Floorboards Sanding & Sealing with Bona Mega Matt

Before the works

The dark-stained original floorboards in this Shoreditch home were looking tired and in need of restoration. During our free home survey, we did a thorough inspection of the floorboards and discussed with the client all possible options.

Our client has decided to go for clear lacquer in matt sheen.

How we did it...

Our floor sanding service begins with a detailed inspection of the floors and any repairs to the floorboards will be completed in this initial stage. 

The thickness of the original pine floorboards used for residential properties is approx. 20 mm when laid. Pine timber shrinks with time and also becomes thinner every time the floors are restored. The nominal thickness, after which floorboards cannot be restored any further, is approx. 15 mm.

Depending on the overall condition and level throughout, the initial floor sanding of the floorboards may start with a coarser or medium grid. The task of this initial floor sanding stage is to remove the previous finish and level the floorboards throughout.

Unless the floorboards have been sanded in the past 10 - 15 years, they will usually not have a good level. Floorboards, previously covered by carpets, can have cupping and larger gaps.

The next stage in the process of wood floor sanding was the application of gap filling. We aim to apply resin filler at the end of the working day, so it settles properly overnight, and we can repeat on the following day if we feel this is required. Gap filling is recommended for wooden floors where no movement of the floorboards is noticed.

Sanding the floorboards with fine grids (80 - 100 gr) and a good rotary buff to the new pine timber surface with high grid buffing screens is the most important stage in the preparation of the wooden flooring for finishing.

Floors were consequently sealed with a coat of primer and 2 coats of Bona Mega water-based lacquer in Matt sheen with another light screen buff between the coats, for an excellent final touch to the finish.