Sanding & Preparation Work

When working on a freshly built deck or an older one, the very first thing you need to do is to go around the deck with a hammer and nail punch, punching the raised nails or tightening screws with a screwdriver. This helps prevent deck movement and means you can sand without damaging equipment due to raised nails and screws.

For older decks, sanding usually involves sanding down a greyish, dull & weathered top surface. This should be straightforward work for a sanding machine. Either a belt or a drum sander works well. Because timber generally warps a lot more outside in the direct sun, you are more likely to encounter high and low spots, and you cannot expect a deck to be as level as an interior tongue-and-groove floor. In particular, bad cupping or high spots will require more work than a straight, flat surface. Sanding timber floors on the interior can often prove to be more of a process.

In most cases, a light sanding will be enough to prepare the desired smooth surface for the first coat on new or old decks.

Decking Oil vs Stain

There are two main types of deck finishes:

• Decking Oils
• Decking Sealant

Decking Oil

Decking oil is a finish that penetrates timber, making it look better and preserving it. It soaks into the wood grain, helps keep moisture out, and helps prevent the negative drying effects of UV exposure. Without any treatment, the decking will rot and age rapidly. Decking oils are available in clear and coloured variations. Note that decking oils are often labelled as decking stains if they contain pigment that alters the timber’s colour.

Benefits

• Regular reapplications rejuvenate colour and stop dry timber’s grey, dull appearance, keeping it looking new.
• Decking oils are more interchangeable because different brands can be combined. They are also more geared towards the DIY market because they are easy to apply and maintain.
• A wide surface area can be efficiently spread per application, meaning you need to use less product.
• It contains UV filters to slow UV damage, particularly with tinted variations.
• Rain and moisture-proof
• Replenishes natural oils in the timber, maintaining a fresh, organic look
• Easy application & maintenance, including easy localised maintenance for high foot traffic areas
• Less slippery that other finishes because it allows the timber to keep its natural grip-like texture

Decking Stains & Sealers

Decking stains or acrylic seals sit on top of the timber as a transparent or colour-tinted coat that seals the surface layer and prevents moisture and sun damage. This varnish like finish prevents fungal growth and rotting wood, prolonging the deck’s life. Deck sealer is great for slowing the effects of water damage but can be more susceptible to harsh UV rays. Often, deck stains are available in a range of wood shades, which can further reduce sun damage to the deck.

Although not always recommended, you can leave sealers much longer before they need reapplication, but a lot more work and skill are required when they do. However, even with sealer, direct sunlight will dry the wood’s natural oils, leading to fading and cracking. That is why I recommend recoating sooner; preventative measures will ensure you have a healthy-looking & functioning deck for much longer.

Benefits

• It seals the deck with a plastic-like topcoat layer, which is highly durable for foot traffic.
• It [events mould and rot entering via the surface of the deck.
• Colour-pigmented stains can help reduce further UV damage from the sun.
• Decking stains generally dry quickly. They can often be walked on, and furniture can be added back to the deck within a day of application.
• Reapplication may not be needed as frequently as decking oils.

Colours and Tints

Whether you use an oil or a sealant, you can opt for transparent colours, and most products will also have various stained colour options. Generally, even a natural finish may have a slight pigment in it to help guard against UV rays. With darker tints, it is harder to keep the colour even when applying it yourself, and the colour will change more as the sun hits it, which may make it harder to recoat in the future. Light browns are my favourite because they look natural, are easy to apply and match up on recoats.

Remember:

• It is better to stay ahead of schedule regarding retreating your deck regardless of the finish you use. I recommend yearly retreating, which will mean the deck may outlast you.
• Signs of wear and weathering, such as dryness and discolouration around the edges, may indicate that your timber needs a coat.
• A deck with a roof over it will undoubtedly last longer than decking that’s constantly exposed to the sun.

Decking Oil & Stain Application

Applying either decking oil or sealant is very straightforward and should ultimately be directed by supplier guidelines. After the first coats, no minor sand or cutback is generally required.

• A sheepskin or brush decking applicator on a stick is the easiest and most effective way to apply the finish.
• You will need paintbrushes to cut in the edges.
• Decking oil will require more rubbing and working into the timber to soak in.
• With acrylic applicators (sealers), the first layer will be heavier and soak in much more than the lighter application needed for the second layer.
• For timbers such as typical hardwoods Merbau, a couple of coats of either decking oil or sealant will be enough. Keep in mind you will need to reapply a coat after a year.
• Treated pines may soak up more product and require an extra coat.
• The objective for coating is not to flood the product and aim for a nice, even coat.
• Constantly stir the tin well to ensure colours and all ingredients are mixed well.
• Test a small patch first and allow it to dry so you can observe how the dried result will appear.

Drying Time

Oil takes longer to cure and soak into the timber between coats, so you may only be able to apply one coat daily. Acrylic products have a quicker drying time, and you can fit a few coats in one day. Regarding putting furniture back on the surface, suppliers will advise you from 24 hours to a week after the last application regarding when it is safe. Regardless, it is always important to follow the instructions on the side of the tin for the best results.

Weather, temperature and humidity also significantly affect how long a product takes to dry. The drying process will be slowest in still, cold and damp weather. A warm breeze will make drying time quicker.

Keeping Your Deck Looking Like New

Decking oils don’t keep the “new look” for as long as sealants do and require more frequent maintenance to keep the deck looking fresh. However, the good thing about decking oils is that they are easy to maintain. DIYers with no skills can easily use a mop like a decking oil applicator and rub oil on the deck annually with no hassle.

Decking sealants are mostly an acrylic blend, similar to top wear on an engineered floor. Many suppliers recommend maintenance each year. However, most customers contact more every 4 – 5 years for a recoat. Once the sealant wears off, the deck will require resanding before you can recoat, requiring a lot more work than decking oil reapplication. Decking sealants are a lot harder to work with, and people are more likely to hire professional services such as my own to work with them.

Product Recommendation

Sikkens is a brand I regularly use for oils and seal top coats. Although their oil-based product Centol Hlse can be used as a stand-alone decking oil, it can also be used as a base coat for Sikkens Centol Deck, a top coat. This system effectively gives you the best of both worlds with maximum protection for your timber. However, as soon as the surface coat wears off, it will require resanding and refinishing like a typical sealant. In my experience, most customers won’t do it this way, and that can be a shame because it works well.

A product such as Ultra Deck combines surface coat acrylic polyurethane and oil, another brilliant option for consideration.

Choosing a Suitable Timber for a New Deck

I felt this blog post couldn’t be complete without giving some recommendations and guidance regarding timbers you can use for your decking:

Treated Pine

Years ago, there was a period when using treated pine was a popular choice. Affordability and availability certainly played a massive part in this. Even when pine is treated to protect against the outside elements, I believe there are better choices for decking. It is very porous and will soak up, allowing moisture to come in and cause long-term problems such as rot. It will also soak product meaning, extra coat, and maintenance work. So you may spend more on something that doesn’t look good in the long run.

