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DIY: How To Repair Hardwood Floors In A Week Or Less!

How to Repair Scratches in Hardwood Floors

Most homeowners especially those who have specifically built the house of their dreams aspire to have the best materials that are aimed to last a lifetime. One of the many considerations in building or acquiring a house would be the flooring and the type of material used. Hardwood floors for instance, are quite expensive but are built to last with the proper care and maintenance.

Usually flooring materials are pre-treated

Homes particularly built during these modern times ensure that hardwood flooring materials are pre-treated to ensure a longer lifespan and to survive regular wear and tear. For older homes, most of the maintenance problems would be how to repair scratches in hardwood floors.

Since dated and older homes were built during times where advanced pre-treatment methods weren’t available yet, they usually require repairs and more maintenance especially if the homeowner wishes to revive the original material used.

Video on the Easiest Hardwood scratch repair you can do

Table of Contents

Usually flooring materials are pre-treated

Video on the Easiest Hardwood scratch repair you can do

Seek professional assistance or DIY?

The nobility and resistance of wood for floors

Find a drum sander

Preparation of the sanding process of the wood

Repeat all of these steps until finish

How to move furniture by sending damage to the wooden floor?

Plastic wheels can damage your floor

How do you stop an excited dog from scratching your floor all over?

Cutting your dog's nails

Using cover carpets to protect the floor

Seek professional assistance or DIY?

Some homeowners seek professional assistance while others simply change their flooring to other alternatives. There are several ways on how you can go about it without having to hire professional help and specifically save on cost. Initially, inspect how extensive the scratches are to know what methods and materials you will need.

It would be best to determine the type of existing floor finish since hardwood vary in terms of materials like Birch, Maple, Mountain Elm and many other types and require different stains and protective coatings. This information will come.

The nobility and resistance of wood for floors

Hardwood is an excellent material that comes from angiosperm trees. In fact, they live up well to their name, and are used in almost all aspects of a typical home, and is most especially used in floorings. But as hard as it is, it is still wood, and is still prone to many kinds of things that can damage it. Fortunately though, we have ways to repair hardwood floors and restore their natural beauty without the need to actually replace them.

Find a drum sander

Find a good drum sander from your local tool rental shop or hardware store. This will be the primary tool that we’ll need to polish up faded hardwood. We’ll be using sandpaper at each grit gradient (20, 40 and 100) to scrub the entire floor thoroughly.

Move each and every movable article out of the room. These items include books, lamps, household appliances, and other similarly sized things. Curtains should also be removed, and larger but still movable house articles, like shelves should also be move out of the room.

Preparation of the sanding process of the wood

Seal off each and every passageway of air, such as cooling and heating outlets and air ducts in the room except for the windows (yes, and I repeat, do NOT close the windows). This is to prevent wood dust from entering these things and harming other users of the room later on.

Before starting the engines, make sure that you are wearing proper protective gear such as safety mask and safety glasses. This will critically protect you from the harmful wood dust that will be formed during our hardwood restoration process.

For a general scrubbing of the older messes, we’ll start by using the 20-grit sandpaper. Go back and forth across the room, but don’t forget that we are using 20-grit sandpaper. If you need to move to the next step, you’ll have to lift the entire sand duster to prevent it from creating holes in your wood. Because the drum sander is still a bulky too at best, it would be wise to use some extension tools to help it reach smaller areas that the entire body of the drum sander cannot reach.

Repeat all of these steps until finish

Repeat all of these steps, now using the 40-grit sandpaper. Then repeat again using the 100-grit sandpaper. Notice how the floor gradually transforms and restores bit by bit during each session. After using the drum sander, inspect the entire floor one last time. If you are already satisfied with the results, then you may now return the equipment back to its owners.

Free the entire room of wood dust, and apply a thin layer of wood coating to the floor. If done properly, the hardwood floor would now as if it had never even been damaged before.

How to protect hardwood floors from furniture

Hardwood floors are very good floor material. Aside from the sturdiness that hardwood provides as a floor material, it is also very attractive to look at, capable of setting the ambience for many kinds of themes and room designs. However, maintaining hardwood takes a little more effort than your regular marble or laminate flooring. It is still wood after all, and to protect hardwood floors from furniture provides us a way to keep those elegant floors for a long time.

How to move furniture by sending damage to the wooden floor?

Never move the furniture by simply pushing or pulling them. This creates scratches on the floor, and eventually destroys the wax coating on the floor. Try to lift the entire furniture before carrying it to wherever you plan to as much as possible, so that you furniture would never even have to scratch the surface of the hardwood floor. Be careful not to drop the furniture unintentionally, not only do you risk damaging the furniture itself, but you also risk creating a permanent dent in the hardwood.

If you can’t lift the entire furniture even with assistance, or if the furniture is just too big or too wide to be carried properly, you can put a piece of cloth on each peg of the furniture, and then push it gently and slowly. This way, your furniture literally has now way of come in contact with the hardwood floor to scratch it. This method is recommended for furniture that are too wide or too heavy to be carried by without assistance.

Plastic wheels can damage your floor

Wheels installed on furniture are of no exception in this one. Some office seats are installed with wheels that are made of hard plastic. This kind of plastic is harmless to harder substances such as granite and marble, but has the capability to gradually harm hardwood over time. Now, just can’t always lift these kinds of furniture, can we?

Doing so is just impractical and plain ridiculous. How to protect hardwood floors from furniture in this situation then? Use customized rubber “tires” for these furniture. Try finding these items at your local hardware store. If you don’t have access to these rubber tires, then you can make your own by cutting strips of rubber that you can find from old machine shops and use it around the wheels as the “tire” (prepare the proper materials for this though).

