How To Restore The Shine Of Old Parquet

Many readers ask us whether it is possible to return the former shine and beauty to the old parquet floor and what is needed for this? Of course you can. It is necessary to invite craftsmen and recycle and varnish the floors that have worn out over time. But before inviting parquet flooring, we want to give some useful advice.

First, remember that there are two types of looping machines. Some, more powerful ones, work from a 380 V network, others, weaker, from 220 V. If you live in a house with an electric stove, there are no problems: there is a 380 V socket right in the kitchen. But if "you have gas in your apartment" and all the sockets are 220 V, you will have to find out if there is a three-phase current source nearby. Secondly, not all firms agree to work with the old parquet, and take orders only for the new, freshly laid one. Therefore, you will have to look for a company that will agree to perform such work.

Now about the price. It ranges from $ 1.5 to $ 12 per m2. This amount includes directly the parquet scraping itself, as well as the application of several layers of varnish (usually 2-4). Moreover, the cost of varnish, as a rule, is not included in the price. Private traders and small firms charge about $ 1.5 to $ 5 per 1 m2 of looped parquet. Large "offices" with modern equipment - $ 6-12 / m2.

But! For this money, reputable firms conclude an official contract with you and give a guarantee for their work, which you are unlikely to achieve from small firms.

And then, to get the final cost, you need to add the cost of the varnish to the price of the work. The price depends on which varnish company and which country of origin you have chosen. Imported varnishes, of course, are more expensive than domestic ones. For example, a 2.5 liter can of Russian varnish will cost about 250 rubles, an American can (3.5 liters) - 800 rubles, and 5 liters of Swedish varnish - 78 dollars!

And a few more tips:

1. If the company is not going to conclude a formal agreement with you, find out how, if something happens, then defects or defects in work will be eliminated (which is quite likely). It is clear that firms entering into a formal contract charge extra money for their services. So think for yourself what to prefer - to risk and save or not to risk by paying more.

2. If there is no three-phase current in the house, find out if the company has machines that operate on 220 V.

3. Get ready for the fact that the representative of the company may ask whether your parquet is new or old, and, alas, refuse if the parquet is not "freshly laid". And he certainly will inquire what area you intend to cycle in one sitting. The minimum area that most firms undertake to process should be at least 15-20m2.

4. Decide what kind of varnish you want to cover the floor with (domestic or imported), and also decide in advance whether you will buy the varnish yourself or not.

5. Before starting work, it is better to remove all furniture from the room, remove carpets and curtains.

6. After the end of the process, be sure to check with the masters how long it will take to bring furniture into the room and generally walk on the "new" floor.

7. And finally, after all the work is completed, we advise you to thoroughly vacuum the room, including the walls, and generally carry out a comprehensive "anti-dust" treatment. And it is best to do it several times. And do not be surprised if the dust settles again for some time (perhaps quite a long time). Alas, this is almost inevitable.