Merbau

It is becoming much more popular and covers a large percentage of new decks built. It is a versatile solid timber and is naturally oily. Its self-treating and natural makeup has made it resistant to rot and corrosion for decades. Moisture has little effect on it compared to other timbers. It has a striking appearance and is available in various shades and colours. It is one of the best-looking and long-lasting options for your deck.

Tallowwood

I have sanded tallowwood decking, which has been there for over 100 years and has not received maintenance for 30+ years. It is still in fantastic condition and looks beautiful after I have sanded and treated it. It is a personal favourite of mine, and I highly recommend it for decking timber.

It is also high in natural oils with high tannin levels, making it resistant to decay. It makes the perfect decking around the swimming pool or wet environment.

Jarrah

Mostly from Western Australia, it is a beautiful red hardwood that is great for decking. It is highly resistant to termites and comes in a range of natural colours. I would consider it one of the best-looking timbers on a deck. It is not as oily as other decking timbers, but when sanded and oiled, it can look amazing. It can be a showpiece for decades.

Send us Your Project Photos

Please send us finished photos of your DIY deck finishing or timber flooring project. We would love to see before, during and after shots. We can showcase your handy work on our social media or blog.

The post Guide to Sanding, Decking Oils & Stains appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

Wonder no more because we asked the best shop fitter we could find the most important factors to consider when embarking on an office fitout, restaurant, club, shop, or gym. There are some clear points average business owners should consider during their planning phase.

Shop Fitters Achieve More With Their Renovations

It’s that simple, but you can’t blame a business owner’s efforts to save time and money. But for the same reason, they have professional employees to manage their work; business owners should hand project management to an experienced shop fitter to complete a fit-out.

For many reasons below, a good shopfitter will help in the following ways:

• Managing your budget & expectations
• Getting in the right experienced trades, they regularly work with
• Work around you and your business
• Source the right materials at the right price
• Communicate & trouble between you and the trades so you do not have to
• Get a better final product
• Save you time and money

The bottom line is to get a project manager who knows what they are doing to conduct your fitout. Of course, you pay for the privilege, but it is worth it for the heartache and money you will save and the superior result you achieve. They know exactly what trades to use and when to come in, and they won’t miss critical unforeseen steps in the order of the shop fit out. Nothing is worse than having to rip something out to redo it.

Work Environment Benefits of a Good Shop Fitout

Executing an excellent commercial renovation is a way for business owners to express the DNA of the business through the working and retail environment. Surroundings can alter people’s moods and emotions. If a potential customer enters a messy or poorly designed shop, then there are chances of losing business inevitably increase.
People who work in a clean, well-designed and thought-out workplace also perform better, which helps productivity and the overall mood and morale of the business.

Workflow efficiency is also key in business, as we know. The movie The Founder (2016) clearly illustrates Ray Kroc making McDonald’s fast food restaurants more efficient. He went to extreme lengths to draw floor plans in basketball courts, testing them to determine the most efficient workflow combinations. This is where “fast food” was born or marketed to the mainstream. As shop fitters, we don’t have to go to this extreme (the information is out there), but planning an efficient work area contributes to the overall success of a business.

Project Management Budget

Yes, there is truth in the saying aim for the stars and hit the moon in many circumstances, but the budget elephant in the room needs to be addressed early on, and things must be within your financial reach. A shop fitter must have good project management knowledge of material and labour costs to facilitate this process effectively.

In my opinion, the first four questions that we need to ask the client are:

1. How Big is the Space for the Shop Fitout?

   Particularly for smaller office fitout spaces, the goal is to utilise the space most effectively. The last thing you want to do is add too much in, lose more space, and feel cramped. Including things such as glass windows will open up the space.

2. How Much Do You Want to Spend?

   Are the fit-out goals in line with what is financially viable? If they aren’t, what are the most important things to get done, and are there cheaper and more effective ways of achieving a completed commercial renovation within budget?

   Understanding the space and what the business owner wants to do with it is essential, which will lead you to discover the non-negotiables in terms of what needs to be included, no matter what.

   Some people are a lot more fluid with their budget and have the money to spend for a premium finish, but it is still essential to illustrate to them where costs can be saved for an identical result should they reconsider.

   I believe in the “less is more” philosophy for many reasons. I like to design fit-outs in a way where you can choose to add more later if you decide.

3. Are You Overcapitalising in Some Areas?

   Are there things that just aren’t necessary, have no effect, and are unnecessary for the business to perform? If these addons didn’t exist, would it matter? It may also mean using cheaper, well-performing materials in some areas. If a material is for structural purposes only and will never be exposed, it will not have to be as visually appealing as a material that does.

4. Do You Own the Premises, or Are You Leasing?

   It goes without saying that if the business owner does not own the premises they are doing the fit-out, they may be limited in what they can do for the following reasons:

   • They are not allowed to do certain things to the building because the building owner won’t allow it.
   • It is not worth investing all this time and money when they are only improving someone else asset, and they may only be leasing there for a few years.

   That being said, quite often, business and building owners can strike a deal with each other where the building owner acknowledges and encourages the fit-out by financially contributing. They do this because it is a great way for them to increase the value of the premises that they own.

   Either way, communication is key, and you must ensure that the landlord won’t force you to return the space to its pre-existing condition before moving out. If you own the space and intend on moving out one day, is the fitted-out space going to be appealing for another business to move in

5. At what rate is business growing?

   Based on the rate at which your business is growing, will this space be optimal for you in a few years, or will you need new premises? If you hit your growth targets and KPIs, does the space allow you to be reconfigured as you grow within the current fitout design?

Commercial Fitout Materials

Business owners regularly shortchange themselves by choosing their materials without guidance. They don’t know what is out there at what cost and whether it matches the building code. Wrong materials used that are not up to Australian standards in a commercial sense mean that part of the job may need to be done again. Shopfitters and tradies have access to wholesale material prices because of the amount of volume they purchase.

Suppliers are always competing for tradespeople to open up accounts with them and will offer the best price for a constant supply.

Commercial Flooring

Since this article is on a flooring website, let’s discuss flooring. For lack of better words, a complete commercial project needs good-looking, hard-wearing and often moisture-resilient flooring. Depending on what flooring you choose, it can also increase the resale value of your home or business.

Remember:

• Buy flooring from knowledgeable professionals – A good shop fitter will always have access to wholesale prices and a rep with many decades of flooring experience who genuinely cares about the job and its long-term practical success. They will be able to run through flooring comparisons with you to find the right type and brand of flooring. If the area is a high foot traffic area with constant exposure to moisture, the flooring rep should be able to recommend a waterproof flooring product that will hold up and hold its beauty for many years to come. Ordering the right amount of flooring may seem simple, but it can be overlooked entirely without the right professional advice and measuring floor guidelines.
• There is no in-between with flooring – It will complement your space positively or negatively, depending on your choice.

