Floor Sanding Blanchardstown
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown
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- Innovative dustless floor sanding technology
- Over 98% dust collection | Bona floor sanders
- Unique wood stain colours from quality brands
- Semi solid wood floors and all hardwood floors
- Commercial water based floor lacquers | sealers
- All our work is fully insured and fully guaranteed
- Affordable prices, flexible terms and top quality work
- Commercial and residential floor sanding
- Quick drying, fume free and non glazing sealers
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | What Is Floor Sanding?
The process of removing the top coat of your hardwood floor or semi solid wood floor is called floor sanding. During the process of floor sanding a number of different grit sanding papers will be used. The floor will be sanded with heavy duty industrial floor sanding machines. Basically, the top coat of your floor will be sanded off and the bare wood will be exposed. In 99% of the cases the damage will occur on the old sealer. The amount of wood removed in the process of floor sanding will depend on the level of damage. When the condition of the wood floor is ignored for years, liquids and stains can and will penetrate very deep inside the wood and to be able to remove that particular damage, the contractor will have to remove a good bit of wood. On the other hand, if the wood floor gets restored as it shows the first sign of damage, then the contractor will only remove tiny amounts of wood while sanding the floor.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | What Types Of Wood Floors Can Be Sanded?
Only wood floors manufactured from “real wood” can be sanded with dustless floor sanding technology. While all types of real wood floors can be restored,some that were already restored a number of times, might not have enough wood left on it for another sanding job. Some semi solid wood floors that are very thin, can only be sanded once or twice. Laminate floors cannot be sanded, Amtico floors that imitate wood floors cannot be sanded and generally all “wood like” floors that are not made from real wood, cannot be restored. Even the hardwood floors that are nice and thick, can only be sanded a number of times before the wood floor gets too thin to hold the weight of the furniture or daily traffic. It is essential to seal the wood with the most durable finishes to reduce the periods between the floor refinishing jobs.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | What Is Dustless Floor Sanding?
Fine wood dust will be generated while a wooden surface is being sanded. A lot more dust will be generated when a powerful heavy duty belt sander is sanding a wooden floor. If that wood dust is left uncollected, it will go everywhere, from walls, sockets, appliances, etc. As the floor sanding industry progressed, the manufacturers of professional floor sanding equipment have come up with new ways of extracting all the fine dust generated within the process of floor sanding. A few years back most heavy duty floor sanders were fitted with dust bags capable of collecting 70-80% of the dust generated. Nowadays, most professional floor sanding contractors are using special vacuum systems attached to the belt sander. By doing so, over 98% of the dust is being collected. So making sure that your floor sanding contractor is using dustless floor sanding technology is highly advisable.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Possible Finishes
What finish is the best for my wood floor? There is no such thing. The market is packed with all kinds of wood floor finishes for all kinds of uses. You need to assess your particular requirements and then select the most appropriate wood floor finish. If you have a number of kids, pets & if your wooden floor gets a lot of traffic, you should consider a heavy duty two pack floor lacquer. If you are into natural looking wood floors and if you have time on your hands to regularly refresh your hardwood floor, then go for a floor oil or hardwax floor oil. While most standard floor sanding estimates include dustless floor sanding and varnishing | lacquering, other finishes are also possible:
Wood Floor Repairs | Gap Filling | Staining | Floor Painting | Floor Polishing
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Wood Floor Repairs
Not all wooden floors will require repairs. But some do. Over a long period of time some floorboards could get water damage, some could get wet and rot away, others could be affected by chemical burns, others could expand due to high humidity and so on. Your local floor sanding contractor will assess the damage and they will recommend the best course of action. While some damage can be easily fixed on the spot, some floorboards might require replacement. Bear in mind that no floor sanding company is likely to include wood floor replacement in their initial estimate. To make sure that the floor will look even and without colour mismatch, make sure to replace all damaged wooden floors with similar ones from the same property or sourced from reclaimed centers. Wooden floor repairs can be very costly and time consuming so asking for a free no obligation estimate is essential.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Gap Filling
