Case Study: Floor Sanding Sydney Eastern Suburbs

Floor sanding Sydney Eastern Suburbs Case Study – this client first contacted us to restore the original Baltic Pine floorboards in their entrance, sitting room, and three bedrooms, which had been hidden underneath old carpet and old finger parquetry which was in pretty poor condition. The client also wished for the floor to be all one level which meant removing all of the parquetry to reveal the original floor.

Once we ripped up the carpet we found several patches and cuts in the original floorboards from previous renovations and most likely attempts to access beneath the house for plumbing and electrics. We also found when we began pulling up the old finger parquetry, that it had been heavily glued, and as Baltic Pine is a softwood, it began to delaminate, which means the top layer of the timber was being pulled up with the glue. We could see that the Baltic Pine was not going to be easily salvaged and would be extremely time-consuming. Another issue we found was that the subfloor structure in some of the high traffic areas was springy underfoot, indicating that there were underlying issues with the structural timbers.

It was very fortunate that the client chose to rebuild the floor rather than the original plan of a surface restoration so that these structural issues could be resolved. It’s often surprising to find what lies beneath some of these old floorboards! If you want to know about what you can expect when attempting to restore old floorboards, this is just one example of the importance of taking the time to investigate and discuss all of the options. Your timber floor is an investment, and it is so important to make these decisions wisely and with all of the professional advice possible. One thing that our clients often comment on, is how thorough the communication process is, and how they were kept informed at every step of the way. Our team is highly experienced in flooring restoration, so you can be pretty sure that we have seen it all. 

The next step was to lay the new floorboards. The client decided on a beautiful 130mm wide select grade Blackbutt from Coffs Harbour Hardwoods, supplied by our trusted supplier Abbey Timber.  

The laying method we used for this project was glue using Bostik Ultraset, secret nail, and top nail as the Australasian Timber Flooring Association and the manufacturer recommends for this profile of floorboard. 

We then began the floor sanding and polishing process, finishing the floor with Fiddes Hard Wax Oil, in a Silk sheen. 

The process all up took our team 8 working days to complete from start to finish. At the beginning of the job, the clients were quite concerned when they saw how much damage was beneath the old floor coverings, and very worried that the project would go over-budget. We gave them a detailed quote for the whole rebuild, which they were surprised was enough to cover the whole project. However, they were amazed by the outcome, how their home was transformed, and at the level of professionalism and ease of our team, for a project which in their eyes was such a complex job.

It’s always satisfying to complete a job like this, where there are challenges and unknowns, but knowing you have a great team with knowledge and experience to make sure it’s a job well done.