The Services We offer
1. Sanding New and Older Floors
2. Maintenance/Revival Coats
3. Staining Floors
Our Goal
Eurostyle Timber Floors is dedicated to offering only the best products and service possible. We want you to recommend us to your friends and family the only way we can make this happen is to ensure the quality of our workmanship is impeccable and our customer service is top notch.
Eurostyle Floors are expert sanders and can make even old worn out floors look great again as well as bring out the natural beauty and warmth of a newly laid floor. Detailed quotes, honest pricing and following the correct sanding procedure without short cuts means that you will obtain a great looking floor that lasts the longest possible time.
What you need to know about floor sanding
Does it really make a difference who sands my floors?
If you desire your floor to have a beautiful smooth finish that lasts you the longest possible time, then the answer is yes! The procedure of sanding & coating the floor is an extremely important one as it’s what makes the timber floor come to life! It deepens and highlights the colour of the timber highlighting its natural beauty and character.
The sanding procedure is quite lengthy if done properly and short cuts will not only affect the look of the floor, making the difference between a mediocre finish and a spectacular one, but will also impact the floors durability.
- Did you know that If insufficient sanding is given to a timber floor (especially an older one) the floor may appear patchy and uneven in colour? Not only that, you will probably notice the appearance of claw like scratch marks on the floor due to insufficient finer sanding.
EUROSTYLE TIMBER FLOORS PROCEDURE:
1. If the floor is top nailed, punch and putty nail holes with a similar floor colour putty.
2. Using a professional belt sander, sand the area repeatedly with course grit paper to remove dirt, grime, stains and old varnish and get floor back to original colour.
3. Sand the area with finer grit papers to remove indentations created by first rough sand to ensure the floor is even in colour.3-4 different sands dependent on the condition of the floor.
4. Sand all borders of the room where the drum sander can’t reach with hand held edger sander & orbital sander.
5. Sand corners with smaller triangle sander.
6. Go over entire area with a large mono-disk machine with extra fine sanding paper to ensure the surface is really smooth and smaller sanding marks are removed and ready for coating.
7. Dust all the walls and give a thorough vacuum to the floor to reduce a minimum dust particles on the surface of the floor.
8. Coat the area with the chosen varnish type allowing each coat to dry before the application of the next coat.
9. Sand in between coats where necessary to remove the raised timber grain and a obtain smooth and beautiful finish.
Eurostyle Timber Floors is dedicated to offering the best products and services possible. We want you to recommend us to your friends and the only way we can ensure that you do, is to ensure the quality of our workmanship is impeccable.
Eurostyle Floors are expert sanders and can make even old worn out floors look great again, as well as bring out the natural beauty and warmth of a newly laid floor.
SIDE EFFECTS OF A POORLY SANDED TIMBER FLOOR
1. The floor may appear patchy and uneven in colour
2. Claw like scratch marks on the floor due to insufficient finer sanding that removes these.
3. Dints and drum marks may be visible if the person sanding the floor is not truly competent with the sanding machine.
4. Insufficient sanding means the floor is left more porous; this means more varnish is absorbed into the timber rather than sitting on top of the floor.The consequence is that less product coats and protects the floor. This ultimately reduces the life of the coating meaning you will have coat it again sooner
Badly sanded floor - drum marks and patchy
A incorrect sanding procedure may result in the varnish peeling
A floor should appear smooth with no drum marks
How do I tell if the sanding company is going to do a professional job?
The first indication is how does the quote appear? Is it a detailed written quote mentioning exactly what services will be performed, the type of varnish that will be used and other relevant details or is it a scribbled dollar amount on the back of a business card? Having things in writing protects you as you will know exactly what services and products you will get for the price quoted.
Other things to check for:
• Does the company have photos of their previous work to demonstrate their standard of workmanship?
• Do they have reviews and referrals from previous customers?
• How much flooring experience does the company have and is the person who will be sent to do the job?
What can I expect to pay?
Does the price I’m quoted matter? If the price is too low it’s usually an indication that shortcuts will probably be taken. As already mentioned, a professional job takes time and this will be reflected in the price you are quoted. Ultimately the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true.
As a rough guide a brand-new secret nailed floor will start around $27.00 m2 upwards. An older floor that is top nailed will need more work and varies from about $30-$35 m2 depending how much sanding is required. If the use of water-based products is requested the cost can increase by about $7-8 m2 due to a higher product cost.
If the floorboards have bowed and cupped over the years, then this necessitates additional diagonal sanding prior to the normal sanding process begins and incur in additional charges. This process allows to flatten the cupped boards in order to get a smooth and level floor.
Are all floor coatings the same?
Solvent based varnish is probably still the most commonly used varnish in Australia, probably due to its high durability and lower cost. Even with this type of product though the cheaper varnishes have a ‘high solvent’ content in contrast to a ‘high solid content’. What this basically means is that the varnish is thinner, runnier so when coating the floor less varnish actually coats the floor therefore leaving less protection. It also means the hassle of having to re sand and coat much earlier than necessary, not to mention the extra expense.
