Floor Sanding & Refurbishment
Experience the Transformation of Your Wood Floors
At Gerrard & Co, we are your trusted partner in the art of wood floor transformation. Whether it’s your cosy home, bustling office, vibrant school, or serene church hall, we can breathe new life into your wooden floors, enhancing both their aesthetics and functionality.
Our comprehensive service encompasses the following key steps:
We start by carefully sanding your wood floor, erasing the marks of time and wear. This process not only restores the floor's natural beauty but also ensures its longevity. We're equipped with the latest tools and techniques to achieve an almost dust-free sanding process, leaving your space clean and fresh.
We believe that your wood floor should be a reflection of your unique style. That's why we offer custom staining options, allowing you to choose the color that best suits your space. Whether you're looking to match existing decor or create a bold statement, we've got you covered.
To ensure your newly transformed wood floor stands the test of time, we can apply protective coatings. These coatings not only enhance durability but also add a subtle sheen, giving your floor that perfect finishing touch.
Our track record speaks volumes about our commitment to excellence. We recently undertook the task of sanding and finishing wood floors at NOKIA UK, earning the contract thanks to our exceptional work standards and our dedication to keeping our equipment state-of-the-art.
When you choose Gerrard & Co for your wood floor transformation needs, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best. We take immense pride in our work, and our advanced equipment, boasting the best dust extraction technology available, ensures that your space remains clean and dust-free throughout the process.
Rejuvenate Your Space
Our services aren’t limited to just aesthetics; they also make economic sense. Floor sanding can provide a fantastic makeover for both residential and commercial properties, often being a more cost-effective option compared to completely re-flooring your space.
All our work comes with a comprehensive guarantee, and we are fully insured for your peace of mind. Our experienced team has been transforming floors in the Hertfordshire area for many years, offering a professional, reliable, and consistent service every time.
At Gerrard & Co, we don’t just restore wood floors; we rejuvenate spaces, turning them into areas of beauty and functionality. Whether it’s an office building, a school, a gym, or a sports hall, our wood floor restoration expertise knows no bounds.
So, entrust us with your wood floor transformation project and witness the remarkable difference we can make. Together, let’s bring out the best in your wooden floors and create spaces that you’ll be proud to live and work in.
Let's Start a Project
If you’re ready for the best floor sanding service you can imagine then get in touch with us today.
Frequently Asked Questions
'Floor sanding' or 'wood floor restoration' are the terms we use to describe the process of removing the top layer of a wooden floor with sand paper to reveal the untouched wood beneath. We do this with professional floor sanding machines.
Once the top layer of old varnish and dirt is removed and the floor is level we start to use finer sand paper to make the wood nice and smooth. Every type of wood has to be treated differently so knowledge and experience is important. The aim is to sand off as little as possible, whilst still removing any imperfections and creating a nice level smooth, scratch free surface.
Older floor sanding machinery or the type of machinery generally available from hire shops are not very good at collecting the dust which can lead to lots of airborne dust, once in the air it tends to travel all over the house and can be quite difficult clean. Airborne dust is also not very good for your health especially if you suffer from any allergies or asthma, and dust from some wood types can be potentially more harmful than others.
The machinery we use is the best on the market for picking up the dust it creates, the standard belt sanders are fitted with a bag that collects most of the dust but unfortunately a small amount of airborne dust can still escape. However, to help combat this we use a mobile dust extractor from Dust Control UK (worldwide specialists in dust extraction, http://dustcontroluk.co.uk/) and this impressive machine works hard to help remove the very finest of dust particles. You can never eliminate 100% of the dust, but we feel this comes pretty close.
In our experience it is very unusual to come across a floor that cannot be restored. The only times this is the case is if the floor has been over sanded in the past especially with engineered floors, the other instance is if the floor has been badly damaged by woodworm. A small amount of woodworm in pine floorboards is not a problem and actually makes a nice feature. If the surface looks really bad and has been neglected for many years we can still remove the surface and restore the floors natural beauty.
There is nothing more beautiful than a restored original wooden floor in a period property. Not only does it look stunning but can also add value to your home. It is often the case following modern day property alterations such as extensions, that parts of the original floor have suffered damage or are simply missing. This is where we really leave our competitors behind - As specialists in this area, we can source reclaimed flooring to best match the existing floors in your property as well as carry out intricate repairs in order to restore your floors former glory, and make additions look as if they were always part of the original installation and design.
We have carried out such repairs to National Trust properties, for example, Anglesey Abbey in Cambridge. And are often called upon by Interior Designers who deal predominantly with period properties, for our expertise.
Yes, we can. Parquet floors often consist of pine, oak, walnut or mahogany and when restored, really are a thing of a beauty. Parquet flooring requires specialist care and equipment to ensure restoration and repair is carried out correctly and to a high standard. As mentioned above, dealing with the unique, unusual and more intricate aspects of wood floor restoration really is our passion and where our expertise lie.
This is hard to give an exact answer to as each job is different but as a guide an average sized room of approximately 20m2 will take 2 days to complete. One day to sand the floor and another day to seal it. Applying the seal does not take long but as we usually put down 3 coats we have to wait for each coat to dry. This means that if we are doing 2 average sized rooms we only need 1 extra day as they can be sealed at the same time.
There are a few options which will be explained during a free site visit but there are two main types of finish, floor lacquer and floor oil. Floor lacquer is a polyurethane seal that is applied to the floor after it has been sanded, 3 coats is normally enough and there are a variety of types. Floor lacquers also come in different sheens; Gloss, Satin and Matt. Floor oil gives a more natural look to the floor and treats the wood from within rather than creating a surface layer.
This is different for every floor and depends on the amount of traffic it receives. If you remove your shoes when you come home and walk about in slippers it can last for 10+ years, but if you have dogs, teenagers or like a party then it will likely need to be done a little sooner. We recommend setting up a maintenance regime to help extend the life of the floor. A good door mat and regular sweeping or vacuuming can really help as grit on the floor will act as an abrasive and wear the seal away. We also recommend having the floor resealed when it starts to show signs of wear; we can do this in 1 day as there is no need for sanding and is only a fraction of the price of the original sanding process.
If you are incorporating the sanding with decorating the room, we recommend decorating first so any paint splashes or damage can be sanded off. The floor sanders can mark fresh paint on the skirting boards so we recommend leaving the final coat on the skirting until after.
The lacquer takes between 1-2 hours to dry but takes up to 3 days to fully cure. The floor can be walked on after about 3 hours but care will need to be taken so we recommend sticking to socks and slippers for a couple of days. We also recommend keeping any furniture off for at least 5 days and no rugs for a week to allow the floor to breath. It is also recommended to get as much airflow over the floor as possible for a few days to speed up the curing process.
This is an area in which we are passionate about and are often in contact our product and machinery manufacturer, to enquire about latest updates. They are focused on innovating environmentally friendly products with low VOC emissions (High VOC products evaporate dangerous chemicals into the surrounding air which are harmful to breathe in.) Fortunately, the days when wood floors were installed and coated with heavily solvent based products are over. The lacquers we use, for example, are water based rather than solvent based and therefore have low solvent contents and have VOCs as low as 1%. They are constantly working towards improving the 'environmentally friendliness' of their products.
We work in both domestic properties and commercial properties. The type of commercial properties we tend to work in are; National Trust properties, schools, leisure centres, community centres, churches, museums/galleries, theatres, local council buildings, high end commercial offices, restaurants and pubs.