As an ultimate alternative, choose furniture that uses softer materials and materials with less friction. We have mentioned earlier that you should lift the furniture when moving it as much as possible. Well, if you have safer materials used on the underside of your furniture, then you don’t have to put cloth underneath at all! Just slide the furniture across the room without worries. Never push the furniture too vigorously though.

How to protect hardwood floors from dog nails

Pets are very lovable companions around the house. Just who can resist their very cute antics and earnest demeanor toward their masters? Unfortunately not all of your pet’s tricks and activities are harmless, as dogs sometimes unintentionally mess around the house. If your home uses hardwood, watch out, because your floor is very prone to damage every single day. A proper way to protect hardwood floors from dog nails specifically would be necessary.

Dogs, like any of their other domestic housemates, grow nails from their paws. It is a general characteristic of a standard land mammal. Dog nails usually grow larger and sharper each time, and it can sometimes be painful when they try to cling on your legs or back. If it’s painful for your skin, then how much painful is it for a hardwood floor?

Sure, hardwood floors are far sturdier than your average skin, but these powerful nails can simply just dig into the wooden floor as time passes.

How do you stop an excited dog from scratching your floor all over?

The answer is simple, cut off the source. Give your dog a proper nail trimming session once in a while with your vet. Cut them to a level where it won’t be painful for them, but would make it technically impossible for them to scratch the wood in any way.

So the next time your dog dashes through the house, you won’t have to worry about getting your hardwood floor scratched. Do not forget to do it again once in a while though, or you’ll find your dog again with those deadly arsenals.

Cutting your dog's nails

If cutting your dog’s nails isn’t enough, you might as well teach your dog not to be hyperactive inside the house. Try breaking its habit of always running around the house like an excited little toddler. Train your dog to behave properly inside the house. You can decisively reduce the chances of getting your hardwood floor damaged this way, and as a bonus, you get to keep a smart dog around the house as well.

If modifying the source still did not provide an adequate solution for you, then you can now move over to floor defensive maneuvers. Protect hardwood floors from dog nails by providing good cover for the hardwood floor itself. Applying a wax coating is your simplest arsenal on the list. Scrub all the way around your house, and your hardwood should now have a protective layer of wax coating. This wax coating would help absorb the dog nail scratches instead of being directly inflicted onto the hardwood.

Using cover carpets to protect the floor

Another easier alternative is to use cover carpets and other similar items to cover the hardwood floor and protect it from dog nail scratches. This method is still debatable though, as many people can’t see the point of keeping hardwood if you are going to cover it anyway with another material.

Floors

The aesthetic beauty of past can be retained through WidePlank Flooring

Wide Plank Flooring is so awesome because; with the perfect quality of wood used, the stability as well as the durability is really dependable in whatever season will come. It does not only trade in its natural beauty and offers a healthy environment and a lot of advantages; but they also play a very important role portraying how to preserve national resources.

When it comes to installation, you’ll never go wrong as they have the do-it-yourself instruction; or you can have someone professionally provided by knowledge of the job. On this occasion, and promoting our DIY philosophy; we bring you several indications that you will surely find fascinating when choosing and installing your Wide Plank Floor.

From the Forest to Our Lives

[one_half_first]We open this article by saying that the Wide Plank Floor plays an important role in preserving our national natural resources. It is true that the way to obtain the wood is through the deforestation, then how can this logging benefit the environment? Well I want to talk to you, before giving you the tips for your Wide Plank Flooring; of one of the many cases that Wide Plank benefits our reserves.[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

The white pine of New England (the one that grows really straight); is one of the main materials of category that are used to elaborate the Wide Plank.

It has a relatively short span of 150 to 180 years; it is for this reason that cutting it when it has reached maturity, is good for the forest.

In addition, lots are cut during the winter months, when the soil is frozen; Thus avoiding to cause greater impact on the forest floor.

And a fascinating detail of this beautiful material; is that the floor of a house built with it can have a life span of 350 years. And this is how the ecosystem is cared for in one of the many forests that are cleared so that we can enjoy the warmth and security of our homes.

About the Installation

There is great controversy regarding the process of acclimatization of planks; but what everyone agrees on is that you should never start the installation until you receive the planks.

According to the season in which you are, you should really take into account how much the acclimatization process will be; remember that you are not dealing with MDF or a simple HDF.

If due to the weather you use both the air conditioner and the dehumidifier; then the acclimatization time might necessarily be longer.

The best way to become real aware of when to install your Wide Plank Floor; Is using moisture meters to make sure that moisture between the sub floor and the planks does not exceed 2%.

Ask specific information to the manufacturer of the planks and practice the patience; the waiting time can go from 24 – 48 hours to 1 – 2 weeks. And the best way to keep the planks in the room during the acclimatization process; Is about small acclimation sticks, depending on the length of the planks we recommend 3 – 4 for the air to flow correctly.

Fighting moisture at a second level

It is necessary to use the plastic barrier to combat steam. This usually black color protection (depending on your country); Prevents any remaining moisture in the concrete from permeating our new floor.

It usually also helps acoustics, but that happens more on the thin wood floors.

Preparing the sub floor before installation

Before and during installation, the sub floor should be carefully examined to make sure there are no nails, screws, paint, grease, dust; Nor any other element that may maltreat or damage the new floor in the long term.

Remember that you must always install from a corner of a wall to the door; so you avoid getting locked up while you work. It is also important that, during installation; Vacuum the ground as many times as you consider necessary.

Another critical area that must be prepared with diligence is the space that must exist between the new wide planks and the wall; the measurements are not standard, so check the manufacturer’s instructions.

