Tag: floors

Basement Renovations

How to Clean Hardwood Floors

Laura

One of the best types of flooring is hardwood flooring that enhances the beauty of the interior of a house and adds style and attraction. It is one of the top used flooring systems because its material will lasts for many years and it is easy to clean. Using a vacuum cleaner is a most common way to clean the wooden floors but there are also some more good ways to clean hardwood floors. It is not at all a difficult task to clean hardwood floors but it is important to know the correct techniques in order to do it easily and quickly.
Following are some of the best ways of cleaning hardwood floors:
It is claimed by many experts that washing a hardwood floor with water is the simplest and easiest way and it usually does not cause damage to the wood. But you have to make sure that the floor should not be wet for a long time after cleaning. It should be dried out sooner rather than later. If there are holes or aberrations on the flooring, the water should not be allowed to go into these holes so it cannot start destroying the wood.
The floor ideally should not be made too wet or the water should not be splashed on the floor. In its place a mop could come to salvage. A wet mop would be a good option to have the dampening effect on the floor. It is important to remove the dust and debris before pulling the mop on the whole floor. Use a broom if it is manageable to clean off the dust or a use a vacuum cleaner.
Using a mixture of vinegar and water would also prove very helpful in cleaning hardwood floors. It is quite convenient and easy to do and it provides a great shine and cleanness to the floor.
Cleaning hardwood floor with wax also required at regular intervals to give shine to the lacquered floors. But some people tend to use it too many times, which is undesirable because it would mean spending a lot of wax to remove later.
There is also another effective way to clean a hardwood floor which is to boil some water and dip few black tea bags in it. Wait for the water to cool down and then dispense it in a cleaning bucket, take a mop, squeeze it and clean the floor.…

Renovation House

Refinishing Hardwood Floors the Right Way to Give You the Best Results

Laura

When you want to refinish your hardwood floors, you know that there’s a lot of work waiting for you. You need time, you need a lot of patience, you need the right materials and tools for the job. However you also know that the result is worth every effort you put into it.
But how do you know when your hardwood floors need refinishing in the first place? It is at the moment you realize that your flooring is rather dull, worn out, no longer shiny and beautiful. When you feel in your heart that something needs to be done about it. You will know exactly when that is.
The first thing you need to do is sanding the floor and for that you have to carefully remove every piece of furniture that is standing in the way. Also see if there are any nails on the floor. If you find any, pound them down the surface so they are not sticking out. Also if you have any carpet staples, pull them out along with any tracks might be around. To actually perform the sanding job you need to have a sander. You can either buy it or rent it.
One thing I forgot to mention, throughout all this work you should have either the windows open or a good ventilation going on. There will be lots of dust and debris created through the refinishing process and you don’t want to inhale all that.
Once the sanding is done, you will have to stain your floor. First remove any sawdust that you might find on the surface. Now use a rag to add some stain to the corner of the floor before applying it everywhere. You want the colors to match. When you are sure you got the right color on, go for the entire surface. For heavier coating use a brush, but if you go for the lighter coating, continue with using the rag. Just simply go with long and steady strokes along the wood grain. Don’t go against it as it will show.
The last thing you need to do is actually apply the final refinish. It is of polyurethane which you need to mix well right until you see air bubbles forming. With a roller or a brush apply the mixture on the wood grain and avoid leaving marks. Then leave it to dry. This could take a couple of hours or more, so be patient. Once it’s dry, you need to apply a second layer of coating. Then wait again to dry, and you’re actually done. Now you can clean everything nicely and put back the furniture. However avoid leaving marks by dragging the furniture on the surface, you don’t want to scratch your newly refinished hardwood flooring.…

Home Maintenance

How to Take Care of Hardwood Floors to Last As Long As Possible

Laura

Your hardwood floor was a big investment and you probably want it to stay in good condition for as long as possible. However, you probably missed out on how to take care of it from the hardwood floor installer. You can actually hire people to maintain your hardwood floor but it can cost hundreds of dollars to do so. But with the right knowledge, you can do it yourself and save money.
The first thing you probably thought about is to how to keep the shine on your floor. Before you go out to buy any floor cleaner, you have to figure out what kind of flooring you have. By using the wrong products, you can damage your floor and make it look worse. For example, if you have hardwood flooring, you want to find cleaning products that work with hardwood flooring.
Keeping your floor clean is important. You should dust every single week and clean up any mess you make to prevent stains from setting in. What happens when you leave a stain is that they set in and you have to really scrub it to get it out. Scrubbing the floors can scratch and damage it so you want to avoid that as much as possible.
The second thing you can do is to use rugs. If you want your hardwood floor to last as long as possible, you will want to use rugs as they protect the floor. They are great as decoration as well. When using rugs, you also want to use rug pads as the dirt and dust trapped under your rug can scratch the floor. The rug pads will hold the rug in place so you don’t accidentally move it and do a number on the floor.
The third thing you can do is to use wax to make your floor shine. You want to buy a wax that will work with the type of flooring you have. You can apply a small amount of wax and use a cloth to rub the wax away. This works wonders for laminate flooring and will really bring your flooring back to life if it has lost its shine over time.
The fourth thing you have to take into consideration is making sure you use the right vacuum cleaner for your hardwood floors. You want a vacuum cleaner without a beater bar so that you can get into boards. The dust can really build up and regular vacuums cannot reach in to get all of it out.
So those are some of the things you need to know to take care of a hardwood floor. Your hardwood floor installer may not have told you everything you need to know. So it is best to learn everything you can to keep your floor in great condition. With the right care, your floors can last decades. Make sure you use the right products and cleaning methods depending on the type of floor you have.…

Basement Renovations

3 Types of Floors to Choose for Your House

Laura

There are several factors that you need to consider before you decide the type of floor you want for your home. Whether you are building a new house or redesigning your old house, remember that a well-designed place is usually a very pleasant house to stay in as it will have the decor you needed. Once you understand just what it means to have great flooring, you will have a much clearer picture of why it is important to design and select flooring carefully. So what exactly are the types of floors that are available and what are some of their advantages and disadvantages?
• Tiled Floors: Tiles are one of the most popular flooring materials throughout the world. Many people go for these because they are, first of all, some of the cheapest materials available for flooring these days. The tile industry over the years has made remarkable progress in terms of quality and designing of the tiles. Another thing that makes tiles so appealing is the fact that they are very easy to maintain with regards to cleaning and repair work. Tiles are also very popular because they have a way of blending in with almost any type of walls in the house, and they enhance the beauty of the house without much effort being put into the whole project.
• Hardwood: Hardwood flooring is another type of flooring method that is widely used by homeowners from all over the world. This is because of the multiple advantages that it has. The main advantage is that hardwood flooring looks beautiful and adds a certain charm to the house that no other flooring can, and not to mention the hike it gives to the real estate value of the house. However, hardwood flooring is not cheap and you will also need to hire skilled professionals to lay down the floor. Another point to be kept in mind about this type of flooring is that it is not easy to maintain. It requires careful cleaning, polishing and, of course, let’s not forget the dangers of termites. If you do not take care, you just might find your floor eaten right out from under your feet.
• Vinyl: If practicality is your thing when it comes to flooring, then vinyl is certainly the best material for you. Vinyl floorings are the cheapest of the lot and also the easiest to maintain. They are also available in various designs, so if you want that wooden flooring look and cannot afford real wood flooring then vinyl is certainly the way to go. The other thing that makes this a great option for flooring material is the fact that it is very durable. This material can also be used in almost any type of climatic condition that exists in a given area.
These are just a few and most basic of flooring techniques that you can use to make your house a great place to live. The choice however, is dependent on many factors …