There is nothing like the look and sound of a well-polished wooden floor. Polished wooden floors are becoming more and more popular and many people are discovering that they have the skills needed to do it themselves. In the past, having exposed wooden floors was considered the same as having your home’s concrete slab as a floor finish but tastes have rapidly changed.

Wooden Floors

If a house doesn’t have a concrete slab, chances are it will have floor boards. Some newer houses use different materials and technology, but if your house is over 20 years old this should be the case. If you aren’t sure what type of flooring you have underneath your carpet, tiles, linoleum or other covering, try peeling back a corner to have a look under the covering. Your floor covering probably consists of its top layer as well as an underlay or foundation. Some tiles and linoleum are laid on large pieces of wooden board. If you have tiles you will need to have a look under the house to see what the floor is made of.

Floating Floors

It is popular at the moment to lay what are called floating floors over a concrete slab to get the effect of wooden floor boards. Some floating floors are made of real wood while others are synthetic. Make sure you know what your floating floors are made of before attempting to sand or polish them.

Types of wooden floors

• Timber boards – these are ideal for sanding and polishing, and sanding is the ideal way to remove previous layers of sealant or colour. The best wooden floors are those using hardwood.
• Cork – this flooring can be more sensitive to sanding and should be handled with care but can be sanded and polished. Cork is great for insulation, both for sound and temperature.
• Particleboard – designed to be covered rather than to be sanded and polished, you should seek professional advice.
• Parquet – beautiful flooring that is designed to be sanded and polished. Parquetry flooring can be quite old so make sure you treat it with respect.

Other floors

• Concrete – concrete floors can be polished so that they have a high sheen finish. Most concrete that is polished is poured for this purpose though.
• Natural stone – should only be sanded by a professional as stone can crack easily when manipulated.
• Marble – if you are lucky enough to have marble flooring then keep the sander away from it. Marble will already be smooth, if it has been damaged, seek professional advice.

Most hard floor types will benefit from a good polish regardless of their type. If you are polishing a floor within a high traffic area you may want to use a more resilient type of polish. Polishing can make a floor slippery so ensure that you use wisely and test for slip level before letting other people walk on it, you don’t want to be responsible for an accident.