Just know that for all soils a minimum distance is required for wood expansion.

The common method of installation

The most common method of installation is by applying special glue to the planks by the face with channels; And after having fixed it to the sub floor, a pneumatic nail gun can be used to fire nails into the planks along the wall while the glue sits.

After this first group of nails, proceed to introduce another set every 4-6 inches through the tongue of the plank and diagonally.

Remember that it is extremely important, if the wide planks go on a sub floor of cement; do not pierce with the nails the vapor barrier.

The first row will always be the most important, however; Care must be taken to the rest of the rows. Always have a rubber mallet, never use your feet to secure a row of wide planks to the other.

Other Methods

When the sub floor is thick enough and if you do not have the right tools to do a job accurately; the wide planks can be screwed directly vertically.

For this it is necessary to use a drill and to realize holes of the size of the head of the screws where this will be placed; generally every 4 “.

By doing this, we can screw in such a way that the screws will not be below ground level. To disappear the holes that will remain along the length and width of the floor; we will use small repair plugs similar to cork.

These plugs have a surface very similar to the grain of the wood and can be bought according to the type of planks that are being used. To cut it you must use japan pull saw.

Very well you should know that we do not all have the right tools at home to do a complete job; But you should not go to a professional.

If you are really short of budget, then you can apply this method; is just as effective and the work can be done even faster than using the nails through the tongues.

Conclusions about the Wide Plank Flooring

Maintenance will never be a problem because the wide plank floor can retain its beauty for the long years; even without need of preserving it because they are not requiring daily maintenance to preserve the unique characteristic that reflects to life.

So, do not doubt it; the aesthetic beauty of past can be retained and preserved through Wide Plank Flooring. It is a very distinctive and unique flooring investment close to the heart of nature.

Bring the historical appearance together with application of antique is the simplest way of showing the beauty and versatility of our resources.

And once installed, comes the same equally important step: The decoration. And guess what! We have many articles on Decorating Visit Homes that talk about it.

References

The Hardest Wood Flooring You Can Buy

12 Types of Hardwood Floors | Cost of hardwood floors

17 Best ideas about Wide Plank Flooring on Pinterest

Oak & Broad Your Source for Wide Plank Hardwood Floors

Floors

Deep scratches in your hardwood floors? Lets Repair them All!

Our hardwood floors are more delicate than we think despite their hard name. The deep scratches caused to them by the furniture that we daily slip; can make the whole floor virtually unusable.

It is true that we can continue walking on them without problems; but the true problem is aesthetically, they will become almost a cancer for our eyes.

Repairing them is simpler than you think, as long as you do it right; so here at Decorating Visita Casas, we will tell you the techniques to follow, and great advice to avoid these scratches.

Floors

How to repair laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is probably the easiest item to use for a do-it-yourself floor installation operation. It is very easy to carry around, sticks on quite easily to the flow that you apply it to (depending on the way it is applied), and most of all, it can mimic the look of any kind of floor finish without the accompanying maintenance hassle of the originals. But like other kinds of flooring, laminate flooring can also break down and get messy. Here are some ways to repair laminate flooring.

Laminate flooring is usually available in tile-like pieces. It is carefully pieced together on the floor, to make it look like one big floor of any prescribed design. So the easiest way to repair laminate flooring would be to remove the damaged part, and just replace them again with a new “tile”! Sounds quite easy for floor repair job? Think again; just how difficult would it be to break the symmetry and rework it using new pieces of laminate flooring?

Well, chances are that laminate flooring would be dead stuck to the floor as you might have expected. After all, you did it so that it would look and feel like a genuine floor without the need to maintain it so much like the floor that it represents. Chipping it off is risky, because you might unintentionally chip off the “healthy” tiles as well. But if you have no other choice, you might as well follow these tactical steps:

The damaged part is already damaged, so it is automatically slated for replacement and is considered more or less worthless. So, to remove the damaged part, start chipping it off from the center. Break it off using a chisel and work your way carefully towards the end of the tile. You may want to split it in just two pieces however, cleaning it up would be such a drag if you still need to sweep many little pieces away.

After breaking the tile off, pull it out cautiously without damaging the adjacent tiles. Remember, if you accidentally lifted off another adjacent tile, it would also mean that you have to replace that tile as well. Prevent the dreadful domino effect as much as possible.

Remove the last remnants of the material that you have used to stick the laminate flooring into place. Be careful though, the material can also get stuck to another tile, so you have to chip the defective area from the normal areas before trying to pull them off. And did I mention to prevent the domino effect at all costs earlier?

Lastly, apply the new laminate flooring as if you are applying it for the first time. Use a very thin layer of the sticking material around the area near the other tiles though. You don’t really want the sticking material to ooze out new tile and getting the floor messy afterwards.

A Guide on Installing Laminates

Are you planning to renovate your kitchen? Recreating the surfaces of your kitchen and counter tops will definitely create a great impact without compromising your budget. There are several materials available in the market and choosing one may seem like a daunting task. Why not choose laminates instead?

Laminates are made of melamine resist and is ideal for kitchen surfaces and counter tops since it is heat resistant and needs low maintenance. With the wide array of designs and colors to choose from, you can even create a more pulled together look by picking a laminate that matches your chosen theme.

As we all know, hiring a professional to install laminates for your home would cost a fortune. However, why shell out a hefty amount when you can do it yourself. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure it. All you need is the proper tools and the basic knowledge on how to cut laminates.

• Start your DIY project by detaching the surface that you are about to work on from the adjacent wall. However, if this is not possible or appears to be too time consuming, you may move on to the next step.