While some people love the gaps between their floorboards, others hate it. A large gap between the floorboards is great for losing things in it, for storing dirt and for having a constant draught in your home. Your local floor sanding contractor can fill up the gaps with a mixture of wood dust and solvent | water based gap filler from Chimiver and sort out the issue. The gaps will still be visible and it will look as before, but the dirt will not be able to penetrate it. The gap filling composition can be stained, oiled and varnished just like the wood floor itself. Especially in old Georgian houses that have little insulation and huge drops between the ground floor wood floor and the basement, the gap filler will make a world of difference. The gap filler is not usually included in the original price but your floor sanding contractor will be more than happy to provide you with a free no obligation estimate. Not all gaps can be easily filled so if the gaps between your floorboards are over 0.5 cm, it can be tricky to fill it and make it last.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Staining
If for whatever reason you are not happy with the colour of your floor, or if you are trying to match the wood floors with some type of furniture, or if you plan to match new wood floors with old wood floors, then you can have your floors stained. A stain is a colour that is applied to a wooden floor before varnishing. The wood stain has no protective qualities at all. Not all floors can be stained and not all stains look well on all types of wood. While maple floors will absorb the stain, due to its uneven and messy fiber lines, it will look kind of silly when done. All professional floor sanding contractors will do wood stain samples on your own floors to show you how it will look after it dries. A walnut wood stain (example) can look different when applied to different types of wood. The final decision about the wood stain colour should be yours and only yours. A professional floor sanding contractor can “advise” you on what would work on your particular type of wood, but you are the one that has to live with that finish for many years. So only go for a colour change if you are 100% sure that X colour is what you want. We recommend the use of Chimiver Wood Stain because of its high coverage area, its natural looking colours and very easy application. Remember, a wood stain has 0 protective qualities and it has to be sealed with a 2 pack floor lacquer like Chimiver Ecostar 2K Polyurethane Floor Lacquer.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Floor Paint
While we do not recommend painting real wood, in some instances it can actually look great. Especially on the stairs where a carpet runner is used or on the kids bedroom floors. Most wood floors will lose their natural look when painted with oil based or water based floor paints. Some types of wood floors that are badly water damaged can be painted as the last resort.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Oiling
If you are on the market for a real natural looking finish and if you are not bothered by the regular maintenance, then floor oil is the product for you. Our company uses two types of floor oils from Chimiver. For a 100% natural looking finish we use a natural floor oil and for a slight glaze we use a hardwax floor oil. The main benefit of floor oils is the fact that it allows the wood to ventilate naturally and it can be refreshed in particular areas without having to do the whole floor at once. Floor Sanding Blanchardstown uses some of the most amazing, most durable and most natural floor oils available. We can seal your hardwood floors and your semi solid wood floors with clear or coloured floor oils. While the floor oil is very durable and beautiful, it requires regular refreshing to stay in top notch condition.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Pricing
Floor sanding and wood floor refinishing are not jobs on which you want to cut corners and pay little. Even with the most innovative dustless floor sanding technology and all the premium quality water based floor lacquers, the whole process is pretty disruptive and you want it done once every 10 years or even less often. So making sure that only the best materials and the best tradesmen are used is very important.
Most floor sanding contractors provide free no obligation estimates. Floor sanding is not cheap at all because the products to refinish the wood are not cheap. While all floor sanding contractors would have a basic price per square meter for semi solid, solid and old floorboards, the final price will depend on the number of extra services required, the condition of the wood, the access, location & the type of finishes required.
Extra Services | For a light floor sanding, priming and 3 coats of lacquer you should expect to pay the flat fee per square meter. If you are looking for gap filling, the price will go up, if you are looking for wood stains, the price will go up, if you are looking for wood floor repairs or extra coats of floor lacquer, the price will go up.
The Access | A floor sanding specialist will be looking for easy access and empty rooms. If the contractor has to carry the machines to the second floor in a building with no lifts, you will be charged more. If the project has a lot of furniture and the job has to be done over two or more days, the contractor will increase the price per square meter.
The Condition Of The Wood | An average wood floor with average levels of scratches and imperfections, will qualify for the average rate per square meter. But when dealing with badly damaged wooden floors where a lot of extra sanding is required, when the wood floor is uneven and has to be leveled up or if the old sealer is some kind of industrial type that can hardly be sanded, the final price is likely to increase.
