How We Hand Finish Our Wooden Floors

WOODEN FLOOR FINISHING

We use a variety of techniques in the finishing process, and they have all been tested to ensure a super tough finish regardless of colour. Machine wax oiled finishes are not the same as hand wax oiled finishes, as they dont leave enough wax oil on the boards. The same applies for UV finishes as they are only putting on microns of finish in a single pass.

Hand finishing is a lengthy process, but one which delivers a finish that is unrivalled.

There is no greater skill than the touch of a human hand, and no machine that can produce a better quality product.

Our techniques for the hand application and manipulation of finishing wooden flooring is unique. We’ve been hand finishing or hand making our wooden floors for nearly 20 years, and have built up a huge powerhouse of knowledge and experience.
It was impossible to achieve the same depth and quality of finish by machine, which is the reason we produce hand finished floors. We found that by building up layers of stains and wax oils, we could achieve finishes that were rich and vibrant, as well as being able to enhance the natural grain of the wood.
Our floors take time to produce, and most of our finishes cannot be replicated either by machine, or on site, as they are just too complex.
Our process usually starts with brushing and sanding the boards, although some boards are left unbrushed depending on the finish required.
Between each coat, the boards are sanded lightly by hand before applying further coats. The type of finish this will determine the total number of coats applied. Some finishes, especially two tone finishes can be very complex to make, and these usually require a longer drying time.
Each board is stained and wax oiled by hand, and individually put into racks to dry. They are then all taken out, sanded, wax oiled again, and put back into the racks to dry.

Wooden: floorboards, ply or chip board

Wooden subfloors of any nature must be level to within plus or minus 3mm over a two-metre span, must be securely fixed and any rotten floorboards replaced prior to installation of a hardwood floor. It is also a good idea to test the moisture content of the wooden sub floor using a protimeter. The sub floor moisture content should be within 4% of your hardwood flooring to avoid over expansion or contraction.

Existing “Parquet Block” flooring is not a suitable subfloor for any hardwood flooring and must be lifted prior to fitting a new floor.

FLOOR JOISTS OR BATTENS

As with any other sub floor, joists or battens must be level to within plus or minus 3mm over a two–metre span. The distances between the joists or battens will determine the amount of fixings that can be used (you can only nail where there is a joist). Solid floors must be fixed every 250mm – 300mm and 20mm engineered floors every 400mm. Most houses in the UK have joists that are 16 inches or 400mm apart.

If you are fixing a hardwood floor to battens on top of an existing concrete or screed sub floor, the concrete/screed must comply with the conditions stated above.