Every wood floor is different, so we work to a set process rather than a fixed script. Here is what actually happens, from your first message to us clearing up on the last day.

Belt sander removing old finish from pine floorboards

How we work, step by step

Getting you a price

Send a photo by message or email and we can usually tell you straight away whether a floor needs sanding, repair or replacing, and give you a ballpark. For bigger jobs, or where the floor is in poor condition, we come out and look at it — free, and with no obligation. A written quote follows either way.

Repairs before anything else

Loose, split, squeaking or missing boards are fixed before a sander touches the floor. Sanding a loose board only gives you a smooth loose board. Where boards are missing we match the species and age as closely as we can, using reclaimed timber where that gives a better match than new.

Stain and colour samples on day one

If you want the floor stained, we sand a small area and lay down samples on your own boards, in your own light — not from a brochure. Timber varies enormously, and a colour that looks right on oak can look completely different on ninety-year-old pine.

For a whitewashed or limed look we sample two coats of Bona white primer, which gives a cleaner, more even result on pine than a single heavy coat.

Five stain tones sampled on a customer’s own pine floor — Five tones, sampled on the customer’s own boards

Stain samples taped out on a pine floor — Taped out and left to dry before choosing

Gap filling, if you want it

Filling is optional and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth doing. Resin mixed with your own sanding dust suits hairline and moderate gaps. Wider gaps are better filled with pine slivers, cut and glued in so they move with the floor instead of cracking out of it.

The final sand

Progressively finer grits until the surface is even and closed, with continuous dust extraction at the machine. Edges and corners are finished by hand — that is the slow part, and it is where a rushed job shows.

Finishing

Hardwax oil, lacquer or oil, applied in two or three coats with proper drying time between them. We will recommend a finish based on how the room is actually used, not on what has the best margin.

Furniture and clearing up

We move furniture around the job as we go where that is needed — you do not have to empty the house. When we finish we take the rubbish away and leave the area clean. That is part of the price, not an extra.

If we are fitting a new floor

The process is much the same, with two differences at the start.

Help with what to order

If you are buying the materials yourself, we will tell you what to order and how much — including the wastage allowance people usually forget. Ordering short mid-job is the most common way a fitting week turns into two.

Subfloor first

Moisture tested, levelled and prepared before anything is laid, and the boards acclimatised in the room for five to seven days. Most floor problems that appear a year later started here.