Which Flooring Type Can You Sand & Polish?
Does the look of your tired and dull timber floors make you depressed? Have the years of use taken their toll on your floors?
Sanding and polishing can work wonders in restoring your floorboard’s natural beauty, making them look as good as new. However, not all flooring types are created equal, at least when it comes to this process. So, it’s essential to understand which flooring types are compatible with sanding and polishing.
This article takes you through the different flooring materials and their suitability for sanding and polishing.
Solid Timber Floors
Solid timber floors are an excellent choice for sanding and polishing due to their durability and thickness. Whether it’s oak, maple, pine, jarrah, spotted gum or another hardwood variety, solid timber floors can withstand multiple sanding sessions over their lifespan.
Sanding removes surface imperfections, scratches, and stains, while polishing adds a glossy finish. With proper care and maintenance, they can last for decades to come.
While DIY sanding is possible, it requires skill to achieve a professional finish. Hiring a professional floor sanding service ensures a smooth result without the risk of damaging the floor.
Floating Floors
Floating flooring doesn’t require any nails or glue to secure it to the subfloor. Instead, the individual floor planks or tiles interlock with each other to create a “floating” effect above the subfloor.
Floating floors, be it real wood or synthetic materials, can often be sanded and polished. However, it’s crucial to determine whether the top layer is a genuine timber veneer or a photorealistic paper laminate. While genuine timber veneer can be sanded and polished, paper laminates cannot.
Hence, it is safe to leave it to the professionals as they have the expertise and knowledge to assess your flooring accurately and determine the most appropriate maintenance and restoration methods.
Parquetry Floors
Parquetry floors are made of small pieces of wood arranged in geometric patterns. They can be sanded and polished to restore their beauty. The solid wood construction of parquetry flooring allows for sanding to remove surface imperfections and scratches.
However, due to the intricate pattern and smaller individual pieces, sanding parquet floors requires precision and care to avoid cross-grain scratching. It’s safe to leave this job to professionals who understand the nuances of parquetry flooring.
Natural Stone
Natural stone floorings, such as marble, granite, and travertine, cannot be sanded in the same way as wood-based floors. However, they can be polished to achieve a high-sheen finish.
Though durable, sanding can make the stone brittle and prone to cracks. Polishing natural stone floors involves specialised cleaning and polishing products and is best left to the professionals.
Cork Flooring
Made from the bark of cork trees, cork flooring looks like wood but offers unique properties such as resilience, sound absorption, and eco-friendliness. They can be sanded and polished if they meet specific thickness requirements.
Floors with 4 mm or more thickness are suitable for sanding and polishing, while thinner floors may be too delicate to withstand the process.
Consult a professional floor sanding service to determine whether your cork floors are suitable for sanding and polishing.
Bamboo Floors
Bamboo floors are technically a type of grass rather than wood. So, can it be sanded and polished? Yes and No. You can sand and polish bamboo floors, provided they meet certain criteria.
- Your bamboo floor should have a thickness of 3-4 mm.
- Solid bamboo floors can be sanded and polished like hardwood floors, but strand-woven bamboo may not be suitable for sanding as it could cause the strands to come loose.
- Formaldehyde used during manufacturing can be released into the air when the floor is sanded, posing health risks.
- Sanding bamboo floors can reveal glue pockets, as some bamboo products contain up to 20% glue.
Ready to breathe new life into your tired floors? From solid timber to cork and bamboo, our expert team from Abacus Flooring ensures flawless results. Contact us today for expert sanding and polishing services in Sydney, Northern Beaches, and North Shore to restore your floors to their former glory!