Why you need to add repairs to your floor sanding business
When you offer wood floor sanding as a service you will come across wooden floors in all different states and conditions. Of course, the aim for you is to offer your service of sanding and refinishing the floor but some floors may need a little more than that. I am referring to minor repair work. The question I am wanting to answer in this blog is where do you draw the line in terms of repairs to wooden floors and yet avoid losing your customer?
How far you are willing to go to satisfy your customer? Simply let the client know at the first visit what you can do and what you can’t do and make sure it is included in your quote. Your client will feel more trust and appreciation if you state exactly what you can do and what you can’t. Below I have included some of what I would call minor repairs that I would consider offering your client.
Filling. Large holes (within reason) and damaged areas will need attention. These can be filled with our Morrells 2 component filler that comes in a range of finishes to match certain floor styles like in the attached photo below. Alternatively with large holes or missing knots there is a piece of equipment that can be used to fill these, Knotec Kit. Working like a hot glue gun It injects resin to fill the void and show similar characteristics to a knot in the board. Gaps between boards can also be filled with products like the Bona Mix & Fill or Pallmann Pall-X Filler . However only gaps under 3mm can be filled with these product. Otherwise, the filler will fail. Between boards can be filled with Pallmann Joint Filler.
Board replacement. When carrying out board replacement it is always better to use any of the client’s boards they have in an inconspicuous area. Like stair cupboards or other areas of the house that will be not be visible. The idea is to swap out damaged boards for boards that are in better shape. The alternative is buying reclaimed boards. This is popular with Pine floors, reclaimed pine boards can be found on the internet but they are hard to colour-match the existing boards you are working with. In the past, I have been to some jobs where they have asked for a re-sand and finish on a pine floor where some of the boards have been changed for new. And this is what I was up against. As you can see if we were to apply a finish to this it would stick out like a sore thumb.
Expansion Gaps. These are necessary on all wooden floors and re normally hidden beneath skirtings. They are a key part for the floor to help the wood expand and contract naturally in the different seasons without causing damage to the floor or any walls or skirting around it. Those found on most 5-finger parquet or herringbone are usually filled with cork as in theory this is soft enough to allow the wood to flex. Over years this can deteriorate or even come out, to replace this you can either use cork strips with a wood glue adhesive or use spray cork. Here at ultimate floor care we strongly advise using the spray cork as this can fill any size of expansion gap. This product can be found here.
