The Importance and Benefits of Commercial Floor Sanding

by Floor Sanding

There are many benefits to having old floors restored in any commercial environment, from aesthetics and professionalism to safety and cleanliness.

An old and tired floor can give any room an unappealing and unwelcoming image, but this becomes much more important when in a commercial setting. For establishments that deal with food, such as Pubs, Hotels, Restaurants or any similar establishment, a sanded floor sets a better impression of cleanliness and overall standards. If the floor looks grotty, then the impression will follow that the kitchen must follow suit.
Schools, Village halls and Museums are also going to be far less appealing with grubby, worn floors. We have received feedback that Village halls in particular experience an increased hire rate after the floors have been sanded and refinished. Even more important to consider is cleanliness when there are children concerned. An old, worn floor is near impossible to keep clean when compared to one which has been recently re-finished.

As you may have already encountered, once the old finish of a floor has worn away, keeping it clean is a losing battle, which only gets harder over time. Time and time again we’re asked what can be done about this as the answer is simple: sanding and re-finishing. A wood floor that has lost its finish will still look dirty no matter how many times you clean it. Once a floor is heavily worn and has little or no finish left it is only a matter of time before the floor is ruined completely, so it is far more cost effective (and far less disruptive) to simply refurbish the existing floor than to have it entirely replaced. When a floor has been sanded and refinished, there will be a recommended cleaning product available to prolong the floors life and keep it looking cleaner for longer.

The most commonly asked questions when sanding floors in a commercial environment are the issues of scheduling, inconvenience and the amount of time the area will be out of action. In a commercial environment flexibility and speed is king. We often carry out and complete work at night and will put a larger team on jobs that have strict time restraints, to ensure the area is out of action for the minimum amount of time and the inconvenience is kept to a minimum. In some cases, we can also do the floor in two halves; depending on the furniture present and the nature of the job itself.

Costings for commercial floor sanding are based on size in square meteres; the larger the area, the cheaper the price per square metre. Generally our prices for large areas start at £15 per square metre plus VAT, with a slight premium should you require the work to be done out of hours.

If you are looking to sand the floors in a Church, Village Hall, Sports centre, Community centre, School, Museum,  Public House, Cafe, Restaurant, Office or any other commercial building please do give us a call on 01962 733016 where we will be happy to discuss your project with you. 

Everything you need to know about Floor Sanding

by Floor Sanding

For me, writing ‘everything you need to know about floor sanding’ is probably the hardest topic I’ve covered so far. It’s something that I have done for more years than I care to admit, sanding thousands of floors of all ages and wood species, and it is simply limitless as to what to write and where to begin. To keep this article from overrunning I will keep it as simple as possible, so if you would like further help or information, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

For Alresford Interiors and I there are three manufacturers of machines that we use for floor sanding works; Lagler, Festool and Fein. These machines are used by many professional floor sanding companies and either carry dust free classifications or are plugged into dust extractors, reducing the level of dust to virtually zero. The machines we use from these manufacturers are the Lagler Flip, Hummel and Trio, the Festool RO150 and RO90 and the Fein Multi master.

There are many ‘grits’ of sandpaper available, from 16 right up to 2000 (the lower the number the coarser the paper), but for sanding floors we generally use 24-120 grit. It is important to select the right grit for the floor. You need to be using a coarse enough grit to take the old finish off the floor, but too coarse and you use extra time sanding with finer papers. Equally you don’t want to use a paper that is to fine as this will clog quickly and taking longer to sand. Knowing what grit to use comes with a little common sense and a lot of experience.

We’ve completed countless sanding courses over the years and were the first company in the UK to be trained by Lagler. There are always situations where things have to be done differently, such as not using the same grit sequence. Every company has its own preferences, but generally speaking the process is the same:  Always make sure the floor is thoroughly swept and vacuumed before starting and any high nails have been punched under. It is also very important to vacuum after each sanding grit is changed, as this will keep the scratches to a minimum.

Lagler Hummel

We always start with the Lagler Hummel, working from left to right. This is a serious bit of kit and it’s important to keep it moving when the drum is down (paper is in contact with the floor) as leaving it stationary will result in gouges being left in the floor (a common mistake for amateurs). Generally speaking we start on a 40 grit paper, working along the grain as much as possible on a plank floor. On a parquet floor we will work at diagonals and never sand directly across the grain.

