FAQ
Floor sanding FAQ in Montreal
Practical questions
The Synteko varnish is an alcohol-based varnish that will give your floors an authentic look. This type of vitrifying coating is appreciated by floor sanding contractors and parquet installers because it gives hardwood a beautiful appearance. However, it contains very aggressive solvents that are dangerous to health. Moreover, this product is not the most resistant to abrasion. For more information, consult our table of advantages and disadvantages of alcohol-based varnish.
The Crystal varnishes are urethane-based vitrifying coatings made from petrochemicals. They are particularly toxic and especially harmful to humans. Their composition exceeds Canadian standards for VOC concentration. Applying Crystal varnish therefore requires the use of a mask. When applied to raw or sanded wood, its finish gives floors a shiny, plastified appearance. Note that crystal varnishes are moisture-cured and therefore require specific application conditions. In addition, residents must leave the premises during and for a few days after varnishing. They must also remove all food from the house to avoid contamination. You can consult our table of advantages and disadvantages of Crystal varnishes.
The hybrid varnish is a vitrifying coating used for finishing floors – or other wood surfaces – that uses an oil-modified resin and is water-soluble. The resin molecule is chemically modified, giving hybrid varnish its particular character. This protective product has the property of having a low VOC content and being environmentally friendly. When used for floor varnishing, it gives sanded wood an amber, warm tone reminiscent of so-called traditional varnishes. Handling hybrid varnish generally requires the services of a hardwood flooring specialist to avoid mistakes. To learn more, consult our table on the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid varnishes or our article explaining the composition of hybrid varnishes.
A water-based varnish is a vitrifying coating used for protecting wood floors – or any other wood surface – that uses a water-based solvent. This type of product usually contains a low concentration of VOCs and is environmentally friendly. In recent years, the quality of water-based varnishes (commonly called latex varnishes) has increased dramatically. Some of them are now more resistant than traditional oil-based varnishes. Floor finishing with water-based varnishes is becoming increasingly popular with consumers! For more information, you can consult our table of advantages and disadvantages of water-based varnishes or read our article explaining the nature of water-based varnishes.
On average, wait at least 24 hours before walking lightly on your floor. However, if you have opted for oil-based varnish, do not walk on your newly restored floor for 48 hours. Moreover, high heels should be avoided, especially during the varnish curing period. Before replacing furniture permanently, wait a minimum of 72 hours. The coating must be completely dry before you can place furniture back on it. If you’re unsure if the varnish is completely dry, wait a bit longer to be certain not to damage it. It’s highly recommended to apply felt pads under furniture that will be occasionally moved, such as kitchen chairs or a living room coffee table. Read our recommendations to know what to do after floor sanding work. You can also consult our advice to find a wealth of useful information to keep in mind to properly preserve your hardwood floor finish.
Our team has compiled for you the best floor varnish suppliers and the best natural wood oil suppliers. What makes water-based varnish more resistant is its high amount of resin composed of urethane or polyurethane, as well as certain additives that strengthen the varnish’s composition. There isn’t one particular varnish that surpasses all others, but we greatly appreciate working with Bona water-based varnishes because they offer a consistent and durable finish quality. Having tried several, Bona Traffic HD would probably be the best varnish we currently know on the market for a variety of reasons. You can consult the article about water-based varnishes if you want to learn more about their composition. Of course, the best varnish is always defined according to your needs. L’Artisan du Plancher Montréal is a floor sanding specialist with recognized expertise. Contact us for more information.
It is not necessary to remove the moldings since the machines we use to sand the edges of your floor make any visible trace of varnish disappear. However, if you plan to change your moldings soon, we advise you to remove them.
If you decide to use oil-based products like crystal or Varathane, we recommend emptying your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Foods that are vacuum-sealed can remain inside your house. Here are some examples: canned goods, sealed mason jars, vacuum-packed foods, etc. If you want to keep your food in your home, we advise you to use a non-toxic water-based varnish so that your food can stay inside your home for the duration of the work.
Floor Maintenance
In all cases, if you need to wash your parquet, use a mild soap with a neutral pH. We recommend cleaning your floor with the range of cleaning products associated with the protective coating that has been applied to your floor. For example, if your floor has been varnished with a Bona brand varnish, you should use maintenance products of the same brand to ensure compatibility. If you want to know the different options available to you, you can consult our page on maintenance products for varnished floors and maintenance products for oiled floors.
In the vast majority of cases, a floor covered with glue can be salvaged, but it’s a very tedious job. It needs to be sanded deeply until a uniform wood surface is obtained to eliminate all glue residues. Once at the finishing stage, we recommend using a water-based varnish that won’t cause reactions and will properly protect your floor’s surface. Conversely, if you choose to use another type of varnish, you risk it reacting poorly with the glue residues that are still embedded in the crevices of your hardwood floor.
The simplest trick to even out the color of a discolored floor is to wait long enough for the sun to do its work. After some time, your floor should regain a more uniform appearance. The other possibility is to have your floors sanded and varnished to regain uniformity across the entire wood surface. We offer a dust-free floor sanding service that will improve your experience during sanding. L’Artisan du Plancher Montréal offers eco-friendly and high-quality floor coatings for a flawless finish!
