Blog Page 13

Last week Budget Floor Sanding did a floor installation job for one of our regular builders. This installation involved laying Spotted Gum Flooring over concrete and over the yellow tongue. The timber is best put onto the site two weeks in advance so that it may acclimatize to the site conditions, and then prior to installation the moisture content of the timber is checked to make sure it falls within the acceptable range.  Before the flooring can be installed over concrete firstly a plastic membrane is laid over the concrete to combat any moisture which may find its way through the concrete slab. Then timber battens are attached to the concrete by way of masonry anchors.

Frequently when quoting to do floor sanding and polishing jobs in Brisbane, Budget Floor Sanding is asked to include floor covering removal into the price. The floor coverings mostly needing removal are carpet and lino which is most often on a masonite backing.

While your new polished floor may be walked on the day after it has been finished it is necessary to exercise care until the coating has been given the opportunity to reach maximum hardness. This may take seven to ten days. During this curing period floor use is more likely to result in scuffing and scratching. While rugs are an attractive feature on floors they should not be laid until the finish is fully hardened. Rugs with rubber backing should not be used as they may stain the coating.

Recently Budget Floor Sanding completed a large floor sanding and polishing project in a house in the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba. The floors in this old Queenslander had an old black japan finish on them and also showed evidence of borer damage. Photos showing the transformation of the floors can be seen under the board replacement header on this web site. After the first sand of the wooden floor, the damaged floorboards were then identified and replaced. This amount to be replaced was done in conjunction with the owner who decided that some boards with only lighter damage would remain. At the completion of the floor sanding, the floor was then finished with a water-based two-pack finish, and also during this process, the new replacement floorboards were stained to blend them into the color of the original timber floorboards. Quite a transformation.

The sanding and polishing of stairs is a common job performed by Budget Floor Sanding. For a number of builders in Brisbane, the house under construction may have no other polished timber area other than the stairs. New stairs are most often protected by MDF sheeting while the house is under construction and this must first be removed and the nails holding the sheeting down pulled out.  Often particles of rocks and grit will have found their way between the MDF sheeting and the timber stair treads and the traffic up and down the timber stairs then grinds these particles into the stair tread and leaves dints and bruising on the timber. In this case, a heavier sanding of the stair treads has required the remove the damage.

Budget Floor sanding completed a large house in the Brisbane suburb of Hawthorne recently. The client who had recently purchased the house asked that the old hoop pine floorboards in this Queenslander be stained a chocolate brown color. Having received an indicative picture of the floor color desired from the client,  Budget Floor Sanding then made a number of stain samples. These samples were then shown to the client who then selected the most favored color. This process ensures that the client’s expectation of stain color is met, and then comes the time to stain we know exactly what the stain formula is.

Where many other floor coverings such as carpet, lino, and ceramic tiles will wane in and out of fashion, timber floors have a timeless classic character. Timber flooring has always been popular and will always compliment other shifts in taste and style of furnishings.

Timber flooring and the floor sanding and polishing of it is often considered to be a more expensive option than the alternatives. However, while the initial costs may be more there are long-term advantages that outweigh the initial expenditure. Solid timber floors last for a very long time, up to one hundred years in fact, whereas carpet will only last for around ten to fifteen years and will start to look shabby with each passing year. Timber floors require minimal maintenance and hold their looks with age. Timber floors are much easier to keep clean than carpets. When you clean them you know they are clean. The same can not be said of carpets. Timber floors simply require a vacuum or a damp mop and they are cleaned. Grime will always penetrate deep down into carpets, but not into a polished timber floor. Timber floors are more hygienic than carpets. Dust mites will find a home in carpets and this can lead to common afflictions such as allergic reactions and asthma. Timber floors eliminate these concerns. Carpets will soak up unpleasant smells and odors. When a timber floor is starting to show its age it can be returned to its original state by the simple process of floor sanding and polishing, the whole floor does not need to be replaced as with a carpet.

Timber floors actually store carbon. It follows then that floor sanding and polishing of timber floors have distinct environmental advantages. Up to 50% of the weight of dried timber is carbon that has been absorbed from the atmosphere by the tree as it is growing. The advantage of this of course is that the result is a lowering of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It follows that this is one of the most important things that we can do to reduce the damage associated with climate change.

Budget Floor Sanding has been operating in the Brisbane area for over 25 years. For all of this period, Budget Floor Sanding has been licensed with originally the Queensland Building Services Authority and now with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission. The license number held by Budget Floor Sanding 15254033 is a much smaller number than today’s numbers and shows that the license was one of the earlier ones issued.