Restoring Wood Block [parquet]Floor

[jack]

Parquet Floor made from blocks of five hardwood fingers .
The room in question is set on a North to South line and the floor at the south[sunny] end has faded and needs refinishing for 2m back from the window
As the 'blocks of fingers' are set alternating 90 degrees to each other power sanding would seem to be inappropriate.
Any suggestions how this are may be brought back to colour with out sanding or a total refinish to the whole room?

 

[Pford75]

You could try Liberon's 'floor cleaner'...i have had good results on wood floors with this and it is not too harsh. They apply suitable finish to taste

 

[Penners]

I can understand that you regard power sanding as undesirable, Jack, but unless cleaning the floor works (and I fear it may not) then you may have no choice.

If you do have to resort to this, I would work diagonally to the lie of the wood fingers - try to use the finest belt you can, consistent with getting a little stock cut off. Finish the "push along" machine sanding with the finest belt possible, and then go over the whole floor with a handheld orbital sander, with perhaps a P100 paper. It'll be tedious, but worth it.

The final result will probably still show some signs of cross-grain scratching, but it should be within acceptable limits for a floor.

 

[Edwardia]

Couldn't you just stick a big rug over the southern end ? Because however much work you put into re-finishing the parquet, the sun will still shine and you'd need UV window film and voiles and UV resistant varnish to slow the fading of the new finish. so why not buy a rug ? (Alternatively a big dog which likes sunbathing

 

[Moneypit]

I would suggest that you hire a floor sander. Not the drum type one, which will quite aggressively eat into your floor, but the 'Edge Sander' that usually comes as part of the package. I have used one in the past to great effect to smooth a newly laid oak board floor. If you use the finest grade of disc you will find that it will not leave any discernible marks.

 

[Moo]

I'm with Edwardia on this. Unless you take extreme precautions it's going to fade again, anyway - which could be regarded as a rather attractive period feature (rather like worn stone steps or wobbly old plaster). Instead, invest in a floor polishing machine and a large can of Trafficwax and use your time and energy keeping it gleaming.

 

[AMc]

I did the floorboards in our last house with a hand held orbital sander after a horrid week with a big belt sander and edge sander- both were very aggressive, even with 100 grit paper. The main reason I hated the belt sander was 100 years of nails and tacks, - I spent 2 days pulling and tapping nails then 5 minutes to fit the belt, 2 feet and I'd found enough 'new' old tacks to shred the belt to confetti. The edge sander was better but heavier and had a tendency to make circles if you weren't careful.

The orbital was so much easier to use gently and cost less to buy than the professional kit would have cost to hire (had it not been for a favour from a friend). I used 60, 100 and then 120 grit on old boards with dust extraction into an old hoover - tedious but not hard work. If your block floor is in good nick then I would try a small area with 120 grit.

I do tend to agree with others that after a good clean I would seriously consider not sanding as the sun will fade the floor in the end.

 

[Moo]

ANOTHER THOUGHT -

Instead of trying to tint the faded floor to match the rest, why not do it the other way round?

 

[ljn]

In expert hands, a well calibrated belt sander with fine sandpapers could be ok. But it could also cause a lot of damage. I wouldn't try it unless you're feeling very confident - one mistake can gauge a 2/3 mm groove. To get a good finish, you'll need to use a finishing sander, anyway.

Again, if you are not confident, an edger could also could end up doing some serious damage.

The result of using a hand held orbital sander over a large area of parquet will probably be patchy.

Parquet is a lot less forgiving than floorboards, where, if you work along the grain of the wood, mistakes aren't very visible.

I would hire Lagler Trio finishing sander.
It will take longer than a belt sander, but it is difficult to do damage. Follow the guidance on using papers, from large grit to remove varnish, reducing gradually to fine grit to buff the floor. I would use a hand held orbital sander to do the edges, and finish corners by hand.

 

[inwood]

Alternatively cover all that horrid wood and buy some lino to cover it with :shock:

 

[ljn]

Why go for lino when you can get a great laminate for under £4 a square meter. Clip it in place and off you go, a new floor!

 

[yamin]

....and the benefit is, you get a real spring in your step! Much kinder to the feet than that real wooden stuff which has no give in it at all!!!!!!!