Frequently Asked Questions

Most single rooms are sanded and finished in one to two days. Larger areas, repairs or extra coats add time, and we set out a clear schedule with your fixed quote.

Far less than you might expect. Our dust-free sanding systems capture around 99% of dust at source, so your home stays clean while we work. We also protect doorways and skirting before we start.

We visit for free, look at the floor and give you a fixed written quote. The price on the quote is the price you pay, unless you ask us to add extra work. You can request a quote online in a couple of minutes.

Yes, we carry £5m public liability insurance. Certificates are available on request, which schools, churches and landlords often need before work starts.

Our floor restoration comes with a 3-month service guarantee. If something is not right with our workmanship in that time, we come back and put it right. Gap filling is excluded, because wooden floors move with the seasons — see our service guarantee for the details.

Not at all. We work room by room, and most customers stay at home throughout. Our water-based lacquers and low-VOC oils have very little odour, so day-to-day life carries on.

Light foot traffic in socks is usually fine after a few hours. Furniture can go back after 24–48 hours, and rugs after about a week while the finish fully cures.

We are based in Esher and cover the town and surrounding areas. If you are just outside the area, send us a message — we can usually help for larger jobs.

Parquet runs in several directions, so we sand it in stages at different angles. A final pass with a fine-grit buffer removes swirl marks and leaves an even surface ready for oil or lacquer.

Many older parquet floors were laid on bitumen adhesive. It is not a problem for sanding, but loose blocks need cleaning back and re-fixing with a compatible adhesive. We check this during the survey and include it in the quote.

Smaller gaps are filled with resin mixed with fine sanding dust, so the colour matches. Wider gaps get thin pine slivers glued in and sanded flush. Our gap filling guide compares the two.

Our 3-month guarantee does not cover gap filling. Wooden floors expand and shrink with the seasons and with movement in the building, which can open small cracks in the filler. We use the most suitable method for your floor to keep this to a minimum.

It usually makes a real difference. Open gaps between boards let cold air up from the void below. Filling them makes rooms feel warmer and helps keep dust out.

We do. After sanding we apply test patches on your timber so you can see how each shade looks in the room before we commit. Find out more about our staining service.

Oak, pine and other woods all react to stain in their own way. Sample cards are only a rough guide, so testing on your own boards is the only reliable way to choose.

We strip and restore staircases, including treads, risers and handrails. Sanding stairs is detailed hand work, and we finish them with a hard-wearing lacquer or oil. See stairs stripping and restoration.

Usually, yes. We work on every other step so you can still get up and down, then complete the rest the following day. We plan this with you before we start.

Most staircases take two to three days from stripping to final coat. Lots of paint layers or turned balusters can add a day, which we include in your quote.

We regularly work during holidays, evenings and weekends. Most halls are finished in a few days, so disruption is kept to a minimum.

We can. After sanding we apply sports-grade lacquer and can repaint court markings to your layout between coats so they are sealed in. Read more about our school floor restoration.

Yes — we supply RAMS and insurance certificates for every commercial or public project. Our team is used to working on occupied sites with site inductions and access rules.

We can work evenings, nights and weekends so the office stays open. Dust-free sanding and low-odour finishes mean staff can be back at their desks quickly.

We have restored many church and community hall floors. We treat older floors with care and choose finishes suited to busy halls. See churches and community halls.

The cost depends on the size of the floor, its condition and the finish. Our prices page shows typical starting prices, and we confirm everything with a fixed written quote.

For many jobs, yes. A few clear photos and the room sizes let us give a guide price quickly. We confirm it with a short visit before work starts, so the final quote is fixed.

Oil soaks into the timber for a natural look and is easy to spot-repair. Water-based lacquer sits on top as a hard-wearing film that copes well with spills and busy households. We recommend the right one at the survey — or read our guide to oil and lacquer.

They are. We use low-VOC oils and water-based lacquers that are safe for children and pets once fully dry. We suggest keeping pets out of the room for the first 24 hours, and keep claws trimmed to help the finish last.

We usually apply two coats of hardwax oil or three coats of lacquer. Busy hallways and commercial floors can have an extra coat for added protection.

Usually, if the wear layer is at least 3 mm thick. We check the wear layer during the free survey, often by lifting a threshold strip or a floor vent. Our engineered floor guide explains more.

A solid wood floor can be sanded many times over its life. Each sand removes only a very thin layer when done properly, which is why period floors are still going strong after a century.

In nearly every case, yes. We re-glue loose blocks, replace missing ones with matched or reclaimed timber, then sand and finish the whole floor so the repairs disappear. Find out more about parquet floor repairs.

Usually, yes. Period pine boards sand up beautifully. We punch down nails, replace split boards and sand back to fresh timber. Read our guide to Victorian floorboards for the full process.

Please clear the room of furniture, rugs and small items before we arrive. We can help move heavy furniture if we know in advance. Our preparation checklist has more tips.

A normal plug socket and parking close by is all we need. Our machines run on domestic power, and we bring all tools, materials and dust sheets.

In most cases, yes. We clean, sand and treat the boards with a UV-resistant decking oil that brings back the colour and reduces slipperiness. See our decking restoration service.

We work on decking from spring to early autumn. The timber needs a few dry days so the oil can soak in properly. Our guide to decking after winter explains how to prepare.

Once a year is a good rule of thumb. South-facing decks in full sun may need it sooner. Regular oiling stops the wood drying out and greying.

We swap out damaged boards and re-fix loose ones as part of the job. New boards are blended in once the whole deck is oiled.

We match the species, width and age of your boards wherever possible. Once the floor is sanded and finished, repairs blend in. Learn more about wood floor repairs.

Most creaks are caused by boards moving on their fixings. We screw loose boards down into the joists and fix any movement in the joists below. Read about causes and fixes.

Often, yes. Light marks often sand away, while cupped or blackened boards are replaced and blended in. The floor must be fully dry first, so we take moisture readings before starting.

If the finish is worn but the wood is not damaged, a maintenance coat is often enough. It takes a fraction of the time of a full sand and keeps the floor protected. See re-oiling.

Busy areas like hallways and kitchens usually need a maintenance coat every one to two years. Quieter rooms can go much longer. Our guide to re-oiling and re-coating helps you judge.

Yes — as long as the wear has not reached the bare wood. We screen the surface, clean it and apply a new coat of lacquer, giving back an even, protective finish without a full sand.

Use a soft brush or vacuum, then a barely damp mop with a wood floor soap. Avoid steam mops and bleach or multi-surface sprays. Read our care guide for a simple routine.