General Tips
Shrinkage and Expansion:
We are all familiar with gaps between timber floor boards
which sometime appear. This is caused by shrinkage due to moisture content in the
boards changing over the seasons. Shrinkage and expansion are very natural phenomena
in timber. The secret to minimising shrinkage and expansion is to reduce the flactuations
in the moisture content of the timber itself. Therefore it is important to keep the
environment in which the floor is installed relatively stable.
Care should be taken
to avoid direct sun shining on a timber floor. Sun will draw moisture from the timber
and cause shrinkage. Sunscreens, blinds, curtains etc, should be used to protect
the floor.
Mats and Rugs:
Nothing looks more elegant than an attractive rug or mat
on your new polished floor. Be aware, however, that after a while, there will be
a chance in tone of the uncovered area of your floor and unless you take the rug
or mat up from tome to time for a couple of days, you will notice a slight different
in colour.
Re-coating of Timber Floors:
Like everything else, timber floor finish wears.
Heavy
traffic areas will, of course, wear faster than low traffice areas. It's a good idea
to have one of our tradesman to look at your floors if you're not sure whether it
needs a RECOAT. Recoats may have to be carried out, the tradesman will come to your
house, sand the floor (incidentally, there is very little mess involved as he will
only be sanding the coating not the timber) and apply another coat of finish.
If your
floor is basly neglected, worn through, or where you may want to extend an existing
floor, a re-sand is necessary. The beauty of both re-sands and re-coats is that you
will end up with a beautiful new floor at a very economical price.
As you know, carpets
have to be proffesionally cleaned on a regular basis in order to prolong their life
expectancy; the same could be said for your timber. A recoat done anything from 3
to 10 years could be locked at as a "clean" of your floor. This recoat is no more
expensive or inconvenient than a professional clean of your carpet.
Furniture:
Don't
drag your furniture across your polished floor, especially when it is new. It can
take a long time for floor finish to harden, just like oil based paint. The biggest
problem seems to be refrigerators. HAve two sheets of 6mm Masonite ready and roll
the fridge on those.
Even thick blankets or carpet don't seem to stop marking of the
floor.
Walking on your new floor:
Walk on your new polished floors with socks on for
a few days. You'll find this so pleasant you'll probably make a habit of it.
Chair
Legs:
Be sure to fix felt or protectors under your chair legs and other furniture
which is moved around. The bottom of chair legs act as sandpaper and will dull your
floor prematurely.
Touchwood Flooring Systems has for sale 1m rolls of thick felt
tape and Slipsticks if you require this.