• Then, prepare the areas you need to cut by meticulously measuring it to custom fit your kitchen surface and counter tops.

• After this, apply strips of masking tape to the cutting line and to surfaces where the saw base will run along to avoid damaging the plastic laminate.

Floors

How To Repair Loose Floor Tile

Not only is it not an eyesore, but a loose floor tile is actually very dangerous especially if one has children at home. Knowing how to repair loose floor tile is a very helpful skill for a homeowner and would help cut down repair cost as well.

Actually, it is not very difficult to repair loose floor tile. With an average degree of skills and enough patience, one can repair this by himself and without hiring the services of a contractor. It is essential though that you have all the materials and tools ready at hand. You will need a chisel or putty knife, hammer, rag and sponge, adhesive, mineral spirit, grout and goggles to protect your eyes. It is also ideal if you have spare tile of the same color and design as the loose one in case it gets broken, so it is always wise to have spare at the time you have your tiles fixed.

Put on your goggles and get ready to begin the work! The first and probably the hardest part in repairing a loose floor tile is getting the loose tile off the floor. This has to be done carefully so as not to break the tile and the ones surrounding it. Remember not to force it out, lest it breaks. Instead, gently remove it with a putty knife or a chisel. A helpful tip if you are not too sure about how to remove the loose tile is to place a preheated iron on top of the loose tile. This will help the adhesive to loosen.

Once the tile is off, remove all leftover adhesive and smoothen the area where the tile used to be using the putty knife or chisel. You can use a rug with mineral spirits to soften the stubborn ones. When the old adhesive is fully scraped off, prepare the one you will use to fix the loosened tile. Using the putty knife, apply the new adhesive for the tile, making sure the area is covered nicely. Now gently put back the tile to its place.

The last step is to apply grout on the newly fixed tile. Since the grout of the rest of the tile pattern may have lost a bit of its color through time and have become faded, it might be wise to feather a bit of the new grout to the old so it will somehow match and the difference in color won’t be that much noticeable. You can use a damp sponge to wipe the excess grout and clean the sides of the tiles as well.

Follow these easy steps and you are well on your way to repairing your own loose floor tile to be as good as new!

Floors

Mosaics are ideal floors for shower sliding doors

The doors themselves can be of an array of unique designs and themes: either mosaic design, colored, or by a technique called sandblasting. Mosaic designs have the glass themselves carved and crafted with intricate designs and some are designed from inside the glass. These are ideal for sliding doors that generally only have two large glass sheets. Common themes for mosaic design include a frosted design or any design that would make the other side of the glass out of visible. Colored designs make use of tinting the glass itself. It has the same principle as painting a wall section of a room; but of course, is treated with a different technique than the usual. After all, it is glass; and a glass is very different from a concrete wall.

Sandblasted glass makes use of very fine uniform particles that are accelerated onto the glass; often to create intricate graphic designs. Its difference from mosaic designs is that it involves a blaster gun to decorate rather than conventional tools when sculpting glass. This is also a very good way to design your shower glass doors; and you can even request for unconventional designs to suit your designing preferences. Regardless of application methods, a way of designing your shower doors is great because it adds to the total atmosphere that bathrooms can provide. After all, the bathroom is the sanctuary of cleanliness; and an article in a bathroom, such as shower doors, also requires a good design as any article of any room in the house.

Floors

Choosing the Best Floor and Wall Covering Fabrics

Though the color, designs and the texture of different fabrics may vary, all of them provide warmth and charm to any room they grace. There are endless possibilities to mix and match your wall and floor coverings to bring out the best. Though fabrics were traditionally used to cover the walls, they have gracefully given way to the more practical and easy to use wallpapers. Today many retailers have papers and fabrics that have the same design or pattern for your convenience.

The following tips can help you to choose the best wall and floor covering fabrics for decorating your home.
• The flooring should be chosen in accord with the room’s usage.
• If the room is going to see a lot of traffic, especially with high heels or dirty soles, it is better to choose hard and easy to maintain floorings like marble, tile or stone.
• In rooms where you prefer to walk barefoot, it is advisable to choose warm and comfortable carpet or even hardwood flooring.
• Also it is better to avoid paint in places where you expect a lot of people to walk about. Again, marble or tile flooring is best for these rooms.
• But before you finalize on any type of flooring, try to visualize their effect under the room’s lighting.
• Once your flooring is all done, make sure to take good care with proper maintenance if you want your carefully chosen flooring to last long.
• Also keep in mind the dimensions of the room and how much floor and wall covering they will need. This is very important, as they can affect your budget and ultimately the style and design.

• Make sure to choose the wall and floor covering simultaneously as they should blend well or complement each other to enhance the ambience of a room.
• Fabrics can be employed to provide soundproofing in particular rooms where noise is an issue, like a game room.
• Curtains and blinds can make any room exotic or rustic or they can used to create whatever mood you desire with appropriate lighting.

Floors

How to Stop Kitchen Chairs from Scratching Hardwood Floors?

Walking into a room with hardwood floors makes one admire its natural elegance and beauty. Many times, the floors set the tone for the entire room. However, one of the things that mar its beauty is scratches on the hardwood floors. Some scratches can be treated, prevented and disguised. Certainly, one preventive idea is on how to stop kitchen chairs from scratching hardwood floors. Sometimes, one will tend to apply the area rug solution to avoid the scratches from the kitchen chairs. However, kitchen chairs move around a lot and it is one of the things frequently used in the kitchen. Unless you want to cover up the whole area of the table and chairs, you might as well refrain from having hardwood floors in the first place if that’s the case.

