise, the board will have to be replaced