Finishes to choose from:
Solvent-based varnishes feature: highly durable, easy to apply maintenance coats, available in different gloss levels, economical. Available in: gloss, semi-gloss and low sheen and silk matt.
Water Based varnish features: Non-yellowing, natural look, little odour, durable, easy to apply maintenance coats, more expensive than solvent-based. Available in: matt, satin, semi-gloss and gloss.
What do I need to do to prepare my home for the sanding procedure and how to look after it once it’s complete? download our free e-booklet with instructions on how to do this. (Click On The Link)
STAINING
If you want to give your light-coloured floor more warmth and depth, staining is a great way to do this. Two main methods are commonly used.
TONING
The toning method of staining a floor involves mixing the stain of your choice into the second coat of varnish and applying it to the timber floor. A clear coat is then applied over the top of the tinted coat to protect the colour. This staining method is probably the most commonly used one amongst floor sanders, It is not however, always the best method. This system works well if you desire the floor 2 or 3 shades darker than it’s natural colour. If on the other hand you are wanting a more dramatic change this method will not be able to fulfill the desired effect. Technically speaking we can add no more than 5% stain concentrate to the clear varnish before it starts to split and divide meaning this it limits the depth of achievable colour.
Light stain applied - Toning method
DIRECT STAIN
This s a highly specialized method of staining timber. It differs from the ‘toning’ method in that the floor is meticulously sanded (like a piece of furniture) then the stain is applied DIRECTLY to the timber so that it is absorbed into the timber, then three clear protective coats are applied over the top. Obviously this is the “ultimate” staining method as the stain highlights the natural grain in the timber rather than covering it and also lasts longer than other staining methods. Eurostyle has been using the direct stain method for many years and is an expert in this area.
Before staining
After direct stain
Medium Walnut stain applied directly on Tassie Oak.
MAINTENANCE/REVIVAL COATS
REVIVES WORN OUT FLOORS – CAMOUFLAGES SCRATCHES
All engineered timber and solid timber floors are coated with some type of varnish to protect the the floor. With time this coating becomes dull and scratched as well as wearing away with foot traffic. The mistake many people make is wait until the protective coating has worn away completely before doing any maintenance. You see when the coating has worn through to bare timber (even if its only in certain sections of the floor) the only option is do strip the floor completely back to bare timber and start again. Every full sand given to the floor strips away precious millimeters of timber reducing the life of the floor. For this reason we recommend doing something before the floor reaches this stage. Regularly maintaining the floor also means the hassle of moving out of the house for prolonged periods of time when doing a full sand not to mention maintenance coats work out cheaper in the long run.
A maintenance coat consists of giving the floor a very light sand with a large mono disc so as to create micro-scratches to allow the varnish to stick to, this also helps remove the light scratches that have formed on the pre-existing coating. Once this is done the area is thoroughly vacuumed and then coated with 1 or 2 coats of varnish. No timber is actually removed from the floor with this process which leaves the floor intact, not reducing the floors lifespan. This process camouflages the scratches on the floor and revives the look of a worn out areas as well as providing additional protection to the timber.
Maintenance coats are also great option if you are selling your home and just want to freshen up the look of the floor for resale or if you have just purchased a home and the existing floor looks a little dull.
The secret of keeping your floor looking good always is to have a maintenance coat applied once in a while, before the floor is too worn through or too badly scratched. This process usually can be completed in a day or 2 days if you prefer 2 coats to be applied.
Its an affordable way of reviving your and making it look fresh and new. If your unsure if your floor is suited to this procedure call us and we will be happy to provide you with advice as to your options.
Before recoat
After recoat
The procedure of sanding & coating the floor is AN EXTREMEMLY IMPORTANT ONE. Short cuts in this procedure will not only affect the look of the floor (making the difference between a mediocre finish and a spectacular one) but will decrease the durability of it as well.
Unfortunately ever more sanding companies are reducing the amount of sands they give the floor and using less varnish (by reducing the coats applied)
Did you know:
If too little sand are given to the floor may appear patchy and uneven, not only that but the varnish will actually be absorbed into the timber rather than sitting on top of it thus creating a protective long-lasting layer.
All varnishes are NOT all the same? Some cheaper varnishes have a higher solvent content making them thinner and runnier thus leaving a much thinner protective layer on the timber which means years off the life of your floor. It also means the hassle of having to re sand and coat much earlier than necessary not to mention the extra expense.
How many times we have gone to quote jobs for people who require a full re sand to their timber floors and judging by the condition of the floor we make the assumption that the floor is at least 10-12 years old (due to the fact that very little varnish is left on the floor) only to discover that it was done only 4 or 5 years ago…. A job not done properly may save you money initially but will come back to haunt you at a later stage!
Eurostyle Timber Floors is dedicated to offering the best products and service possible. We want you to recommend us to your friends and the only way we can ensure that you do that is to ensure the quality of our workmanship is impeccable.
We offer many different types of finishes: solvent based, water based even waxes. When we come out to quote the job we evaluate and advise you on the best finish for your situation and lifestyle
Eurostyle Floors are expert sanders and can make even old worn out floors look great again as well as bring out the natural beauty and warmth of a newly laid floor.
