Lacquered Or Oiled Wood Flooring? Here's How To Choose

One of the features of wood flooring that we often leave unconsidered until just before purchasing is the finish they'll choose for their new flooring. While it's likely to leave this choice pretty much to the final minute, it is well worth knowing that the alternatives that are open to you. In this guide, we'll give you a clear and speedy overview of both most commonly selected and many popular wood floors finishes; lacquered and oiled.

Lacquered Finish Wood Floor

What can it be?

A lacquer is a bit like a modern day varnish and is applied to a timber flooring for a way of protecting the ground and often giving it a shine. Lacquer effectively sits on the cover of the wood and does not sink in like oil does.

When should you choose it?

A lacquer finish is perfect in a room in which you expect either high or heavy footfall or where you need a gloss or gloss finish.

Ease of Caution

The fantastic thing about a lacquered finish on the floor is the fact that it gets a bit water resistant. Nevertheless, it is never a fantastic idea to dab a lot of water around on any wood flooring. The 1 drawback of a lacquered hardwood flooring is the fact that it has a propensity to show scratches more readily than an oiled flooring. Due to this, once the floor eventually ends up looking worn and tired, the most appropriate plan of action is generally a re-sand and re-finish.

Protection Degree

The security provided by lacquered wood end is possibly the toughest of and this is most likely why, at the fantastic old days, fitness centers and dance halls were completed this manner, instead of just waxed or oiled. Nevertheless, since lacquer sits along with the timber, if it's worn off with tear and wear, the bare timber is left vulnerable and prone to damage.

Visual Influence

All that said, even a matt finish will have a small glow to it. So when you're picking a lacquered finish on your floor, it is essential to know about the glow you'll receive.

Benefits and disadvantages

Among the greatest things about lacquered finish hardwood floors is that clogs, if they are consumed fairly quickly, will not seep in the body of the flooring. The principal downside when you select a lacquer is the fact that it will scuff and scratch more easily than the usual end, so it is doubly important to purchase very good doormats and sweep or vacuum frequently.

Additional options available

As already mentioned, you can select either a high gloss, either a matt finish, or anything in between when you select lacquer as your finish, however there's another choice that's particularly appealing in case your room receives a significant amount of sunshine. This really is a UV filter, which works as a sunscreen and assists prevent your becoming stung by an excessive amount of sunshine.

Oiled Finish Wood Floor

What can it be?

Now generally between a hardwax oil, oiled finish wood flooring provides both a surface protection and a deep penetrating defense.

When should you choose it?

An oiled finish is the perfect answer when you're on the lookout for a natural looking finish for your hardwood flooring. Broadly speaking, this solution will provide you a wonderful natural, matt appearance.

Ease of Caution

Though Engineered hardwood floors is slightly higher maintenance on an ongoing basis than lacquered wood flooring, it tends to need fewer important interventions since the security goes deeper than the surface. Unlike lacquered end, once the upper layer of oil finish gets worn away, there's still a degree of protection under. And like every wooden floor, should you protect it with great doormats, and sweep or vacuum it regularly and give it a light mopping, it'll stand the test of time nicely.

Protection degree

The fantastic thing about Engineered hardwood floors finish is the fact that it goes deep into the center of the wood and provides not only protection on the surface, but to the center also, meaning your wood is protected to the maximum.

Visual effect

Oiled wood floors has a very natural look and enables the colour of the timber to deepen over the years.

Benefits and disadvantages

The great thing about oiled finishes is your floor looks like it has no protection applied whatsoever. What's more, there really are no disadvantages of this kind of finish.

Additional Choices available

Oiled flooring finishes often arrive with a brushed effect, which serves to open the grain of the wood much more, further enhancing the organic look. Particular finishes may also come with a UV filter.

If you're struggling to decide between oiled and lacquered finish wood flooring, why not get in touch so we can talk in further detail about which option will work best for your project?

HOW TO CHOOSE AND FIT WOOD FLOORING IN THE BATHROOM

Wood floors is a great way to improve the look of a room, but a good deal of individuals are unaware that it can be suitable for baths and shower rooms, as well as the remainder of the house. Too many toilet floors are coated with unsightly lino for the sake of performance, but it does not need to be like that. Wood flooring can be the ideal way to bring some quality and style for your bathroom, provided you understand which wood to select and how to match it.

Most wood is no good

The first thing you should know is that almost all wood is unsuitable for your bathroom. Water spills, splashes and higher humidity levels quickly damage most species of wood, leaving it warped, unattractive and perhaps unusable.

So which wood should I choose?

The extremes of humidity and temperature at a bathroom mean that your flooring material has to be extremely tough and durable. In this case we'd advocate engineered wood flooring.