Lagler Flip

The next step is the edges. For this, we use the Lagler Flip (generally using the same grit paper that was used with the Hummel) working in a clockwise rotation around the room. Again it is important to keep the sander moving as it is very easy to create gouges around the edges. This is a very powerful sander and needs to be treated with respect.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 with 60 grit paper and never drop more than 2 levels of grit. For example you wouldn’t start on a 40 grit paper and use a 100, or even 80 grit paper next.

With the hardest part of the job done, it’s time to move onto the finishing sanders. Remember that you are trying to make the floor smoother and eliminate scratches, so be sure to keep a very close eye on what you are doing as marks and scratches can show up when the finish is applied.

Lagler Trio

First we use the Lagler Trio on a 60 grit, which can be used in any direction on the floor (but generally we would start at one side of the room working our way up and down each board so you know exactly where you have been). Change the grit to 100, remembering to vacuum the floor, and commence sanding.

Festool RO150

Next step is using the Festool Rotex RO150 with 100 grit paper for the edges. This step will eliminate any small scratches hard up against the skirting boards that have been left by the edging sander and couldn’t be reached with the Trio.

The floor by now should look drastically different from when you started and there are only a couple of steps to go.

 We sand the corners firstly by scraping off and dirt and grime with a small scraper or chisel. They are then sanded with a Fein Multi Master finishing on 100 grit. The whole floor should be thoroughly vacuumed and remember to make sure you go around the base of the skirting as it is amazing how much dust and grime can get under them.

Last sand is done with the Lagler Trio with a 120 grit paper this will leave a very smooth finish. A really good vacuum is then required prior to finishing and also be careful what you have on your feet, as black rubber soled shoes can leave marks!

I hope this has been helpful! If you need any help or advice please do give us a call on 01962 733016 to discuss your project – we can either do the work for you, or you can hire the machines from us.

Guide to Commercial Floor Sanding

by Floor Sanding

Wood floors remain timeless features offering an effortless touch of class, which can be a great asset in any commercial premises. We can restore old, tired floors and give them back their natural beauty and elegance. Our professional approach and attention to detail will ensure a smooth, stress free service and an expertly restored wood floor that offers practicality and easy maintenance.

Our highly skilled, fully trained and experienced team will consult with you to develop a programme of work that suits you. We will provide advice on the best options for the restoration, finishing and maintenance of your wood floor, so that it looks great all year round and keeps costs to a minimum. We use the highest quality products, such as Bona, Junkers, Osmo and Blanchon to ensure the floor is finished in the most appropriate way for your needs and is as durable as possible.

Our team has worked on many wood floor projects for schools, village halls, hotels, retail shops and other commercial properties. We understand your desire to reduce disruption to your business while any works takes place. Our team work out of hours, during evenings and weekends within the timeframe agreed, to sand and finish floors quickly and efficiently, causing as minimal mess and inconvenience as possible.

Time restraints are normally top on the list for discussion when thinking about sanding a commercial wood floor. It doesn’t matter whether it is a pub, hotel, restaurant, village hall or school that requires work people are normally concerned about time scales and the impact that that has on their business / establishment. We are hugely aware of this as an issue and offer a 24 hour a day service in order to be as flexible as possible. Due to the size of our team we can get relatively large areas fully sanded and re-finished very quickly with as minimal disruption as possible.

However, something you may need to consider when sanding at night is noise. This has been overlooked by hotels in the past and although we can work through the night, if guests are next to the room they won’t be getting a lot of sleep.

Furniture can be an issue as it is always easier and more cost effective to sand and re-finish a floor that is empty. If there is no way of storing the furniture we can assist in the storage making sure that felt pads go on furniture when it is returned which will prolong the life of the floor.

In most cases the older the floor the better it will look after sanding. We have completed numerous floors and bought them back to life. It is normally always more cost effective to sand and re-finish a floor even if there are a lot of repairs than to have a new floor. Also you can’t beat the touch of class that is achieved by sanding and re-finishing a wood floor. This will add to the desirability of the establishment and will feel cleaner which in turn will add to the number of customers and positive reviews.

If you need any help or advice on your floor sanding project, please give us a call 01962 733016 and arrange an assessment of the floor.