Treasure Hunt

Wooden floors have been around for a long time, from pine floorboards to herringbone and mosaic floors frequently used in homes build around the 50-'s to the 70's. Most often these parquet floors are still really valuable. (Old Pine floorboards are a different story we're afraid.)

When you move to a new home you might not even know there is a treasure hiding beneath the floor-covering you inherited from the previous owner. After the dust of your move has settled why not go on a "treasure hunt" especially when you already decided to change the existing floor covering (the carpet could not be to your liking, or the vinyl is more torn that expected). Lift a small corner of the carpet/vinyl and see if there is an original parquet floor hiding, if not then that's a pity and you could decide to have a brand new wooden floor installed instead.

But very often the previous owner(s) had carpets installed over neglected mosaic or herringbone/basket weave floors when wall-to-wall carpets came into "fashion" and the then laboursome maintenance of wooden floors became a thing of the past. But since maintenance with all the new modern finishes available - even for existing floors - is no longer laboursome it would be a shame to keep your rediscovered treasure hidden and/or uncherished.

Keeping in style - keeping the value

Parquet floors, be it herringbone or mosaic - are characteristic to older properties. Keeping the style of your interior, including the floor covering, consistent with the period the house was built in will be in yours and the home's best interest.
By keeping the style of the house, the house will keep its value - or at least more than when the interior is turned (too) modern and period features are abandoned or (gasp) ripped out and sent packing in a skip.

Decision time: restore or cover up, diy or professional?

Restoring an original parquet floor is always worth a try. You can find plenty of help online, for instance with Wood You Like's own "7 Easy Steps to Repair/Restore your Original Parquet Floor". Sometimes all your rediscover treasure needs is a good cleaning, for which you can turn to our other guide: "3 Easy Steps to Clean and Maintain your Original Parquet Floor".

Modern eco-friendly products and modern tools can help you with the "elbow grease", and you should always consider it a "labour of love". Once you brought back your floor's original grandeur you'll be proud of yourself, and the envy of the neighbourhood!

For a rough estimate of costs for a DIY job: between £5.00 - £15.00 ex VAT per sq m for materials, plus hire costs for professional sanding equipment: between £ 75.00 - £ 115.00 per day (take care you hire the correct sander, drum sanders are not really recommended for parquet floors; always look for a continues belt sander of at least 65 kg or a Trio sander).

Professionals floor restorers have plenty of experience with the heavy equipment, know when and where which tool needs to be used and which finish would suit the wood-species and your circumstances best.
Again a rough estimation of costs: depending on the finish materials required a professional restore service will be between £35.00 - £55.00 ex VAT per sq m including the sanding equipment and finish materials and will be done quicker, plus of course guaranteed (certain conditions and distance can affect the exact price).

Visit our showroom to discuss your plans and projects and we will be able to give you an indication of total costs straight away, where after you can decide to have a site survey done.