Kitchen chairs often have wooden legs or metal legs. Both types can really do damage to your hardwood floors by moving around and scratching surfaces. But there are simple ideas on how to stop kitchen chairs from scratching hardwood floors. You just need the leg work:

• POLISH UP can be applied only to light wooden chairs. Often, it’s the rough edges of the legs that scratch the hardwood floors. To stop this, you can consider softening up the edges of the legs of the chair and its bottoms by sanding and oiling it up. Then you can finish it with some polish or wax. This way, the chair leg bottoms will have less friction on the floors and will glide, not scratch the floors when it moves. However, the more you use the kitchen chairs, the more you need to polish it up regularly to avoid roughing the edges (of chair leg bottoms) out.

• PAD WORK can be applied to both wooden and metal chair legs. For a better fit, measure the area of the chair bottoms and make cut-outs on felt or rubber. Glue in the felt or rubber cut-outs to the chair leg bottoms. Let it sit and give it time to dry before using the kitchen chairs. Both felt and rubber have smoother, non-scratchy materials that can be helpful to minimize scratches on your hardwood floors. You just need to redo it again if the material has already worn out.

• WHEEL ON is actually an idea for office chairs. Wheels can actually scratch only the surface of polyurethane-coated hardwood floors but not on the wood itself. Superficial scratches can easily be treated by waxing kits, therefore not much damage to the floors. As a kitchen chair however, putting wheels may pose some hazards when you have kids around. This is only applicable if there are only a few adults around and you are not expecting social gatherings in your kitchen area.

• COVER UP is probably the best option on how to stop kitchen chairs from scratching hardwood floors. Again, you measure the chair leg bottoms for a perfect fit. Often, the bottoms are shaped square, rectangular or round. With some exceptions of artwork and carvings on the legs, the bottoms will pretty much take one of these three shapes. Create a pattern on soft padded materials or heavy fabric like felt, denim or old carpet rugs no longer in service. Create a pattern for inner shape which is the exact measurement of the chair leg bottoms. Then create a larger outer shape about 4-5 inches wide where the inner shape is at the center. Cut the edge of the large shape, with the idea of pouch bags and open-top boxes in mind.

Pouch bag is sewing an inside fold around the inner shape and sewing an elastic strip at the helm of your outer shape. Open-top box is like having a box with 5 sides. You sew in the square bottom and then sew in the four other sides that stood up. When five sides are made, sew in an elastic strip at the outer hem. You can make creative cover ups, colorful or discreet depending on your taste, for as long as you make it functional. Unsightly scratches diminish the beauty and art work of the hardwood floors. You can stop, control and prevent it from happening, you just need a little leg-work trick.

Floors

How to Clean Hardwood Floors

Back in the old westerns, it used to be that hardwood floors are cleaned with buckets and buckets of soapy warm water and scrubbed clean stripping the floors of dirt, scrapes and its old glory. Over time coupled with harsh forces of nature, hardwood floors will just look like well worn slats if we don’t take good regular care of it.

One way of taking care of it is to know how to clean hardwood floor. Like any regular floors, we have to keep dirt and dust particles off as much as possible by sweeping and vacuuming as frequently as needed. Make sure that when you vacuum though, you use a soft brush only when it comes to hardwood floors. This is to avoid light and faint scrapes when using hard brushes designed for tiled floors. Strategically placing floor mats at each entrance of the room with hardwood floors can also keep some of the dirt off and keep it outside. Whether you have real hardwood floors or polyurethane-coated ones, it is best to keep a few pointers in how to clean wooden floors. Like any wood surface, hardwood floors require special care and attention, too.

Aside from the regular sweeping and vacuuming, here are a few ways on how you can clean your hardwood floors and maintain its polished look for a longer period of time:
Mopping regularly like once a week can improve the clean look and clean feel of hardwood floors. Using a warm soapy mixture, dip the mop into it. Make sure it’s only slightly but evenly wet and not dripping with the mixture. Use single direction strokes on the length of the slats so that when you dry it up afterwards, it won’t have faint traces of strokes in different directions. Repeat the mopping process but just use fresh water this time. This will clean off the soapy residue of the solution on the floor. And then buff dry with clean old towels that you use as rugs. This absorbs any remaining moisture on the floors. Remember that hardwood expands when exposed to excessive water, so avoid drips, soaks and pools on its surfaces.

Cleaning of stains may require the aid of some professional cleaning product especially designed for hardwood floors. Make sure to spray on the solution to stained spots only and do as directed. Some solutions may be too strong and can affect polyurethane coated hardwood floors’ surfaces. The blot and dry process using soft rugs can be very helpful on the stain removal process. This avoids stripping off the laminated look of the wood surface.

Buffing can help in restoring the polished look of hardwood floors by bringing back its luster. You can apply a commercial grade wax or wood shiners available in the market and buff the floors using a soft rug or cloth. Apply as evenly as possible to attain a great finish look. Hardwood floors signify simplicity and natural beauty. It denotes timelessness and elegance as well. To achieve the look, one must take care of it by regular cleaning and maintenance. This way, hardwood floors can last more than a lifetime of beauty and comfort.

Floors

An Overview of Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors apart from being reliable and durable, gives any home a classic touch. Its elegance and exclusiveness cannot be achieved with any other type of flooring. Hardwood floors are versatile and can be laid in almost any part of a home. There are numerous varieties of hardwoods to choose from, like oak, teak, elm, walnut, maple, rosewood and many others. The durability, hardness and colour vary depending on the type of wood. The hardness of Chestnut and Douglas fir is very low when compared to the hardness of Caribbean Cherry or Brazilian Walnut. The moisture content in the wood affects its stability and durability adversely.