Use Seasoned Professionals to Lay Your Flooring

Floor laying is a profession. Builders should always engage in the services of a professional layer to achieve a flawless finish with no future downfall or risks. A good floor layer is worth their weight in gold.

A professional layer will help ensure the following:

• Protective barriers are used to prevent moisture from coming up through the concrete.
• Suitable expansion gaps are left for the flooring to grow and shrink.
• The floor is adequately acclimatised.
• The floor is neatly finished around the sides and is 100% pointing in the right direction.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

Carpet tiles are an extremely effective way to carpet an office fitout space. Anyone can lay them and be picked up and moved as required. They can be easily replaced if needed.

Meeting Business Objectives in a Work Environment

I understand that business owners have their ideas for their space, and I acknowledge that that’s why they engage in our services. A professional second set of eyes helps set the limitations and open realms of possibility for the business owner. I couldn’t count the number of times I have heard something like, “I didn’t think of that, and it will work so much better” from the business owner.

You don’t always have to choose between these two things, but the second is more important than the first if you have to choose:

• Is it going to look good?
• Is it going to work functionally?

Sometimes, your space isn’t ample enough to do what you envisioned, so keep this in mind.

Office Fitout Technology

Technology is constantly revolutionising and changing. I love it and get very excited about it. If there is a practical opportunity to introduce technology, I will undoubtedly put it forward to the client, especially when there is aesthetic appeal and long-term cost-saving benefits.

Smart Glass technology is an area of interest now with the ability to control and change visibility instantly. Good glass technology also allows for more noise cancelling and insulative properties, which are very important given the work climate and busy office space.

Interfaces and control systems for lights, aircon, cameras and alarms can all be controlled and monitored remotely through wifi from the touch of a phone.

I also encourage business owners to have paperless offices as part of their fitout, which is great because printers and copiers take up so much space and create unwanted clutter. Less printing is also far better for the environment, and I am all about sustainability where it’s practical.

Managing the Decision-Making Process

Three huge questions must be answered in detail before the commencement of any fit-out:

1. As a Business Owner, How Much Time Do You Have for the Fit-out?

   Most fit-outs need to be completed within a time frame, and everyone needs to be on the same page as to when this is approximately and what is achievable. Currently, WA has never been busy with construction, meaning there can be delays in trades, and clients need to be in the loop regarding this.

2. When is the Fit-out Done?

   Referring specifically to the times of day the work can be completed where it will have minimal effect on the business operations. The time of day the work gets completed also significantly affects cost. For instance, it will cost far more for tradies to complete work after regular business hours, but sometimes unavoidable if the business still needs to keep the doors open during trading hours.

3. What Stages Do We Need to Develop and Plan?

   Having a clear work plan means the business still completes structured work hours, and everyone knows what type of work will get done and when. This allows workers to get work done in available windows with minimal disruption to flow. This is critically important when power and water must be shut off at various times.

Choosing Your Tradesmen

A good shopfitter will have their own trades they regularly use.

This is beneficial because:

• They are trustworthy
• They have worked together for a long time
• They know their skill level
• They are hired at their best rate
• The shop fitter can quote on their behalf instantly

Of course, a business owner is entitled to bring in their trades, but by doing so, they will lose some key advantages of letting the shop fitter organise their own. The fact is that working relationships take time, and introducing a new tradie into a team will often bring added pressure to a job.

The elephant in the room: At the best of times, commercial fit-outs are stressful for tradies, and having someone new to teach and manage in a stressful situation can mean emotions and tempers are likely to flare. Overall, this increases the likelihood of dissatisfaction from the client, mainly if tradesmen are complaining about each other.

I like all tradespeople to go out and look at the job themselves to help formulate a realistic timeline relative to theirs and our schedule.

Good Contingency Plans Also Need to Be in Place

For so many reasons, times and plans have to change, and so often, construction only sometimes happens like clockwork. I like to give tradies options by providing time frames of the job and preferred times I would like to have them in.

From there, I try my hardest to keep things on track, even if it means the odd late night here and there. I also encourage all trades to communicate even if it is bad news and they run behind for various reasons. It manages immediate expectations and keeps everyone happy.

Commercial Interior Design & Branding

Logos and branding have a colour pallet; I always look for subtle opportunities to tie this in. Usually, interior designers, business owners and signwriters also have this well covered, so tying it all together creates a great physical representation of the business. As the shop fitter, I feel that my listening skills and expressing my interpretation here are critical to ensure we are all on the same page.

Design Trends

Many interior design trends are coming up in 2024, particularly in offices.

Here are a few of my favourites over the past few years:

• The outside is coming in – there is a lot more greenery popping up in offices these days, which I love. Hanging gardens from the walls and roof is a pro way to introduce greenery without taking up any working space.
• Open-style offices – are making a comeback, which is great to see. People can access small office pods for private phone calls and online meetings, meaning any noise is easily contained in an open space. Using glass dividers and walls also makes an office appear more open-plan.

Approvals

A good shop fitter will know the approvals you need and the legislation you must abide by before work starts. Yes, it means going through government planning and getting building permissions, and it can be a process, but it is far better to be approved than risk having to tear something unapproved down, wasting time and money. To understand more about fit-outs and permits, we recommend reading this PDF.

Shannon can be reached through his bio from this post if you have any more questions or inquiries related to the above. 

The post Commercial Fitout Project Management Guide appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

The looming possibility of indefinitely spending way more time at home ignited a desire to focus and change interiors. The concept that you don’t have to go to work to work was officially born and here to stay, and most people work better in a warm and well-thought-out space.

Modernisation and technology are changing how we live and utilise space.

Whatever the reasons, interior design is ever-changing, so I’ve partnered with Online Flooring Store to reveal what I think based on the market’s new and renovated interior trends will encompass.

What are the Hottest Interior Design Trends?

Neutral Colours

Credit: carmenjavier.co

It’s no surprise that working from home continues to be popular, with many adopting a hybrid approach (since the pandemic, people are putting a lot more thought into home offices and working spaces to look professional for events such as Zoom or in-person meetings, opting for neutral colours is always a safe bet and allows the area to interchange between a living and working environment.

Bright, pastel, monochrome, and solid colours have their place and are in trend right now.

Green Plants

Credit: carmenjavier.co

Adding green plants in the interior not only provides a pop of colours without breaking the bank but also invites a living, organic presence in our environment. It makes us feel good ~ a part of nature inside our homes. Research suggests that indoor plants not only purify the air but have calming effects on your mood, stress levels and blood pressure. With outside areas shrinking and interiors growing, plants will continue to make their way into the home more and more.

Furniture

Bright linen furniture coverings have made a huge resurgence in the market due to their many options and versatility. Wholistically, you can anticipate rooms, each with its personality; however, natural colours, materials, and less synthetic options have been the preference. Bamboo fabrics, pure silk, particularly for cushions, 100% cotton and linen are all trendy choices.