Engineered wood flooring is an alternate to solid wood, which can be produced from a solid wooden board, fixed on a plywood base. The reinforced structure of this material makes it much harder than solid wood and ready to deal with the moisture, temperatures and humidity it might face in the normal bathroom. To make sure your engineered wood flooring is durable enough it should be at least 14mm thick.

How to fit wood flooring in your bathroom

Engineered wood flooring is fairly easy to fit. It can be glued down, which involves applying a suitable adhesive to your sub floor and then simply laying your timber flooring.

Another choice is floating installation. To do this place down an underlay in your sub floor as a moisture barrier, apply PVA to the tongue and tongue parts of your flooring and match the planks together till your flooring is laid.

For more information about how to install hardwood floors read this current article.

Protect your hard work

The final stage of the installation procedure should be to apply a protective finish to your floors. The best options for a bathroom or shower room are hard wax oil and laquer. Laquer should make your flooring just about watertight but it isn't a pure item. Hard wax oil seeps into the crux of your flooring to protect it against moisture and it is all natural.

HARDWOOD FLOORING IS A GOOD CHOICE

Selecting to have hardwood flooring put in your house is a fantastic selection. Not only is it hard wearing and will withstand a large amount of activity, it is also going to last you for a good number of years and continue to look impressive during the lifetime of the hardwood floor.

Many men and women are choosing to have hardwood floors in their house, since it looks beautiful and is extremely durable. With a growing family and also a high number of individuals living in your home, having flooring that's easy to keep and clean as well as remaining visually attractive is vital.

There's a wide variety of choice when it comes to choosing the sort of hardwood flooring in your home. If you live in an older property, it's very likely you will have traditional wooden flooring beneath your carpets. It's always worth consulting a specialist and see whether it's possible to restore the original hardwood floors in your home before laying new hardwood flooring.

You may pick from ash, walnut, walnut or birch hardwood floors and each has its own advantages. You will need to compare and contrast different types of wood to see which looks better in your house.

Choosing a Pattern for Your Flooring

Once you've chosen a species and complete for your new hardwood flooring, it will be time to pick the pattern of this setup. Hardwood flooring can be installed in a few different patterns that can alter the form of your flooring and present unique visuals into the design of your area. Should you need help choosing the options for your hardwood flooring, contact us today!

Horizontal or Vertical

Straight floors is the most commonly used flooring pattern, primarily as it is the easiest and least expensive to install. The wood planks are installed parallel to one another along the length or width of the floor. Both classic and contemporary designs can be produced with this particular pattern.

Varying
 
Randomly patterned floors is installed in much the exact same manner as straight patterned flooring. The boards are installed over the length or width of the floor. The distinction between them is that while directly patterns use planks of the identical width, random patterns use a mixture of planks of various lengths. This gives a space a more unique appearance and is much more customizable than the straight pattern.

Angled

For a more specific and luxurious floor pattern, consider an angled or angled pattern. The planks are set up parallel to each other as in a typical straight pattern, but they are placed at a 45-degree angle to the wall. This sort of layout can actually help a room feel bigger by drawing eyes from one corner to another, instead of out of 1 side of the area to another.

Parquet
 
Parquet-style flooring is classic. Home and business owners have been choosing it for ages. In this installment, the floor planks are put in a repeated geometric pattern, making the floor more visually interesting.

Herringbone

A herringbone floor pattern also makes the floor visually interesting. We've all seen the traditional herringbone twill jackets. If you like that routine, why not have it on put on your hardwood floors? The zig-zag planks produce an elegant, interesting visual impact.

Hardwood Flooring Installation and Maintenance 

In Deptford Floor Sandingour dedication to quality installation is evident in all that we do, which is why our customers consistently rate us as one of the top contractors in the area. If you're ready to speak with someone about your hardwood floors job, we want to hear from you! Contact us 020 3151 1815 or send us a message here.

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Flooring Trends For 2018!

​​​​​​​​​The flooring industry continues to push boundaries with really advanced product lines, using all types of new technologies to generate custom "looks" for the flooring buyer. Here's an overview of the present fashions we are seeing:
Flooring in colours on both ends of the spectrum;

This past year, we noticed a rise in dark floors; especially dark stained hardwood floors. Nothing says modern and contemporary like the bold contrast between a really dark ebony floor, paired with stark-white base molding and brightly colored walls. Moving into 2018, we are seeing this tendency of contrast persist. As beautiful as a dim hardwood floor is, when you have kids or pets, this tendency might not be the ideal fit for you. The darker the floor-color, the more dust, dirt and pet hair you can see; not to mention scratches from pets' claws. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we're seeing more and more natural and light colours, like natural bamboo floors as well as Maple hardwood. Light colored floors make the space seem larger, open and inviting. Adding a profound, bold wall shade with your light flooring can create a warm look that's also practical to pet owners. Light and natural floors show not as much dirt, pet hair and scratches. The only exception we're seeing for this trend of contrast is Gray flooring. Gray flooring took the design world by storm last year, and this trend is not letting up anytime soon. Gray is neutral, yet bold, goes with everything, making a statement.

