Parquet flooring styles have been around for centuries, dipping in and out of popularity as the times and interior trends change. Where parquet floors were once a staple in any stately home, they’re now more of a rarity. If you move into a new home and find an old parquet floor underneath a shabby carpet, this is something to celebrate.
Parquet floors can be restored to their former glory in a number of steps, whether you choose to be brave and attempt this yourself, or use a professional parquet floor sanding service. At Quicksand Flooring, we offer complete parquet floor restoration, including sanding, polishing, staining and sealing your existing parquet floor.
Parquet floors were first seen in France in the 17th century and are made from solid wood blocks, laid out in various geometric patterns such as the Chevron or Herringbone. The solid wooden blocks that make up parquet floors are typically rectangular, but they can also be found in squares, triangles or even stars.
Parquet flooring is originally made from solid wood, but today it is constructed from engineered wood. Parquet floors are a great fit for period homes, offering a timeless and incredibly elegant aesthetic.
There are a number of reasons why you may choose to restore your parquet flooring including:
It is important to be aware that parquet flooring has historic value and continuing without professional advice can cause further damage to the floor.
While many DIY jobs around the home can be highly rewarding, sanding parquet flooring is arguably not one of them. It’s difficult, time-consuming and requires more equipment than if you were sanding a regular hardwood floor.
Before you start parquet floor sanding, you’ll need to understand the type of parquet in your home. Solid hardwood and engineered floors require slightly different methods, with engineered wood leaving you much less room for error.
The pattern of your floor and its current condition will also determine your parquet floor sanding method. Parquet floor restoration processes depend on the age and condition of the flooring. For example, an older or more damaged floor with multiple gaps between the floorboards will require an extra floor-filling step. Fail to fill in any gaps correctly with parquet floor filler, and you can end up with an uneven finish. It’s the extra details like this that can make a huge difference and determine the overall success of your restoration, which is why it is always best to hire a professional.
A floor that is restored and maintained correctly will last for many decades. When approaching the task of parquet floor restoration, you must be careful and try to avoid making any mistakes. Parquet flooring is extremely valuable and unique which is why it needs to be preserved correctly. Here’s how to restore a parquet floor step-by-step.
Want to restore your parquet flooring? If so, take a look at our step-by-step guidance below for making your parquet floor good as new.
There are a lot of conflicting opinions out there when it comes to the technique used to sand a parquet floor. At Quicksand Flooring, we recommend sanding a parquet floor in straight lines, using the same method as you would for regular floorboards. This way, you can avoid sanding some floorboards too heavily or applying too much pressure to each individual floorboard and risking permanent damage.
Look at your floor and note where the light naturally falls, you should then sand in the same direction as the light. Don’t try to use diagonal methods or more technical techniques when sanding as this can lead to an uneven finish, especially when it comes to DIY.
Start with the highest grit paper and work your way down with each sand, as you would a typical hardwood floor, and always sand at a consistent 45-degree angle.
Where parquet wood floors differ from the average is the extra steps involved in the restoration process. You can’t simply sand your floor and call it a day; there will be unavoidable lines left from the sanding equipment. At this point, you will need to hire a second piece of sanding equipment to buff and polish, at an extra cost.
Buffing your floor in preparation for the polish involves a similar method to sanding. Use different grades of buffing paper to get rid of any ridges or clear marks where your sander has been directed across the floor. Work your way through the highest grade of paper to the lowest, to achieve an end result as close to perfect as possible.
Once your parquet wood is sanded, buffed and there are no lines left where your equipment has been, you can apply a polish. At this point, give your wood a thorough clean to get rid of any settled dust. First, use a brush and follow-up with a hoover to make sure there is no dust on the surface of your floor before sealing it. Don’t forget the gaps in your floorboards too!
The type and colour of the polish you use will depend on your personal interior tastes and the design of your home, whether you prefer a more natural-looking wood or a deep and darker shade to make a bold statement.
Once you feel like you’re getting to the end of your parquet floor sanding process, the oiling or varnishing of your wood floor is a lengthy process that requires a ton of time but most of all patience. Oil, in particular, requires two coats of both a primer and finishing oil, with a period of 12 hours needed between each layer, as well as brushes, pads, cloths and other protective equipment being required. Be prepared for the two-day process of sealing your floor yourself, if you want to achieve a professional finish.
While it may be tempting to sand a wood floor yourself to save costs, it is a huge task to complete. The preparation, along with the wide range of equipment and days that are needed to get the job done correctly will take a large amount of time and effort.
At Quicksand Flooring, our experts can carry out the entire parquet floor restoration process in half the time and at a professional standard. By letting our team of experts do the job, you eliminate the risk of potentially damaging your floor beyond repair and you can rest easy knowing the floor will be flawlessly finished. Get in touch with the Quicksand Flooring team today for a quote.
Generally speaking, you’ll need to get your flooring professionally cleaned annually to restore the wood’s natural finish. We recommend cleaning your flooring regularly to prevent grime and dirt from accumulating. Using a gentle cleaning product will keep your floors gleaming until their next professional polish is due, without damaging the natural grain.
The cost of your floor cleaning depends on the type of natural wood floorboards and how well you’ve restored them over the years. We approach every one of our cases individually, depending on the size and scale of your project.
Whether your business is a school, swimming pool or national theatre, our professional team gives your wooden flooring a new lease of life. Get in touch to discuss your business’s needs with our commercial floor cleaning specialists.