Rustic furniture and restored pre-loved pieces are also back in terms of their texture and charm.

Kitchen Isolation

Credit: renonation.sg

The kitchen has undergone the most significant changes. It has become popular to have it as more of a separate and closed space, becoming less accessible for people to gather and talk around where food is being prepared. In particular, the kitchen counter has been fenced off as a “no-go zone” and is becoming less exposed, with hygiene being the main drive for this change.

More use of the Kitchen may also fuel this trend as this increases the likelihood of it being in a “messy state,” so to speak. This space can be regarded as the most attractive room in a clean state but can also be undesirable to look at when it is in use or dirty. So, closing or having the ability to section off the Kitchen means you can achieve privacy from guests if needed.

So many things fuel this trend, but as a whole, people are once again eating out less and cooking more at home, prompting huge changes to this space.

Expert Insights From Levi Saunders

Online Retail Specialist & Flooring Content Creator

The kitchen has well and truly earned its place as the cornerstone of the home in the last few years. Functionality and durability are key for a flooring product because the space getting a workout more than ever. Spills, moisture, scuffs and stains are always a threat, so we have compiled a list of aesthetically beautiful and suitable flooring options for your kitchen space in this section for many years to come.

Hybrid Living Spaces in Smaller Homes

Home design is constantly changing especially with the social shifts and work habits mentioned above. Functionality has become the cornerstone of design and although some kitchens may be more closed off, hybrid and multipurpose areas are the cornerstone of living spaces coupled with some function-specific areas. For instance, a predominate living area in a smaller home may also have strong home office functionalities such as:

• A pull-down desk
• A dining table that can convert into a desk
• Storage that hides workstation supplies

Emerging fashions for window treatments include minimalist sheer curtains with clean lines and soft neutral colours are safe choices; the use of quality materials such as wood, bamboo, silk, or velvet; and textures like pleats and realistic grain hardwood are optional to elevate the look.

Light Fittings

I personally love using dimmable lights, the main health and wellness benefit of it is that they allow you to adjust the brightness of the lights to suit the needs of the space while saving energy and helping the environment – needless to say your bulbs will last longer.

Downlights are on their way out and LED strip lighting is back! Stereotypically, downlights give a harsh and direct light, which architects and designers are steering away from as they need to create versatile living spaces.

Both table lamps, mid-level floor lamps, floor sconces and oyster wall lighting are becoming increasingly popular to give that extra ambience to the room.

Brass Fittings & Hardware

The resurgence of brass fittings has been moving for a while and is continuing. I think a huge reason for this is it can go with a lot of things and easily cross over into new future trends and is a more timeless choice than past fitting options.

Black fittings were trendy for a long time but are exiting the market as quickly as they became popular. People have grown tired of this option, and it’s increasingly seen as boring at stock standard budget option for renovators (which I guess is completely fine if that aligns with your renovation goals).

Flooring Choice for Interior Designers

The great thing about flooring these days is that types such as vinyl, laminates and hybrids all have an innate ability to mimic the look and feel of various colours and textures.

As far as rugs are concerned, Jute rugs have become very popular. This fits with the whole trend of versatility; some of these rugs can also be used inside and enclosed outside areas.

Are You Up to Date?

Interior design trends change from year to year, so it’s important to stay up to date. Subscribe to our email for the latest trends every year.

The post Interior Design Trends to Watch Out for in 2024 appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

Additionally, more people seem to be prepared to have a shot at installing the product themselves and finding, to their delight, that it is not the mystery that they thought. Any old negative stigma around specific flooring types has more or less dissolved as technologically advanced and brought us realistic and robust flooring types, ticking off the needs list of all Australians.

When I hear the word ‘trends’, and being a ‘spreadsheet’ kind of personality, I like to ask myself: what flooring types are improving and how? From there, I have an educated direction of where 2024 flooring trends will likely occur, even if the average consumer isn’t aware of it yet.

In this blog, I will cover some exciting innovations in the flooring industry and, towards the end, also talk about some trending aesthetics. Although it has to be said, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to identify and write about what’s hip like everyone else will.

Outside of this, my only other word of wisdom is to dream big and inquire early because, from a flooring point of view, your goals have never been more affordable.

Here goes:

Hybrid & Laminate Technology Continues to Improve

This is an area where constant improvement occurs, and the lines are becoming a little blurred.

Laminate and Hybrid Flooring have until now been separate categories due to the nature of their construction. Laminate is differentiated by the fibreboard core and melamine wear layer. Hybrid is differentiated by its waterproof properties.

So if a product has a melamine wear layer but is waterproof, where does it truly belong? Well, within the next 2 years, we will know the answer to that question, and the answer will be ‘where the market thinks it belongs.’

What will this development provide? Well, it will give you the scratch, stain and burn resistance that has always been integrant to Laminate Flooring. In addition, it will be waterproof, just like a hybrid floor. And it is here. Now you can find these products with us that are highly scratch, stain and burn-resistant. Eclipse Aqua Schild is a perfect example of this.

This new breed of Flooring is fantastic for a few very compelling reasons:

• Laminate is an old technology on a constant journey of innovation. Anything new, such as hybrid, has to go through a teething period to iron out any issues, most of which can only be identified after they have been installed, with you being the test subject!
• Because of a new and updated construction taking the very best parts of laminate, the products can be produced into 1.8m+ boards, and many customers will agree that bigger is better.
• The surfaces have become even better looking, and you are more likely to find high-quality Embossed In Register (E.I.R.) tech in the Laminate category. You can discover more about what that means in this blog.
• Laminates are typically 60% lighter than SPC hybrids of the same thickness, making them much lighter and so much cheaper for freight without sacrificing the stability of the product.

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Hamburg

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Bremen

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Berlin

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Dresden

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Cologne

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Frankfurt

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Stuttgart

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Nuremburg

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Munich

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Mannheim

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Rostock

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Essen

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Rosenheim

Eclipse Aqua Schild Laminate Flooring Pilsen

The Result

What we are left with is an excellent waterproof product that gives you back all of the advantages that have always been there with laminate, as well as the waterproof aspect of hybrid. While the Eclipse Aqua Schild is marketed as a laminate, you will see these products marketed as Hybrids simply because this is where the market is at. There will be a blurring of the lines for a while while these products find their natural place in the market. An excellent example of this is the Clever Choice Hybrid Shield, which is, a waterproof laminate but marketed as a Hybrid.

The lines between the two categories of hybrid and laminate are becoming more and more intertwined. The hybrid badge is used to combat any remaining stigma and reluctance (if any) towards laminate. All said and done, we are left with a chart-topping product that rides the line between both categories.