The Size Of The Floor | While most floor sanding contractors charge per square meter, all floor sanding contractors have a minimum charge that they have to charge to cover their costs. Let’s say that the going rate per square meter of floor sanding is 50 euro, a contractor cannot come to your house for 1 sq meter because it will cost him or her more than that. So a minimum of 10 sq meters will be charged even if the job is 1-3 square meters. Also, the larger the floor sanding project, the rate per square meter will drop.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Lacquers
This is where things get tricky. What product to use to make sure that the floor looks as natural as possible and will provide years and years of use? Well, after 20 years of sanding floors and selling some of the best water based and solvent based floor lacquers, we are happy to show our customers the most affordable, the most cost effective, the most durable and the easiest floor lacquers to apply even by DIY users. For a water based floor lacquer to last for at least 5-10 years, it has to have a very high level of solid content. Cheaper floor lacquers only have 10-20% solid content while the top of the range water based floor lacquers compatible with very high traffic floors, have a solid content of between 32 to 37%. Below, we will list some of the best water based floor lacquers for residential use and also for heavy duty professional use:
Chimiver Ecostar Polyurethane Floor Lacquer | This top quality water based floor lacquer ticks pretty much all the boxes. The product is a single pack (it does not come with a hardener) but it was designed for heavy duty daily traffic. Unlike other types of floor lacquers, the new Chimiver Ecostar Polyurethane Floor Lacquer does not glaze the surface a lot but instead the product penetrates the surface and gets hard inside the wood. On average, the product will cover 12 sq meters per 1L but the actual coverage will vary depending on the quality of sanding, if it is applied over a primer and how it is applied. The new Chimiver Ecostar Polyurethane Floor Lacquer is compatible with all residential floors, commercial floors, furniture, wood panels, wood profiles, worktops and other types of surfaces. A fume free water based floor lacquer that will not yellow over time and it is as “green” as a floor lacquer can be. There is no special training required to use this product and it is amazingly easy to apply it. It can be used as the main sealer or it can be used to refresh or restore pre-existing finishes. With the right cleaning routine, the product will provide up to 10 years of uninterrupted protection. Even better, the new Chimiver Ecostar Polyurethane Floor Lacquer is very well priced and it contains 32% solid content. Available in a matt, semi gloss and highly glossy finish. Any floor sanding company that is not using this phenomenal product does not know what they are missing. The product dries in a matter of minutes and is very forgiving. It can be applied with a special applicator, a varnishing brush or a varnishing roller.
Chimiver Ecostar 2K Polyurethane Floor Lacquer | The best water based floor lacquer available in the EU. Why? Well, we will explain below. First of all, the new Chimiver Ecostar 2K Polyurethane Floor Lacquer is a two pack water based floor lacquer that has to be mixed with a hardener. By mixing the product with the hardener, it becomes rock hard and it is compatible with all oil based wood stains from Chimiver and other brands. The new Chimiver Ecostar 2K Polyurethane Floor Lacquer has between 35-37% solid content. That level of solid content makes it a market leader. The product is designed for heavy duty commercial traffic floors and for residential floors as well. The product penetrates the wood in full and it allows the wood to ventilate naturally. When it dries, it looks like an oil finish but of course, with a varnish durability. This outstanding quality water based floor lacquer is a non yellowing formula, superior high heel resistance, anti black mark resistance and unaffected by most chemicals. It can be applied over all types of water based or solvent based wood primers, water based or oil based wood stains or directly on the untreated wooden floors. It can be used for sealing and protecting wood floors, wood furniture, wood worktops, etc. So making a long story short, the new Chimiver Ecostar 2K Polyurethane Floor Lacquer has more solid content than all other floor lacquers, it covers better, it is sold in a 5L bottle + 500 ML hardener (while most other two pack floor lacquers are sold in a 4.5L + 500 ML hardener) and it costs 20-30% less than most well known brands of water based floor lacquers. A winner for the professional floor sanding industry. The product is available in matt and semi gloss finishes.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | It Is Floor Sanding Worth It?
Of course it is. All types of wooden floors can be restored. That is the main reason so many people are investing good money into top quality hardwood floors. Replacing an old and slightly damaged wooden floor is not as easy as it looks. The old wood floor has to be lifted up, the surface has to be prepared, the old wood floor has to be disposed of, the new wood floor has to be purchased, then installed and in some cases has to be sealed as well. A floor sanding company would charge a fraction of all that and will achieve outstanding results.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Commercial Floor Sanding
There is a big difference between commercial floor sanding and residential floor sanding services. Better and more durable finishes are required, faster drying finishes and better and more effective dustless floor sanders. While most commercial floor sanding contractors are providing residential floor sanding services as well, most residential floor sanding contractors do not own the right equipment or the right staff to contract large commercial floor sanding projects. Check out Floor Sanding Blanchardstown website and click on the latest project just to see the size of commercial floor sanding projects our company can do. We can guarantee you as little disruption as possible, 98% dustless floor sanding technology and top class quality work.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | How To Prepare For Floor Sanding Services
You, as a customer, can really reduce the time needed to finish your own floor sanding project and in some cases you can even help reduce the cost of the project. How? By preparing the surface before the floor sanding contactor arrives.