Getting Rid Of the Glossy End;
Low luster, super "matte" finish is a fad that is coming straight out of Europe. Satin is a nice in-between option of sheen level. It isn't too shiny, and is not really matte either. It holds positive characteristics from both ends of this sheen spectrum.

Hardwood floors are timeless; which goes without saying. They have been around for centuries, and are one of the most customizable flooring choices out there. They give the floor an updated appearance into the contemporary world we are living in now. Changing the plank width in the old 2 1/4" to 5" surely makes your room more modern. It adds depth to a room making it feel bigger and modern. The usage of wide plank-sizes for hardwood floors is another trend that's transitioning into 2018 quite smoothly. The only distinction is the broad planks aren't only being used for hardwood flooring, we see that this trend being incorporated into other types of floors too. You may find a broad board in only about any sort of flooring in the marketplace. The industry really took this appearance and ran onto it, producing broad- plank choices in luxury vinyl, Coretecvinyl, laminate, engineered wood flooring, as well as wood-look tile flooring! This is undoubtedly a trend growing in popularity across the flooring market.

Bamboo Flooring,
There is really no other flooring that has the look of natural bamboo. It is exceptional in appearance,
as well as incredibly strong and durable. Strand Bamboo floors is actually 3 times harder than Red Oak floors (to give you an example). Bamboo has come a long way, as far as being an eco friendly and sustainable material, with LEED licensed specifications. There's Strand Bamboo flooring that's FSC Certified and formaldehyde-free, which makes it a safe selection for any area in your home.

Made In America,
More and more people are leaning toward eco-friendly and sustainable material for their own flooring. Even though Bamboo is one of the more popular flooring options within this category, it is becoming more evident that individuals like the idea of "homegrown" and "manufactured in America." There's also a far smaller carbon footprint made whenever your flooring is not being sent half way round the world, which is also why we're seeing a rise in domestic hardwoods. Domestic hardwood means it had been manufactured from a tree which naturally grows here from the U.S.. The most popular domestic hardwoods are White Oak and Red Oak.

Today's flooring customers are looking for more character in their flooring. They're searching for habitmade, and special ways to have their flooring stand out from the remainder. One growing trend that helps give flooring a character of its own, is incorporating texture, or distress. There are a couple options for creating feel which aren't necessarily new, but are definitely making a statement and influencing a wide range of flooring materials. To attain the distressed appearance, there is a couple of ways you may go about it... Installing reclaimed hardwood is one. Reclaimed hardwood flooring is growing in popularity , again, a trend continuing on from 2017. Reusing wood salvaged from some thing like an old barn is a superb way to recycle old stuff. Salvaged wood can either be utilized responsibly or re-manufactured into flooring planks we utilize now. It's its own unique characteristics and variations. This substance will not carry a hefty price tag, but just think about all of the trees you are saving, and just how great of a conversation piece it could be if you are entertaining guests! How many men and women get to say "My floor has been made from a 300 year old barn." Another way to achieve the distressed look is by using a texturing method. Adding texture to your floors gives it a completely new look and feel. It's a brand new way to produce your floors unique in personality, besides just changing the color and finish. It's also a great idea for pet owners also! The textured surface really avoids scratches from pet nails well. "Hand Scrapping" is the most popular way to add texture to hardwood flooring. This technique is applied just like it sounds... the wood is literally trashed by hand, developing a unique feel and look to your hardwood floor. With a wire brush to scrape on the surface of the wood does not create quite as much texture hand scrapping, but it does expose more of the woods natural grain lines. The wire brush application creates a floor that basically looks like it aged really well. Additionally, this is another good solution for pet owners.

There are pre-finished wood flooring products, both solid and engineered, that are made with the surface. We have even seen this textured look span to luxury vinyl, coretec and laminate flooring as well.

Make your wooden floor shine even if you are living on rent!

Even if you are living in the smallest apartment or on an old fashion house, there are couple of things that you can do in order to achieve the effect of modern and good looking home area. Changing the whole furniture is expensive and pointless specially when you are living on rent. 

There are things that can be made in this specific case like painting the floors, staining or you can use a simple chemical etching technique and apply a new top coat of finish, it works on plastic and laminated floors. If your floor is in need of a bigger renovation procedure you can speak with the apartment owner to deduct from your rent and do sanding. 

If you choose to sand your floors you need to call upon the experts because even one mistake in process will ruin the flooring, this is why experts do it well, fast and with attention to each detail. Sanding is the procedure that can transform your environment in many ways like - better light reflecting, better breathing because there is less dust collecting after sanding, good looking, no more scratching and of course long lasting , so contact us if you need more information any time you wish! 

Visit our website because we can give you a FREE sanding quote!

Deptford Floor Sanding