Parquet floors – restore or replace?

Frequently, when taking ownership of an apartment, it comes with an old parquet floor. The condition of the floor should be assessed to establish the actual wear. Conclusions as to whether to restore or replace it can be made later. If the parquet floor looks to be in very poor condition at first sight, don’t worry, because, most likely, the parquet is restorable.

The older the parquet, the better the wood is

Ancient solid wood parquet floors store both footprints of history and large swaths of time which have strengthened the wood. The longer the wood is exposed to air, the harder it gets, with the pores shrinking as time goes by. A board dating back several decades has reached its ultimate hardness, therefore it will serve twice as well. The floor has been fully laid and has settled, with each board making up this large “body”, preventing the floor from moving, and serving as a unified whole – this is why it is worthwhile to retain the old parquet and restore it.

How to eliminate parquet defects?

• The first noticeable defects could be scratches. They can be easily eliminated by sanding the floor.
• Black stains on a wooden floor that form in spots where the floor has been affected by moisture may draw more attention. Sanding may remove such black stains from the upper layer of boards. Hiding underneath is fresh, beautiful, and strong wood, processable and ready for oiling or lacquering. If the floor has been continuously exposed to moisture, and the black stains have seeped through the board and made it visually old or dark brown, unfortunately, the only solution is to learn to live with the damaged spot. The parquet may be tinted dark, thus concealing the stains.
• In the case of floorboards squeaking, the sound may be removed by filling in the board foundation using a dedicated paste. In case of squeaking at the level of the foundation or supports, more serious repair works are required.
• Restoration of old parquet is also possible by separating it from the base floor. It is no accident that parquet removed from ancient buildings is stored as a valuable treasure, sawn into pieces, restored and then laid again on some other or the same floor. Due to sawing, the board will lose a few millimetres of its volume, but it will look excellent, furthermore, the antique effect will be noticed and appreciated by any expert.

Is there any point in restoring a painted wooden floor?

Frequently, flooring in apartments is made of pine and spruce boards. Under the numerous layers of paint, a beautiful and vital wooden floor is hidden. These floors may be also be hand sanded. Pine board floor will be softer than oak floor, but, for daily use, where there is the choice between a restored pine board floor or any of the fast solution synthetic floorings, you will clearly win by retaining and restoring the existing natural wooden board floor.