The black lines you observe between your wooden planks can be caused by acidic detergents that are harmful to your hardwood floor. It can also happen that excess water penetrates between the boards of your hardwood floor during cleaning and produces black cracks. In either case, improper maintenance is often responsible for the blackening observed between the wooden slats. If you want to maintain the beauty of your floor, we recommend carefully reading our varnished floor maintenance guide or our oiled floor maintenance guide.
There are several elements that can cause this spacing between your planks. The first, most common one is caused by seasonal changes. Indeed, during the winter season, heating devices decrease the relative humidity in the ambient air, which causes the wood slats to contract and creates spacing between the planks. In summer, humidity increases and the wood returns to its initial shape by gaining volume. You can mitigate this natural phenomenon by maintaining a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of about 50%. A poor installation method is the second element that can contribute to the instability of your wooden floor. To obtain a stable floor and thus avoid unexpected wood behaviors like spacing between slats, it is necessary to have a professional floor installation. Finally, the third element is related to Crystal type varnish. When used for finishing a slatted floor, it unites the slats to each other. But during the winter season, as the wood contracts, the varnish will always give way at its weakest point. This is what forms wide gaps at an interval of about six or seven planks. This phenomenon is called the block effect.
L’Artisan du Plancher Montréal has a powerful dust-free floor sanding system and works with the most technological equipment on the market. Our team of master sanders takes all necessary precautions to minimize the inconveniences caused by floor sanding. However, a fine dust may sometimes end up at the bottom of your walls. You will then need to use a microfiber cloth to get rid of it. Beware of apprentice sanders who claim to be able to accomplish dust-free floor restoration, as the task is much more complex than it appears!
Wood protection
It is not recommended to clean a varnished/vitrified hardwood floor with wax or maintenance products containing oils. In the long run, you risk making the maintenance of your floor increasingly difficult and deteriorating the protective layer. Moreover, when it’s time to restore it, there’s a good chance that the varnish won’t react well with the wax. If you want to have a beautiful varnished floor while minimizing the risks of reaction, opt for water-based varnishes. To properly preserve your floor, use maintenance products for varnished floors or maintenance products for oiled floors, depending on the coating that has been applied to your floor.
Of course! But you should know that the vast majority of new home builders install plywood risers because the price is lower than solid wood risers. We have acquired an undeniable reputation in sanding and finishing steps and risers. However, understand that the veneer of your risers can only withstand one or two sandings. It’s artisan work! And that’s why we start by stripping them and then carefully sanding them to achieve the desired result. Fortunately for you, L’Artisan du Plancher in Montreal is a renowned specialist in stair sanding.
Don’t worry, floor yellowing is a common phenomenon that can occur a few years after applying an oil-based varnish. Indeed, Crystal is a product that deteriorates over time. If your wooden parquet is varnished with a Crystal-type coating and is exposed to high light intensity, its color can change over time. For your yellowed floor to regain its original color, it needs to be sanded again until the wood grain is exposed, then protected with a new varnish – this time with a water-based varnish to avoid future discoloration. This way, it will regain a lighter appearance that will last for years.
Currently, water-based varnish technology has surpassed that of traditional oil-based varnishes, such as Crystal and Varathane. The high abrasion resistance of water-based varnishes is partly due to the addition of aluminum oxide in their formulation. In recent years, several water-based varnishes have therefore become more resistant than conventional varnishes. You should select the best varnish suppliers on the market to benefit from a quality product. We recommend opting for a higher quality product that will guarantee good long-term durability rather than choosing solely based on price. You can consult our article specially dedicated to water-based varnish brands to learn about the best varnishes available on the market. Note that there is also natural oil finishing as an alternative to vitrification.
Floor repair
A floor repair is sometimes necessary. When the situation allows, it is possible to perform a local repair on the affected area of your floor. But often, the result is not optimal. If you want to have an absolutely perfect result, we will have to completely refinish the floor in the room that has suffered the damage in order to completely eliminate the scratches/scuffs on the floor, as if it had never been scratched. You can learn more by consulting our article on hardwood floor repair.
It is certainly possible to restore a stained floor. To sand a stained floor, simply sand the surface down to the raw wood and then proceed with the finishing. However, it’s possible that some wood slats may remain darker than others. You will then have the option to apply a stain to even out your floor or to keep it in its current state, natural. Please note that if you wish to change the color of your parquet, it is always easier to use a darker color than the previous one.
It’s possible that a simple floor refinishing might make the color change caused by the plant disappear, but in the vast majority of cases, we will need to perform a floor repair, which means removing the damaged wood planks and replacing them with new slats.
The oiled floor is undoubtedly the easiest type of flooring to repair. You’ll be happy to learn that you can repair it yourself. You just need to read our oiled floor repair guide. If you prefer to hire a professional, L’Artisan du Plancher Montréal also performs floor repairs, you just need to contact us.
Pre-finished flooring is repairable, but it will require some manual skill. Be aware that if you have never done a floor insertion before, this operation can be difficult or delicate. If you wish to perform the floor repair yourself, you can consult our pre-finished floor repair guide.
Varnished flooring is undoubtedly the wood covering that is the most laborious to repair. The repair methods are complex and differ depending on each situation. If you have questions about this, we recommend you contact us directly.
