A lovely couple, Mr & Mrs Moses from Crewkerne, approached us to take a look at their three year old wood flooring, which had previously been UV finished. The European character oak engineered floor boards were treated around three years ago with a UV finish, which had over time faded away, exposing the floor and making it prone to dreaded marks and scratches. Sadly, and understandably, this had caused the customers to lose a bit of faith in their wood floors, but thankfully we managed to regain their confidence by showing them numerous samples, chatting through the various options available for their floor, and explaining in detail the results we could achieve for them with our floor sanding techniques.
Instead of their existing white wood flooring, Mr & Mrs Moses were looking for a more natural look and finish, so we decided that our trusted Bona Natural Primer and Bona Traffic Natural hardwood flooring products was the best way forward. We have been using Bona products for years and we swear by them. They’re a worldwide industry leader in hardwood floor care, and we only use the best for our customers!
Day One – Floor Sanding
Bright and early one Wednesday morning, we arrived to begin the floor sanding. This particular project involved the sanding and refinishing of 40 square metres, including a large lounge diner, a hallway and downstairs WC. We got straight to work with our Bona Flexidrum Belt Sander, starting the initial sanding process with a 40 grit, ensuring all areas were fully worked, before moving onto a lighter 80 grit. The edges and hard to each areas were tackled using our Bona Edge Sander, following the same 40 grit, down to 80 grit.
As with all of our projects, we run a robust dust extraction system to ensure that customers’ homes aren’t covered in the stuff. Believe us, we know first-hand just how difficult it is to clear up dust, so we take this bit seriously!
With the lounge diner, hallway and WC now mostly sanded down with 80 grit, we moved onto our ever-faithful Bona FlexiSand with Power Drive 4-head to pass over the entire area with a finer 120 grit. The Bona FlexiSand provides is a powerful machine that we can equip all sorts of drive plates to and provides the ideal bit of equipment for these sanding jobs. Yes, we really do love our Bona products!
With all the areas now fully sanded and smooth as glass, this was the a great way to finish the first day.
Day Two – Primer
We returned the next day, to finish off the last few bits of sanding to the edges and corners. This time we made use of our range of Festool Eccentric Sanders. This sanders are perfect for those smaller and harder to reach areas, so make a breeze of those last finishing bits and pieces.
The next step after completing all the sanding, was to move onto primer – but first, a thorough vacuuming! This is quite a critical step in the process as the primer needs a totally clear surface in order to bond correctly to the wood flooring. This is where our dust extraction system comes in to its own, as the amount of dust left after each sanding process is minimal.
With the floor all vacuumed and free from any last remaining dust, we were ready to begin priming the wood floor. As the customer wanted a more natural finish, we cracked out the Bona Natural Primer. Designed to preserve the natural look of untreated wood, this made the perfect choice and also helps to reduce yellowing. Two coats were applied to all areas, ensuring complete coverage throughout.
Day Three – Final Finishing
Friday we returned to apply the final two top coats of Bona Traffic Natural. Although traditionally used in more of a commercial space with heavy traffic, the customer wanted a guarantee that their wood flooring would stay looking its best for as long as possible. This 2-part water based lacquer, when combined with the Bona Natural Primer, helps to maintain the look and feel of bare wood.
Day Four – Final Checks and Sign Off
With the final two coats of lacquer now applied and dry, we returned on Saturday to perform our final checks to ensure everything is tip top, as well as to run through cleaning and maintenance with the customer. At Freshwoods we always make sure our work is to the very highest standard, and always return to check that everything is perfect and the customers are happy and confident in how to look after their lovely refinished wood flooring.
Based on the feedback from Mr & Mrs Moses, they were absolutely delighted with the service we provided, which is music to our ears! They had the following to say;
“Rob and Ollie Stokes of Freshwoods have rejuvenated our floor – it looks fantastic. They approached our job in a professional, helpful and friendly manner. I would thoroughly recommend them” – Eilan Moses
“Thanks to their professional approach we now the quality and standard of flooring we thought we had purchased initially. They left the house in a immaculate condition and I still find it difficult to think they sanded the original finish off out floor and left no dust behind. Would thoroughly recommend Freshwoods.” – David Moses
We were really pleased with how the final finish came together, and we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