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Atlantic Spotted Gum

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Atlantic Blackbutt

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Black Mussel

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring True Tulip

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Zebra Ark

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Crown Cone

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Sunrise Tellin

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Coffee Bean Trivia

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Scotch Bonnet

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Lettered Olive

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Triton's Trumpet

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Sand Dollar

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring King Helmet

Hybrid Shield Hybrid Flooring Tiger Lucine

Bamboo Trends Will Increase

Bamboo has fluctuated in popularity depending over the years on what’s in fashion, and it is currently very popular with sales increasing. It had a huge run years ago, and what suppliers have realised is that smaller natural-coloured ranges are more popular given that this is a natural product.

Much of the backlash against bamboo came from bad industry practices. For those of you who ever bought Bamboo, was the conversation ever had about acclimating the product? On the rare chance that it was, how long was it suggested you acclimate for? Sadly, this and a host of other bad practices led to the downfall of a great category. However, every time that a product hits the bottom, it bounces, and Bamboo springs back into the air!

Sustainable options are becoming more popular amongst consumers, and bamboo with its low maintenance and rapid regrowth period, makes it a great choice for folks who are looking for an easy lifestyle while being environmentally conscious.

In comparison, growing trees such as Australian Eucalypts (Spotted Gum, Blackbutt, Blue Gum, Brushbox, etc,) take years to decades, whereas bamboo grows very quickly. It is a strong product and looks excellent for those who just love the natural look. This is also a very cost-friendly product in comparison to timber products.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

Make no mistake, bamboo flooring needs a healthy acclimatisation period before installation. It is composed of strand-woven bamboo, which is sliced and compressed together very densely. Strand woven bamboo is 2.5 times heavier than regular bamboo. Because of the density, the product will acclimate to its environment, but it will take longer for the atmosphere to penetrate the board and equalise to your surroundings. The bottom line is; to treat the product like it's bamboo, not a hybrid or a laminate.

SPC Flooring With a Timber Top

Yes, you read correctly. As the heading says, this is an SPC (Stone Polymer Composite) product with a natural timber veneer on top. An unseen advantage of this product is that you need the best part of the timber to create the veneer, as there can be no imperfections due to the thinness of the veneer, and there are no pattern repeats that you would have with a regular SPC hybrid floor, as you are using real timber in place of a printed picture.

Given that the product has a very thin veneer, you have to be careful not to gouge it, but you would have to be careful with any other product anyway. No timber product will take the same punishment as a laminate will, and owners need to know what they are buying into and how to care for it. The huge upside is that once the product is installed, there is no way to tell that this product carries a micro-veneer! It looks the same as any other timber floor.

Having an SPC core with good weight is essential, as a thinner core can be influenced by the natural veneer. However, the Storm Deluxe Hybrid is a product that has overcome this issue with its 8.5mm thickness. This product is also not subject to the same growth and shrinkage as a regular timber floor, so it is another one for the Plus Team.

This product is very heavy and sits very hard and flat on your floor; it looks great, is great value for money and is easy to clean, with water damage being less of a concern than a solid timber product.

Microveneer Timber Floors

A lot of people will ring and ask for timber with a 6mm veneer. Who doesn’t think bigger is better, right? However, once they are properly informed regarding the cost-to-benefit ratio, most will change their mind to a 3mm veneer instead.

Why, you ask?

We always think bigger is better, but it is not always the case, especially if you are directly sticking the floor. Yes, a larger veneer allows you to sand and recoat your floor more times. However, the first time you do this with a full sand, you lose both any colour layer that is on the timber, and any surface effect such as hand scraping. There are other ways to skin a cat though. Floors with a thinner veneer can still be sanded with a light cutback and recoat, meaning that you never touch the timber itself, only the coating.

A product with a thin veneer, such as Eclipse Australis Compacto can not be distinguished from a floor with a thicker veneer when it is installed. Many are the times that a customer has called in distress, having bought a new house and calling in the floor sander, only to discover (too late,) that their product has a micro veneer. If it can fool the floor sander, what chance do the rest of us have? Some of these products have veneers as thin as 0.6mm, and still look like any other timber floor! Products with a 2mm veneer, such as Eclipse Divine, still can be fully sanded and coated option at least once (in addition to the light cut-back option,) and when you look at the price difference, it is an incredibly well-priced timber floor.

What we have is a product that is more affordable and sustainable in the sense you get more square meterage out of a slow-growing timber, which takes many years to grow. The core of the product is all fast-growing plantation timber, which again is more sustainable. You can still float, direct stick and do all the same applications as any other timber product.

Expert Insights From Brad

5+ years' experience in hard flooring

Given I embrace technology, I have enjoyed watching the virtual room viewing tech evolve to such a level which makes it beneficial to a high percentage of online shoppers. Given the distinct differences between a virtual generated cut-and-paste image compared to the look and feel of a real enrolment, it is naive to think that this tech can finalize the flooring decision process for a consumer. But what it does is narrow down the options quickly and efficiently. The desired direction of the floor pattern, size and lighting may make an image obviously computer generated but it is now “good enough” to influence your purchase decisions.

We are excited to implement this software into our business in 2024 keeping it in mind we will use it as a tool in the intimate conversation we have with our customers. The durability, texture and feel of a product are all things that often need to be relayed to a customer for them to be able to make the most informed choice possible.

DIY Resurgence

Given the state of the world, everyone is under the thumb of money and will be looking to save money in any way they can. So it makes sense to have more DIY products in the market. People are becoming more and more prepared than ever to have a crack at doing it themselves if the product can make installation easier for the part-timer.

In some cases, floor installations from a professional can cost as much as the floor itself. The product for high-quality solid timber costs so much that it is better to let a professional install it. But in the case of a hybrid, you could use the money you save from DIY to buy a better product. We pride ourselves on the content that we provide for customers, both in product selection and installation advice. But even beyond us, there is so much accessible information on installing different flooring products at the touch of your keyboard.

DIY is not as hard as you think if you follow the process and the rules, consider difficult areas before encountering them, and take your time, it can be done and is not as demanding as you imagine. Although it might take you an extra day or so to do this properly, that product may be with you for a fair chunk of your life, so it’s worth getting it right, and taking the time. At the end of the day, what is that time worth to you?

Final Thought

At a seminar I went to recently; a lady was talking about future trends. She said as our blocks get smaller and houses get bigger, people will spend more time inside the home. So effectively, the outside is making its way back inside. Back in the 1970’s people had planter boxes & plants inside their homes and there were a lot of natural colours (admittedly with some quite gaudy colours thrown in for effect.) Fast forward to 2024 and we can expect to see these things coming back in with a list of natural colours to match.

Colours such as beige, grey, rust, greens, and yellows in nature format will come inside the home, which complement most hybrid, timber and laminate flooring beautifully, which is always geared towards looking as natural as possible.

Given the nature of the word trend and writing a crystal ball-style article for 2024, we are using past and current information to forecast future trends. And just like any forecasting, there is a strong likelihood of something occurring but no guarantee. That is why we recommend always staying in touch with what is available to you as a consumer and your finger on the pulse for the latest idea that may take your home to a level of joy you never thought possible……..

