Refurbishing Wood Floors

[type-r]

I have moved into a property which has wood flooring. There are a few scratches and one area of surface damage. I have had three quotes for sanding and 3 coats of varnish that range between £800 - £1000 based on over the telephone quotes. The size of the area is around 40m square. I am not exactly sure as to the type of floor - I have been told by a floor specialist who looked at the pics I emailed him, that it could possibly be oak with a stain applied. I assumed it was walnut. As you can see from the pics below, the floor has a distinctive 'wave-effect'. The floor I would say has a matt finish to it, which I like and would prefer this to a say a 'shiny' finish

Now reassessing the floor, I would say it is in actually pretty good condition, bar the scratches and damage mentioned above. Rather than forking out £1000, I was thinking of having a go at trying to repair the scratches and treat the damage somehow. I have done some basic research on the net but really need some advice on the best way to do this.

Would something like Liberon Hard Wax Oil be any good? Will this hide the scratches and could I safely apply this without sanding the surface? As for the damage, how do I treat this? A small of stain and then apply a top coat of wax oil above? Any advice would be appreciated.

Floor, in generally decent condition


Floor showing surface damage


Floor showing a large scratch

[type-r]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to get a £5 bottle of Pledge Scratch & Colour Restorer and see how that goes at first hiding the scratches. Then may look at some wax oils or even bees wax.

Ultimately, I may just pay the money and get the floors done by a professional. It will make the room look lighter too as the stain will be removed, leaving hopefully the original light oak floor. Will probably also have to sacrafice the "weathered" look as sanding will make the floors flat too.

[type-r]

Hmm interesting thoughts. I have booked in a professional on Friday - he has had a look at the pics (I know it is difficult to judge by the pictures) and he thinks he should be able to do it, even with the ridges.

[type-r]

GrandGinge said:

Is the floor/ house 'old'? If so I would assume it would be original floorboards and initially rub in with a soft cloth some BriWax dark oak, and if it looks better build up the layers, the whole floor would probably come up beautifully but buy a floor polisher to polish the wax off - works wonders in our house.
If the floor/ house is modern and likely to have been installed, again, I agree with the above comments and would avoid sanding or varnishing, just carefully stain down the scratches and scuffs with either a repair kit or wax.
Will any furniture or rugs cover any of the imperfections?
Nice floor BTW!

Thanks! The house is old but the floor I would say is modern, although I am guessing and just using the 'look' of the floor as my guide.

What kind of stain would you use? Like a Ronseal type floor stain? Am I able to manually apply a wax oil without first sanding to bring up the floor to look like new? Can you recommend a floor polisher?

I really am in two minds at the moment about what to do. Think I will try the DIY route first. If that fails, the professionals can come.

[type-r]

--UPDATE--

I went down the sanding route in the end, hired a professional company and I must say, the oak floors now look stunning.

Here is a picture of that shows the original floor, the floor once sanded and the floor oiled.


Larger area of the oak floor once oiled:

Edited by type-r on Monday 23 February 09:16

[type-r]

Yeah, very happy indeed

The process wasn't as dusty as I was expecting so presumably things have moved on. They of course were using industrial sanding machines not ones plucked from your local DIY store. There is still a need for dust sheets and you will find a fine layer of dust sitting on all flat surfaces that aren't covered but the final result is definitely worth it!