- Empty The Floor | If the floor area is empty and the floor sanding contractor does not have to waste a lot of precious time moving things around, the project will move faster
- Remove Old Flooring | If the floor is covered with a carpet or another type of floor, removing it before the contractor arrive will dramatically speed up the project
- Chatting With The Neighbours | Even if the new type of dustless floor sanding machines are much less noisy than the old ones, there will be some noise and some vibration. Informing your next door neighbors about the noise levels in advance could reduce the potential risk of any issues, such as disgruntled neighbors, holding up the project.
- Creating Access | A floor sanding company can only operate with heavy duty industrial equipment. Providing a parking spot right beside the door and making sure that all of the access ways are free and clear is another great way of speeding up the project.
- Confirm The Deal | Before allowing the floor sanding contractor to move on with the job you should know what you want done, what colour if any, what level of sheen or what extra services are required. If the contractor knows what has to be done, then there will be no confusion and you won’t be needed any longer.
- Have The Finance Available | There is no doubt that floor sanding can cost a lot of money. Your floor sanding contractor has to spend their own hard earned cash to buy materials needed for your floor sanding project. Making sure that the man that has worked hard on your floors with his own tools and materials gets paid is essential.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Problems
Depending on the type of floor, the finish required, the condition of the wood and a few other factors, there can always be issues. Some could have been avoided while others were unforeseen. But when dealing with wooden floors or old floorboards, you should expect some issues.
- Unrealistic Expectation | Not all wooden floors can be restored to a new condition. Some wood floors are badly stained with urine, others have woodworm damage, others are damaged by damp and so on. But your floor sanding specialist can inform you about the best way of achieving the best possible results.
- Internet Pictures | Most of the floor pictures available online are laminates or prints. Achieving identical finishes on a hardwood or semi solid wood is nearly impossible. A particular picture might look amazing online when the floor is a plastic or a laminate floor, but your real wood floors will never look like that because they are a different type of material.
- Staining Colours | Are you aware that an old oak wood stain can look totally different when used on a red deal or white deal? In some cases the same wood stain used on the same type of floorboards can look slightly different. If the front of the house gets a lot of sunlight while the back of the house is always kind of dark, the wood floor will look different.
- Sheen Levels | The new water based floor lacquers are not as glossy as the old solvent or oil based floor varnishes. Ask for a sample test before going for a matt, semi gloss or high gloss finish. Just because you have seen a glossy finish in X house, it does not mean that your floor will look the same. Each brand of floor lacquer has a different level of sheen.
- Issues Under The Sealer | A wooden floor could look fine before sanding and then it coud look all tired and patchy. The old sealer could have been a wood stain or a coloured floor lacquer that has masked the pre-existing issues. Now that the old sealer is gone, those issues could be visible. Your finishing possibilities will be limited but still available.
- Reactions | Some wood stains can look fine for a while and then discolour under the lacquer. It can happen when there are some kind of chemical leaks or woodworm treatments that won’t allow the oil based wood stain to penetrate evenly. The wood stain can penetrate for the moment but it can react at a later stage and the issue is just unavoidable.
- Rough Patches | Some very dry wood floors could absorb all the lacquer and deposit it at the bottom of the wood floor. In some cases it could also be poor workmanship. Either way, the issue can be easily sorted with another light sanding and one more coat of lacquer.
It is important to keep a clear mind and work with your floor sanding contractor to fix any issues. Some flooring issues could look much worse than they are.
Floor Sanding Blanchardstown | Booking The Right Floor Sanding Company
You can’t afford to be cheap when booking a floor sanding company. The work has to be well done, the finishes have to be durable and the whole project should move forward smoothly. Do not rely 100% on online reviews. A professional floor sanding company has to have a proven track record, highly skilled operatives and has to be well established.