The post Flooring Trends for 2024 appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

In this blog, we go through the DIY process of sanding and polishing timber floors. In addition, we will identify occasions where an old floor may be better left to the professional.

The Decision to Start

There are two main scenarios you will be dealing with, the latter being the more complicated:

• Working with a new solid timber floor
• Working with an old floor

As the old saying goes, why replace something if it’s already good? In Tasmania, where my floor installation and sanding business is; old-growth forests have already been harvested or protected from harvesting. Nowadays, many of the new so-called hardwoods coming through are softer, being more of a combination of hardwood and pine, which fall into the new growth category.

That’s not to say that the new hardwood floors you can buy now aren’t fantastic options, as they are. Still, old types of flooring, such as Tasmanian Oaks, are a quality hidden gem that any homeowner should capitalise on or, at the very least, make every effort to recycle. Their quality is often unsurpassed, and once restored, they look stunning. You would also be surprised by what can be repaired and reused; it is always more than you would think, and removing years of wear and tear will transform an existing floor.

Working on New vs. Old

As you would expect, sanding and polishing a new floor is a distinctively different process, particularly at the beginning of sanding and varnishing a new floor.

Some homes around Launceston, Tasmania, where I work and live, are over 80-100 years old. As expected, they will be a lot harder to work with and, in some cases, have been subject to excessive wear and tear.

Undulations, cupping, old paint and stains are all things that can throw a spanner in the works, so to speak. These things will influence the sandpaper grit used on the sanding machine to remove all stains and imperfections.

In comparison, a new floor with a softer wood will need far less abrasive grit sandpaper to start and far less work as a whole.

Essential DIY Equipment Needed

Of course, you will have the latest top-notch equipment for a seasoned floor sander. For a DIY project, there are three basic components you must have (most of which you can hire):

• Drum/Belt sander, which will sand the majority of the floor
• Flooring edger or sander to sand around the edges close to walls a drum sander cannot reach
• Circular buffing machine to buff, polish and finish the job. This is the most important part, as the smoother grits of sandpaper it uses blend everything in from where the drum sander and the edge sander have been. This is also crucial for small cutbacks between the varnish coats that need light sand with an abrasive where a drum sander is not suitable.
• Sandpaper – Depending on the type of job, the drum sander has a range of different grits up to 80/100. For an old floor, it might start as course as 20 grit. The circular sander will need 80 – 100 grit sandpaper disks.
• Mesh screen – Like a sanding disk for the circular sander, which is between 120 – 150 grit, which makes the floor very smooth.
• Hammer and hole punch – for punching nails in if the floor is a top nail profile.
• Industrial vacuum cleaner – preferably one with a good bag attached to collect the wood dust from sanding.
• Microfiber mob – Simple to wipe over the floor after vacuuming

Punching Nails

The first thing you will need to do, particularly on an old floor restoration job, is ensure that the runs of nails are far enough down not to cause issues. I cannot stress how crucial this step is, particularly considering gallant efforts to reduce costs to take on this DIY job. The last thing you want to do is pay for damage to a hired machine and have to replace the abrasives more regularly due to nails sticking out of the floor as you sand over it. An old floor with a decent amount of damage will require sanding a few millimetres off, which means the nails will need to be further down than this.

Simply take a hammer and a hole punch and hit the nails down, being mindful not to damage the floor with the end of the punch or the hammer by missing. It is time-consuming, and I recommend doing it row by row and room by room until completion.

Expert insight: If the carpet was on the flooring, check for tacks or little nails, particularly around the edges, that you may have to remove with a hammer and pliers. These can be troublesome.

Many new timber floors are secret nailed where the floor is laid over the top of yellow tongue using a specialised machine, meaning there will be no visible nails on the surface. In this case, all that will be required is a clean and a vacuum, and you are ready to start sanding.

Sanding Process

If the flooring has been laid over a concrete slab with little prep work done, quite a bit of sanding is required to get the floor looking even. As a rule, if you look at the boards straight on, veer off, and initially sand on a 45-degree angle to achieve that initial flat surface before sanding with the grain with lighter grit applications later on.

New Floor Sanding

• New floors typically start with 40-60 grit on a 45-degree angle.
• You will have butt-joins, which may need a bit of putty between the joins.
• Allow for 30 minutes for the putty to dry.
• Go around the edges with an edge sander using a 60-80 grit.
• Move onto finer grit sandpaper of 80-100 grit and sand in the direction of the grain of the wood.
• Go around the edges with a hand-held piece of 80-100 grit sandpaper and cover any areas the flooring edger missed.
• A mini orbital sander may also be handy for places a flooring edger cannot access.
• Using 100-120 grit paper on a circular buffing machine, go over and smooth everywhere the previous sander has been.
• Give the area a thorough vacuum in preparation for finishing the floor.
• Use an antistatic microfiber cloth and run it over the floor to stir and remove any access dust the vacuum cleaner may miss.

Old Floor Sanding

• Old floors, such as Jarrah and Tas Oak, with glue stains, unevenness, and cupping, may need to start with 40 grit or even lower to 24 grit.
• Then, move to a medium 60-grit before beginning around the edges with a flooring edger.
• The grit for the edger will depend on the hardness and damage of the floor, which needs working but should be in sync with the rest of the job.
• Vacuum the entire area.
• Now you must putty all the nail holes up. I recommend timber mate water-based hardwood putty, which has all your desired colours.
• Allow at least 30 minutes for the putty to dry.
• Now move to a finer 80-100 grit sandpaper, which also removes any putty residue around the holes.
• Using an old painter scraper, scrape around the ends of any edges that the flooring edger misses. Also, have a piece of 80-100 grit sandpaper on hand to sand over any bits you scrape.
• Mini triangular orbital sanders on hand are also helpful for reaching parts. Using an edge sander can be quite challenging, and an orbital sander can be fantastic for smoothing things over.
• Using a circular buffing machine, starting with 100 to 120 grit paper, sanding over and blending in everywhere the sander has been.
• Give the whole area a thorough vacuum in preparation for finishing the floor.
• Use an antistatic microfiber cloth to go over any areas to pick up fine dust the vacuum cleaner may have missed.

Finding the right grit to get your floor flat initially is crucial, so if a finer grit isn’t doing the job, you may need to start on something more coarse. The bottom line is marks will always come out if you are working on a flat floor.

Expert insight: If you are resurfacing a floor that you have had to pull up old carpet to get to, chances are it has never been sealed off with any varnish. This will require rough grit because it could be 50+ years old stains and unprotected, which will need the surface layer removed to freshen it up. Sometimes, you will need a 24-36 grit initially sanding adjacent to the grain.

Areas such as old veranda extensions that used the old style of lead paints are outside a typical DIY-er’s reach and better left to the experienced.

Finishing and Polishing the Floor

Ask yourself, “What type of Finish do I want on the floor?”