Hardwood flooring are classified into different grades like clear, select, common 1, common 2 and grade 1 to 3. The grading depends on the exterior look of the un-finished hardwood flooring.
Hardwood flooring provides a timeless elegance to any room when it is laid in sync with the interior décor of the room. At the moment of installing hardwood floors you can there are different methods to choose and it includes:

Glue Down method: Here parquets or wooden panels are glued to a subfloor which can be made of wood or concrete.
Nail Down method: Nails of ¾” thickness are used to bind hardwood on to a subfloor that is of the same grade or above grade than the hardwood.
Staple Down method: Here a pneumatic stapler is used to attach the hardwood on to a subfloor instead of nails. This method is the easiest of the three and is mostly used by DIY aficionados.
Floating method: This method is employed to lay hardwood on uneven surfaces. A layer of foam is placed in-between the hardwood and the subfloor.

Once the hardwood flooring is laid perfectly they are very easy to maintain. Below you can find a few tips to keep your hardwood flooring sleek and shining.
• Regular maintenance like vacuuming or sweeping is a must to remove the dust that might otherwise scratch the flooring. It is important for this process to choose a good vaccum cleaner to help you in this job.
• You can place attractive doormats or rugs near doorways to prevent transfer of sand or dirt from shoes to the flooring.
• Since wood expands and contracts with temperature, the relative humidity of a room should always be maintained at about 45%.
• You should pad the legs of the furniture to prevent scratching while moving them.
• Hardwood floors are sensitive to light. You should protect your floors from direct light, both natural and artificial to prevent discolouration of the hardwood flooring.
• You can also add some rugs in frequently used places like washbasins, workstations, etc, to protect the hardwood flooring from scratch, water or soap.

Surface finishing of hardwood flooring will give a glossy look in addition to making floors water-resistant. There is no need to wax a hardwood floor that has a surface finish. If your hardwood floor is wax-finished, then a periodic buffing will keep it sleek and shiny.

Floors

Wide-Plank Flooring for your home

How does a Wide-Plank Flooring differ among many synthetic types of flooring now a day? Some says it is quite same as the usual laminate flooring. But did you know that as you learn each day, you will able to realize that all of them function differently from one another? Maybe, they have the same procedure of installation but definitely different in kind, quality, nature and purpose. Wide-Plank Flooring is considered the timeless beauty because of its design; it provides a historic resemblance of a house for a decade year. And now, the heritage is within our reach through the help of WidePlank Flooring. Much more with a price of laminate flooring, but it can add up elegance to our home. Surely, it can give you a distinctive modern type of investment.

It is bigger in size than normal laminate flooring. This traditional hardwood floor and wood floor signifies the symbol of sophistication and travels back to the earlier time. It also symbolizes the antiquity but with the advancements in technologies. The Wide Plank Flooring requires reaching the wood 100 year of age prior they harvest. But the finest quality of wood being used for that is coming from the reclaimed or a recycled wood from the old one. A lot of characteristic are present with the old growth tree than the newly harvest. With the size of standard regular widths and lengths helped to prevent end to end seams in the floor that would definitely give more authentic floor.

Floors, Wood

Spic and Span Wooden Floors

Shinning, shimmering and splendid! This is how we want to define our wooden floors. And course we have to make sure that it is dirt, grease and grime free. But mapping and scrubbing is not enough although it makes your floor looks glossy and shiny. Through our intelligence, Hardwood Floor Cleaning Product is generated to make the cleaning of the wooden floors easy and less-tiring. This cleaning product for bruce hardwood floors is widely used today since it provides a big help in cleaning the wooden laminated floors. Wooden hardwood floors come in a variety of styles and designs; one can go from traditional to contemporary.

Here are some reasons why wooden mohawk floors are much advantageous than other materials:
• Easy to clean and no problem with floor water damage.
• No secret sheltering of dust mites.
• Becomes more valuable with age.
• Re-sanded and re-varnish can be done in years.
• Good and durable quality.

Because of these reasons we want to take a good care in our wooden floors. One of the most traditional ways of cleaning is the use of vinegar and water. But then, vinegar can be too acidic to the floor and too much water too can ruin the beauty of your wooden floors. As what I have said, we want to keep our wooden floors clean and long-lasting but the use of vinegar and water is not a good idea anymore. There are lot hardwood floors cleaning products nowadays that are sold in grocery store outlets. These vacuum cleaners for hardwood floors and other are mostly in liquid and paste form. Combo offers of these cleaners are also available.

The cleaning kit is consisting of the following:
• Wooden Floor Cleaner.
• Mop.
• Pads (which are dust absorbing micro fibers).
• Guide (in maintaining wooden floors).

This is a big advantage and benefit for us since this will minimize our cost of buying these materials. It is much expensive if we buy those materials mentioned above if we bought it one by one. Unlike with the combo offer, you can save a lot of pennies with that. Plus it also includes some tips and tricks on how you can make your wooden floors lasts for generation.

A few guidelines in how you can take care of your wooden floors are the following:
• Before applying the cleaners to linoleum floors, be sure to wipe out first all the dust and dirt in your floors. Make sure that is dirt and dust-free.
• Second will now be the application of the cleaner. Some cleaner bottles come with spray, so spray cleaner into the floor. If it is not a spray, simply put an amount of cleaner in the area.
• Mopping time! Simply mop the cleaner in the floor. Do this in a forward and backward direction to scatter the cleaner in other areas.
• With rubber heel marks, directly spray or put a cleaner in the area and mop it with the use scrubbing pads.

