Reading time is about 10 mins, you don’t have to understand it as you read but if you ask questions through the process or if complications arise, you’re less likely to look at me dumbfounded when I explain

GENERAL INFORMATION - FOR ALL      Old Floor       New Floor      Stairs      Repairs

Start Time is 7.30 Unless otherwise arranged

PREPERATION FOR SANDING & POLISHING

Arrangements made for clear and safe access

Furniture to be removed, I don’t move appliances or furniture unless arranged at time of quote

Floor to be clean – swept or vacuumed

Adequate lighting and power to be available, floor sanding machines need a good uninterrupted mains power supply, no power boards

Silicone/Silicone based products will cause rejection of polyurethane coatings. Plumbers, Tilers, & Glaizers use silicone

Once the final sanding process starts floor access is restricted

Painting should be finished and fully cured with the allowance for some possible touch ups on the skirting boards & accidental knocks

Carpets can be laid after floor polishing

Gas & electrical appliances are to be disconnected by qualified personal if necessary, I’ll work around them otherwise

PREPARATION HINTS FOR THE OWNER

Clear bench’s and surfaces to minimise dust gathering and for ease of cleaning after, or don’t

You could cover all non-moveable furnishings, put curtains into garbage bags, seal any problem areas like fireplaces & vents that could allow dust to enter

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN YOUR FLOORS ARE PROFESSIONALLY COATED

Sanding & finishing a beautiful timber floor is a skill acquired over many years. Bear in mind that, as all the work is done by hand-controlled machines and applicators, there will be evidence of this in the floor. Further as you live on the floor it will gain a character and feel unique to your home.

Coatings will likely drip through the floor, if you have anything valuable underneath like a car or furniture probably cover it.

Splits in boards or broken bits will be glued

A through explanation of the work to be carried out.

The Process of 20-40sqm in good condition and not specific order:

 Day 1:  Punch nails, Course sand, Medium sand, putty nail holes. 

Day 1/2:  Sand Edges, Fine sand, Do Corners, Finer sand, Vacuum, Apply 1st Coat.   Drying.

Day 2/3:  Apply 2nd Coat.  Drying.

Day 3/4  Check Putty, Light sand, Apply 3rd coat

A 50sqm job can be maybe 4-6 days, 100sqm can be 5-8 days                                                                                      

Curing: At 20 degrees is Water Based finishes up to 4hrs touch dry, 3-4 days fully cured. Solvent Based finishes around 4-20hrs touch dry 7-10 days fully cured-hardener can be added but with visible problems?? Oil Modified Urethanes 4-10-20hrs touch dry & up to 30 days fully cured  ?? Hardwax Oils like 4-24hrs hours touch dry and 7 days fully cured

WHAT NOT TO EXPECT

A completely dust free environment. Modern sanding machinery is fitted with dust collecting equipment and sanders will endeavour to clean dust away by vacuuming and wiping down surfaces. It is impossible however to totally eliminate dust from the job which has a couple of consequences: (a) there will always be some dust particles that settle on the newly finished surface. (b) there will be an amount of dust throughout the rest of the house.

Dust Protectiion, this is an extra you can ask for(well before the job starts so time can be allowed)

Gap Cleaning,

Black Spot Removal(water based mainly) are not standard practices,

The older more uneven the floor the more dust that will get away and the more chance of damage to skirting boards

Removal of stains and deep cuts

Do not expect the underside of any surface to be included in this quote

Filling of gaps between boards, these gaps are not filled because subsequent shrinkage and expansion in the timber will cause cracking in the filler. That said??

Do not expect boards damaged by borer to have the same gloss level as those in good condition

Do not expect any areas filled with putty to have the same feel as the timber after application of coating.

If gap filling is done it is far from a perfect … it’s always considerably darker than the colour of floor and it has a rather random 70-90% fill rate

Same goes for Feature/Gum Vein filling

Silicone caulking will be removed but not replaced.

THINGS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF

Silicone & silicone based products will cause rejection of coatings

Re-finishing of faded floors may retain some of their faded colour

Twelve volt downlights may produce a cobweb effect on coatings

You may get slight markings on skirting boards and the like from contact with sanding machines

Black Japan or stain around the perimeter of some older floors may produce a two tone effect

You will likely get some variation in colour & grain between new and old floorboards

Old Polished floors with any gap filling previously done will remain done, if wrong colour it’ll be characteristic

FINISHES I USE and THERE CONSIDERATIONS

 Solvent Based Polyurethanes: High Durability, Toxic/Very Smelly/Harmfull to living things, EdgeBonding-will glue multiple boards together(only a concern if you’re expecting considerable movement),  Coating Characteristics- Air Bubbles/Dust Particles/Hairs very noticeable, usually in concentrated areas moreso with semi-gloss and gloss’s,  Yellow/Oranging/Disclouoring moreso on light timbers with excessive UV. Gloss and Semi-Gloss Solvent based coatings can be quite complicated, if you want a really nice finish regardless of the complications your individual floor provides please make this known to me well in advance so I can allow the appropriate time to do so, and the appropriate extras(regardless of future consequences ie. gap filling to reduce the quilting effect or thin coats that need more care otherwise you’ll get my standard pretty good very durable service.                                                                             Curing @20degrees a thick coat with hardener maybe 2-4hrs touchdry, without hardener10-20hrs, fully cured 7-10 days

Water Based Polyurethanes: Highly Durable, Comes in Low Toxic(so they say) or Less Toxic(must be requested), Edgebonding. Coating Characteristics- Some orangepeel in coating - more noticeable on darker timbers, Turns any metal in floor black staples nails etc, Yellow/Orangeing/Discolouring moreso on light timbers with excessive UV but less than other options. Can react with mess in gaps and cause staining                                                                                                                         Curing At 20 Degrees 4hrs touchdry 4-5 days fully

Oil Modified Urethanes/Tung Oil: Med-Low Durability, Toxic/Very Smelly, slow curing No Edgebonding

Oils & Waxes: Med-Low Durability(ok with shoes off traffic), Very smelly, 2 pack variety’s toxic

STAIRS

Procedure – Sand treads 60grit, festo 100 sides risers under & front & tread, scrape corners & edges, sand treads 120grit, option 120 or finer, caulking,

The price quoted is for finishing risers/stringers with 100grit sandpaper and treads with 120grit sandpaper, there will likely be visable sanding scratches, There will be some runs on vertical surfaces and drips on the tread overhang, I will not fuss to much about the underside of tread overhang. There will be some unevenness in the corners & around edges, some of the old faded yellowy orange colour will likely remain which is more obvious with the brighter finishes water based moreso  I will not fill/caulk the gaps this is an extra you can ask for

Working in confined spaces where there is a lot to do like small stairways there is more chance of damage

REPAIRS - quote is dependent on suitable timber being available

Dust – Repairs are very very dusty, I will open windows and hang drop sheets in doorways if possible to minimise dust gathering, I will not cover your possessions that you choose to leave in the vicinity

If skirting boards need to be removed, they will only be replaced-no filling or re-painting, this is an extra you can ask for

Repaired boards will/may move more than original boards

Any board that goes under a skirting board or alike will have no tongue or bottom groove

There will be gaps around replaced boards

I will quote on what I can see, any more work incur extra charge