A big hello to you all. Rob and I hope you are all keeping well.
We can’t quite believe it’s been a couple of months since we last updated you with what we’ve been up to. With Christmas and New Year all out of the way, we’ve been incredibly busy and have started 2022 with a bang.
As part of our work, we get to visit some incredible properties from all over the South West, and as much as we’d like to showcase all of our work, there just isn’t enough hours in the day! One job that did stand out for us recently was this beautiful farmhouse dating all the way back to the 16th century!
Nothing is ever straightforward…
This customer from Taunton contacted us as they were looking to replace their flooring across three rooms within the property. One teeny, tiny issue, however – the subfloors in the upstairs bedrooms are not flat (understandably). I think they can be forgiven considering this house was first constructed over 400 years ago!
Bedroom 1 before Bedroom 2 before
The easy solution would have been to make the subfloors flat, but the customer was worried that some of the character would have been lost. We agreed – it would have been a shame to lose some of the quirks of this fascinating property.
Two out of the three rooms had skirting boards attached to the walls. Attempting to remove these could have resulted in considerable damage to the very old plasterwork. We will always try to minimise any damage when installing new flooring, especially in a property of this age.
We came up with the solution to undercut into the skirting boards and architraves, allowing us to install the new hardwood flooring underneath the skirting, totally avoiding the need for any beading. This created an almost seamless finish, giving the illusion that the flooring had been there almost as long as the house.
Bedroom 1 fitted and ready for finish Bedroom 1 fitted and ready for finish Bedroom 2 fitted and ready for finish
Onto the master bedroom
Fortunately, in the master bedroom, things were a little bit easier. We were able to remove the existing skirting board, replacing it with solid Ash to match the new flooring we were installing.
The customer had chosen a nice Engineered Ash hardwood floor, which was installed alongside a custom bevel and hand-scribed skirting, for a flawless fit.
Master bedroom before Master bedroom before Master bedroom fitted and finished Master bedroom fitted and finished
Final bits and pieces
With the new flooring laid and the first sand completed, all that was left was to roller on and buff off two coats of Osmo Polyx Oil White Transparent (3240), to help keep the Ash boards looking as close to natural as possible, and to keep them looking great for years to come – maybe not 400 years, but we’ll do our best!
Bedroom 2 finished Bedroom 2 finished Bedroom 1 finished Bedroom 1 finished
We along with the customer were delighted with the results, and with a property such as this, getting it as sympathetic as possible was our number one aim and we couldn’t be happier.
Until next time. Stay safe and look after yourselves.
Ollie & Rob
If you’ve got a floor that is need of TLC, or if you’re looking for a totally new hardwood floor, get in touch and we’d be delighted to help.