My preference for a DIY-er is to steer clear of hand staining the floor yourself, as getting it requires a lot of skill.

For most people, accentuating the natural colour of their floorboards meets their requirements.

Over a decade ago, opting for Polyurethane-based shiny two-pack finishes that would look more glossy than a toffee apple was quite trendy.

The popularity has swung towards a more natural matt or satin-based finish. I am a massive fan of hard wax oil by Fiddes because it is easy to apply for a DIYer, very receptive and easy to repair and conceals any future scratches with extra product in the future. In most cases, you can just rub a small amount of wax oil over a minor scratched area, enough for it to bend back in.

Polyurethane-based finishes will be far more cumbersome to try and conceal scratches, which will also tend to stand out more.

Polyurethane-based Products

This solvent-based product is generally not as UV stable, meaning that over the years, it can go an orangy colour as it oxidises and gets exposed to the elements. That being said, water-based finishes come up the clearest. Don’t be fooled by the milky whiteness in the tray; it dries very clear.

The toxicity of polyurethane, although not as toxic as decades ago, is an issue and is even banned in some countries around the world. It is still recommended to keep families away from the drying product for some time. This product aims to create protective layers that sit predominantly on top of the timber. This blog further covers eco-friendly flooring considerations and options.

Water Based Products

Alternately, water-based finishes have come a long way for those who still want this style of finish and can provide a good, if not better, result without the same toxicity concerns.

Hard Wax Oil Finishes

This product doesn’t go orange but can become slightly warmer brown over time, which isn’t usually an issue.

Pro tip: I like to add 5-10% white flooring tint to the mixture, which helps preserve the natural clear colour over time.

As you may have guessed, hard wax oils are much less toxic and environmentally friendly.

The goal of this product is to penetrate the timber through two application coats only.

The Application Process

Firstly, for new flooring, we recommend reading this blog post to get a basic understanding of the acclimatisation of flooring and how flooring can expand and contract through the seasons.

We recommend following the application process provided on the back of the container for your specific product. However, traditional methods of applying the products are much like painting but on the floor.

• The first step is to cut the edges in places the roller can’t reach with a brush.
• Water-based finishes are thick and require a 10mm Nap microfiber roller cover. They need heavy applications to begin with, especially initially.
• The polyurethane-based finish will also need thick applications. One of its advantages is that it has self-levelling properties. It also has a meter rate regarding how much product per area you should aim to cover.
• Hard wax oils are thicker again and require a 4-5mm Nap microfiber roller; however, the solution stretches a lot further. Although it is a more expensive per litre product, it is cheaper because you would cover up to double the square meterage per litre compared to polyurethane-based products.

The application of water-based products can be challenging. I recommend applying thick and not rolling over the wet product too much. For the first-timers out there, don’t look too much at the coating as it is drying because it appears a lot messier than when it dried.

I recommend applying finishes in small strips to avoid lines. Going along the width of 3 or 4 boards works well; remembering to cut in with a brush first and continuing from wall to wall. Make sure to roll through any unevenness or streaks as you go.

Using a Mesh Screen

Note: hard wax oil may be smooth enough after the first application not to use a mesh screen and is ready for its second application. You will need to be the judge of this.

After the first application of your finish has dried off, you are ready for the buffing process using a 150-180 grit mesh screen on your circular floor sander/buffer. Lightly run this over the top of the floor, which rough and smooth it up enough for the next application to take hold and stick appropriately onto the floor. You can use the screen to rub around the edges of the floor where the buffing machine can’t reach.

Once you have finished, vacuum thoroughly and go over the floor with a static mop.

The Second Coat

After the first coat, the second coat is generally more straightforward, with a lot more playtime as the floor has already soaked up the first coat. The hard wax oils will only need a thinner coat, while polyurethane and water-based products still need a thick coat plus an additional third coat for the best results; remember to use the mesh screen in between.

When is Your Floor Dry?

Most floors will take around ten days to cure fully. The first two days are the danger zone, and I strongly advise not dragging anything across the floor during this time as the floor is more susceptible to scuff and scratch marks. After a few days, you can move furniture back in, but err on the side of caution. Using felt stoppers on the bottom of your furniture will also help save your floor in the short and long term. Do not drag any furniture across the floor; you should only be lifting and placing.

Maintenance of Your Floor

Be sure to vacuum or sweep the floor first before mopping.

With polyurethane-finished floors, avoid using too much water to clean the floor, as water and timber do not mix well. Timber is a natural product that expands, contracts, and soaks up excess water. Enyo mops work well, or any mop that allows you to squeeze most of the water out before you apply it to the floor.

You can get specific timber floor solutions for mopping, which are excellent. I also recommend adding a cap full of methylated spirits to this to help the floor dry quicker.

Do not use methylated spirits with water-based flooring and hard wax oil finishes. Use specific products designed for that flooring finish to clean effectively without damaging the finish.

Maintenance Coating

I always recommend to clients after 2-3 years to get a light buff and coat done instead of waiting 5+ years. This saves money and keeps the floor looking nicer and protected long term. Waiting too long to treat your floor again could mean a full strip back and refinishing from scratch. So, choosing light buff and coats after a few years is a great way to preserve your floor long-term.

The same can be said with engineered timber floors, where you only have so much veneer to play with. There are also some fantastic specific water-based finishes for engineered floors that allow you to do a light buff and stick directly onto the floor, preventing cutting into the veneer and replenishing the wear layer.

The post Sanding and Polishing Solid Timber Floor Boards appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

However, with a little preparation, you can eliminate the guesswork around this if you spend the time to measure things correctly. We are all guilty of not reading instructions properly (or even at all) when we believe something is unimportant or when we want to get stuck into the job. But we can’t stress how important and easy it is to measure things correctly with little time and patience.

This post covers four simple and effective ways to measure your floor space. If you read the whole post, we promise we will have the method of measuring you need to follow down pat.

Apology in Advance:

Later in this blog, it will get a bit ‘Math-sey’. Unfortunately, because we are measuring meterages, this is unavoidable. Sorry.

What You Will Need

There are a few things you will need to do this, but they are things we usually all have around the house.

These things are as follows:

• pencil
• two different coloured pens
• highlighter
• standard ruler
• some blank paper (and graph paper if you have it)
• access to a photocopier that will enlarge (helpful, but not essential)
• a copy of your house plan (for methods 1 and 2) tape measure (for methods 3 and 4)

The House Plan Method

If you are fortunate enough to have a builder’s house plan to work off with your flooring measurements, you can use this method as it is the most accurate and easiest method.

1. First, you must ensure the plan is at a scale of 1:100. This means 1cm on your ruler will equal 1m of real floor space. The way you check this is to find the longest measurement on your plan and put a ruler beside it. Theoretically, if 15,000mm (as building plans are always in millimeters) on the plan comes to 150mm or 15cm on the ruler, then you are ready to go, and the plan is already at 1:100 scale. The plan may also offer the size of paper it must be printed on. In this case below it is the typical A3 size.