It is that easy and less-tiring. Remember too not use just any cleaning products in your wooden floors since you might use a product that can destroy its beauty. An example for this are the polish products that will make your wooden floors look shiny. Polish products are not good for wooden floors since it contains oil that can produce a ruinous damage in you floor. Consulting a professional is need and advised to be ensured. So if you want a less-tiring job in cleaning your wooden floors, purchasing hardwood wooden floor product is good choice to make.

Floors

Bruce Hardwood Flooring is the finest name in hardwood floors

Like Winston Mart laminate flooring, Bruce Hardwood Floors supplies a vast array of products from unfinished hardwood flooring to installation and finishing supplies. Bruce Hardwood Flooring is the finest name in hardwood floors. Bruce Hardwood floor possess the natural beauty of real wood and transformed it into floors of enduring elegance. If you are a meticulous consumer who is looking for quality, value and choice in a hardwood floor, you should visit your Bruce distributor. They have a large range of beautiful hardwood floors in many colors and finishes so you will be sure to find the exact one that suits your home decor, your taste, and the kind of use and wear your floor will get. This excellence manufacturer stands by its reputation for creating a beautiful, natural looking floor for any look.

The Bruce Flooring Company has open accident free hardwood floors to the public for years and they are known for products that will give your home the natural sophistication you strive for Bruce products stand out. Bruce Hardwood Floors can be utilized in just about any room in the house, but they do not recommend that it be used in the bathroom since it is subject to so much water and moisture. Natural wood does not work well when it is exposed to excess moisture, and so the long lasting attributes of Bruce wood floors would not apply in this room. The company will provide you plenty of tips on how to best care for your beautiful Mohawk hardwood floors.

Bruce Flooring also makes and sells special products for cleaning and maintaining the floors like vacuum cleaners. Be cautious when cleaning wood floor products that you do not use any abrasives which will scratch the finish and allow the wood to become damaged. Now that you have the finest Hardwood Flooring instead of laminate floors, you want to make sure you take good care of it so it will last a lifetime. The assurance to quality and innovation has helped Bruce Hardwood flooring become the most preferred brand of homebuilders, architects and homeowners. In selecting your floor, start with the room location since that will determine whether a solid or engineered wood floor is best for you. Then, browse through the incredible Bruce selection of patterns and colors. They have a website wherein you can check the products they offer. Hardwood floorings are incredibly beautiful, highly durable and extremely reasonably priced. And at all times, they’re natural and safe for the environment.

Floors

The Winstonmart Laminate Flooring never ends with its beauty

Synthetic floor coverings become trendier now a day; but the realistic appearance of it can be achieved through laminate flooring that can last longer while cost lesser than the real one. It is different that installing hardwood floors. This is where Winstonmart Laminate Flooring had known, the inviting beauty of a distinctive home décor with a touch of both traditional and modern style. They provide not only a decorative, but a durable and economical alternative solution specializing laminate flooring. Being on top in producing a high-quality surfacing product, they maintained their standard in manufacturing widest selection to meet customer satisfaction. Its affinity to a natural floor hardwood is the main reason how they become popular. Using synthetic materials with a mixture of natural elements, Mohawk Flooring preserve the conventional look of a floor made of sturdy wood that looks like amazingly real hardwood-type floor.

Traditional hardwood plank, unfinished hardwood floors, stone tiles, linoleum floors or any other flooring solutions never have enough proof that it came to the market with a successful idea. That is how the laminate flooring comes out; to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional hardwood plank but retain the original essence. It basically consists of a three-surface layer molded together with the use of heat and pressure. The surface layers are just a resemblance of a wood. It also comes with an easy way of putting them together by simply pressing and applying heat. The Winstonmart Flooring never ends with its beauty but it can also provide a very last longer quality of floorings against fade, crack, chips and stain. Unlike other flooring solutions, like carpet that would probably need a daily schedule for cleaning and the vinyl that required replacement after several usage, it provides a cleaner and a healthier surroundings. It is more practical to maintain the beauty of laminate flooring than a traditional wood or stone. Simply swipe all the spills, and other kitchen messes with a piece of mop or sponge. When it is installed correctly, no reason to absorb moisture and it will look nice and does not require any cleaning materials. Installing it on top of any types of flooring will never be a problem, because it is compatible with different kinds of floor coverings.

A remarkable variety of design of Laminate Flooring will perfectly suit your hallways, bedrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, family rooms and even dens. Preparing an inner beauty of a home will not necessarily mean to have a very expensive materials used. We can utilize the best materials that might suit our budget and we will achieve the same benefits as the expensive one. With a Laminate Flooring, it is not just more of beautification but with much emphasis on benefits.

Floors, Heating systems

Installing electric under floor heating in our home

Are you tired of having the same problem encountered using traditional radiator-based heating system? That is the reason why many people have recognized the Electric under floor heating system and turned their back to the benefits that it can give. The basic principle of radiant is heating us like an object prior to heating the air that would result to make us feel warm while the air remains to be cool and fresh, just like portables air conditioning systems. With the help of the modern technology, it was proven to be more effective as it can provide number of useful advantages rather than the traditional one. Technically, aside from the fact that it helps to warmth laminated floors and provides the perfect answer to sustain primary heating for the tiled-floor rooms, the basic function of the electric floor heating system is to have an ideal, comfortable condition, constant and evenly distributed air room temperature. In comparison with a traditional radiator-based system, study shows that it can provide significant reasons to switch the application of the modern technology.

Using heat in the form of convected heating through a traditional radiator causes heat loss to the ceiling, roofs, windows and walls. It may lead to discoloration of wall paint and peeling of wall paper. Energy increase of 15% will be expected during this process as it also requires maintaining an average temperature. This is just few among many problems that can be eliminated in using the Electric Floor Heating. Using convected heat from fans or radiators with a traditional method, the Floor Heating came up with radiated heat water from floor. And one of the considerable benefits is that they are not only capable of finding solution to meet the most comfortable temperature, they also consider the health aspect of the consumers. They reduce dust mites with no moisture content which is advantageous for those who suffer from asthma. Since these are usually installed under floor, it fosters safety to your kids. With the heating effect underneath the floor, it definitely gives a quick way of drying the wet floor tiles that prevents slippery surface. Because it is located under the flooring, it can not be seen on top but surely, you can feel the warmth on your feet with a cool feeling on your head. You will feel that the heat spread evenly over the whole floor area. With a very low cost and easy application, minimal maintenance and simple installation, it will be more economical to have one.

Having Electric under Floor Heating simply offers efficient, economical and comfortable way creating a healthy environment inside our home. Whether for room heating or enjoying the luxury of a warmth inviting floor on a cold winter, providing beneficial effect especially for the health and comfort of the consumers can be considered as its main advantage.

Floors, Kitchen

Accident free kitchen floor

Tired of falling down the floor while walking around the kitchen and cooking? Or just even walking through to serve the food? Sick with the dullness of your floor tile? Is there something to remain dull any longer? Install hardwood floors! Decorating tile kitchen flooring when remodeling is no more than the only way to avoid those kinds of accident and also to have a new exciting look for your kitchen. Kitchen is part of a room used to prepare food as well as cooking, and occasionally as well for eating and engaging with guests, if the kitchen is big enough for a lot of people and intended to be used that manner. Even though the most important purpose of a kitchen is supposed to be for cooking or preparing food only, the kitchen can also be the core of other activities too, mainly within homes, depending on the size, furniture, and other things.

It can be an easier said than done decision when you are not clear in your mind of precisely what you need for your kitchen. Decorating kitchen flooring is a not easy thing to plan and accomplish. So before you begin for a redecoration of your kitchen area, you should always research first in what to do and what kinds of kitchen tiles exist. Then you will be able to budget your money for the upcoming transformation of your kitchen floor tiles.

Kitchen floors have to be sturdy as much as necessary to handle the abuse that it is given every single day. Durability is essential. It ought to be trouble-free to clean and preserve. There will be a lot of food spills so carpet for a floor covering is not an excellent pick for the kitchen. It is not just difficult to be a dirt free floor but it is as well not very sanitary. Contaminants can be trapped in the threads of the floor covering. Your choice for the kind of kitchen flooring ought to take into the description of your taste as well as sturdiness and preservation. In kitchen flooring, you should first choose what kind of material to use for your kitchen. You should choose a kitchen tile that’s made of Wood Tile or Cork Tile or French Roof Tile. These kinds of tile are not slippery so as to prevent accidents. You should not use the tiles that are slippery like the common bathroom tiles you usually see.

Next thing you need to do for decorating tile kitchen flooring is to check is the size of the tile you are planning to buy. You should also choose the size to know if your kitchen will look good depending on the size. The larger the tile, it will make the kitchen look bigger. It is not the only approach to set other than there is also less grout. Grout is a cover of plaster for finishing a ceiling, wall or floor tile. The larger tiles give the kitchen a cleaner appearance and can in fact make a small place give the impression of being larger in form.

Floors, Wood

Installing hardwood floors: Guides and Tips

Many homeowners choose unfinished hardwood as their flooring due to many reasons. Hardwood gives any floor a natural beauty and a classic look. Wood floors are also good investments since they can add value to your homes. That is why decisions like installing hardwood floors should not be taken for granted.

What makes hardwood floors (like Mohawk floors) different from other types of flooring is the fact that it is a beautiful natural product. It is considered to be one of the oldest flooring materials, making it comfortable and very durable. Hardwoods are also very versatile, giving homeowners a lot of possibilities for accessorizing and adding inserts into the wood floor. But its performance and appearance depends mainly on how it is installed and its finishing process. Installing wood floors can actually be done by any homeowner. All you need is the right material to use and of course, your wood floors.

Materials / Tools Needed:
o Hammer.
o Finish nails.
o Measuring tape.
o Masking tape.
o Hardwood flooring glue.
o Notched trowel.
o Hardwood floor strips.
o Tapping block.
o 1/4″ lauan plywood underlayment.
o Pneumatic stapler.
o Safety glasses.

Before installing or restoring hardwood floors, it is important to take note that they should not be installed in an area below the ground since these areas increase the risk of damaging the floors due to moisture. Another important thing to remember is that hardwood floors should only be installed on solid and sturdy surfaces. If you have checked the area, then you can now proceed with the installation. Follow these steps in installing hardwood floors:

1. Mark where the joists are using a pencil, chalk or any marker. These joists are the beams which serve as the supporter of the floor.

2. Hardwood has the tendency to expand during warm weather and contract in cold weather so it is better to stop the flooring at this point to give ample time to the change in the wood. Start measuring 3/8 inch from the baseboard and draw a line on it.

3. Looking at your starting point, find the longest wall that is straight as the starting point. Place one end of the board to the baseboard line. See to it that the hardwood plank is perpendicular to the joist of the floor. This will serve as the supporter of the flooring.

4. Using a hammer, nail one end of the board into the sub floor and the joist since a pneumatic stapler cannot reach this area anymore.

5. Just repeat the process of putting down the boards. Always see to it that the tongue and groove ends are fitted together. In attaching the flooring, use the pneumatic stapler.

Hardwood floors require some maintenance and actually do add beauty to your home. With its natural beauty, it can give any home a classical or traditional look. If you want this kind of ambiance in your homes, then consider hardwood floors in your houses as the best solution.

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