If the scale is not at 1:100 scale, use a photocopier that allows you to enlarge – If your plan says 15,000mm, and then you put your ruler on it, and it says 10cm. We first have to convert centimetres to millimetres. So, 10cm on the ruler is 10 metres in real space or 10,000mm. Divide 15,000 by 10,000, giving you 1.5. What you need to do from here is put the plan on a photocopier and increase the size of the copy to 150%. The new copy of the plan will now be at a scale of 1:100. Double check this; you will find now that when you put your ruler against the measurement that reads 15,000, it will be 15cm on your ruler. You are now good to go.

Expert Insights From Levi Saunders

Online Retail Specialist & Flooring Content Creator

If you are printing a pdf from a computer it should tell you both the scale and size of paper you need to print on to achieve that size paper. There are also measurements on the plan which allow you to check this once you have printed.

Use a highlighter to trace the areas in which you will put your new flooring. This makes it clear which areas you need to cover.

2. Next, take a red pen to rule off all of the areas that you have highlighted into square or rectangular boxes. This means if you have a square lounge room that runs into a hallway, make a red line between the 2 areas. You will now have a ‘Box’ representing your lounge room and a longer, thinner ‘Box’ representing your hallway. Continue this process until all of the areas highlighted on the plan are boxed off in this way.

3. In each of those ‘boxes’, measure the length and the width. Let’s look at our lounge room. Let’s say that when we measure the length, we get 5.4cm. Then we measure the width, and it comes to 4.2cm. We then multiply these numbers on our calculator, and we get a result of 22.68. This is the total square meterage of this area. We take our other coloured pen or pencil and write ‘22.68’ in the ‘Boxed’ lounge room area.

You continue this process across the entire plan. Write down these numbers in each of the Boxed areas.

When you have completed this process, start a column on one side of the plan or a spare piece of paper. Write the measurements of all the areas down the page as you go.

As a double-checking method, count the boxed areas you have created on your plan. Then count the amount of numbers you have written in your column to the side. If you have 8 Boxes and 8 numbers to the side, you are good to go, because you have not missed any of them. If you have missed a number, find out which one it is and add it to your column. Alternatively, if you have counted a number twice, work out which one it is and delete it from your column.

When you are sure everything is correct, add this and write the total under your column. This is your net meterage. In the case of our example, we are going to work at a total of 112.65m2.

4. So we know our measurement is 112.65m2. You now need to account for waste, and 7% is a good number to work with. 5% can sometimes leave you in the lurch, and unless you make many mistakes, 10% will be too much left over in most cases.

There are 2 ways to do this. First, jump onto our website, find the product you want, put in the meterage you require, and then hit the 7% wastage button. This will also allow you to skip step 5, as it will already be done for you:

The next is the way the flooring industry used to have to do it before the arrival of the Online Flooring Store. So, working on 7% waste, multiply 112.65 x 1.07. This is 120.5355. We will round this to 120.5 because the more we multiply, the longer these fractions get, and they are unnecessary. Rounding this small fraction off will make no difference at all, as it will be covered in the next step.

5. Next, you will want to know how many boxes you need to order. If you have used our website, this will already be done.

If you prefer the challenge, then what you need to do is as follows:

Find the product you want from our website, and find out how many square metres are in a box. With the example from the website, we used Terra Mater Resiplank Eternity. However, as the website did the hard work for us on this one, to use the same product would just be lazy. This time we will use Elysium Hybrid from the Online Flooring Store’s Eclipse Range.

This product has 2.1 square metres in a box. What we need to do is divide our gross meterage (120.5m2) by the box size of 2.1m2. This gives us a total of 57.38 boxes required for the job. However, we cannot order partial boxes, so we must round this up to 58 boxes.

To determine the meterage we need to order, multiply the number of boxes required (58 in this case,) by the box size (2.1m2,) for a total of 121.8m2

House Plan Method Without a Photo Copier

If you have house plans but don’t have access to a photocopier and the house is not on a 1:100 scale, don’t despair; you can still pull this off.

To start with, you have to do the same thing as you would with any plan and find out what the scale is. Use the process as outlined in point 1 of the House Plan Method. Let’s say you get the same scale as above (1.5). Write this down and highlight it.

You will still highlight the areas in which you will put your new flooring and rule the plan into boxes the same way.

Then, measure all of the areas as you did above. Remember, though, that these are going to be out of scale. This is not a problem.

At the end, when you have tallied up all the meterages and checked that you have not missed anything, you will have your total in the same way that you did in Step 3 of the House plan method. This number is the total, but it is incorrect because the plan is out of scale. What do we do now?

Remember how we wrote ‘1.5’ at the top of the page and highlighted it? This is our magic number. This is how much we have to multiply our amount, but we have to do it twice as we work in square meters. Therefore, we multiply our meterage by 1.5, and then take this number and multiply again by 1.5.

Confused? Don’t be. Because we are working with square meterages, what happens on one axis happens on another.

For example, we multiply 2 by 1.5 to get 3. However, if we square the numbers (2×2 is 4, and 3×3 is 9) and try it again, 4 (which is 2 squared) multiplied by 1.5 is only 6. We then have to multiply again by 1.5 for the other axis, which takes 6 to 9.

Then all we need to do is add wastage and discover the amount of boxes you need using points 4 & 5 in the above method.

Although the photocopier method is preferred, both of these methods allow for a little bit of leeway and are accurate enough to ensure you order an optimal amount of flooring.

The No-House Plan Method

Use some graph paper with boxes up to 1cm grids for the best result if you can. You can also use 1/2 cm grids, but remember the scale is 1cm = 1m to make things easy. I prefer the smaller grid, but this is only a personal preference.

Start measuring your rooms’ length and width and build a map of your house as you go. You will be a little under in some areas and a little over in others, but this will even out across the plan.

If the room is 4m x 5m, then you rule a box on the grid paper 4cm x 5cm. Repeat this process for all areas in your home that will require flooring.

You don’t have to create a work of art, as few other people will appreciate the effort you have gone to. Simple boxes will suffice. Note the measurements of each area as you create the ‘boxes’ (length and Width) just in case you make a mistake measuring. This way, later, when you start to work out your meterages, if the measurement you wrote down at the time does not match what the ruler is saying, you will know to go back and check.

Once you have drawn your house plan, it is a matter of following points 3,4 & 5 above, ruling the areas into boxes, calculating square meterage, adding wastage and calculating the number of boxes you need.

Note: You do not have to draw the whole house plan but need to make sure the area where you are laying flooring is drawn out.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

Years ago, when I was working in Flooring Retail, this is how we all did things. I remember the first home that I did when I started in the industry was a huge 2 story affair. I think my boss sent me here deliberately, as I had a background in mapping, and I wanted to show how accurate I could be. The thing took me over an hour and a half, and I had measured everything in minutia. I had impressed myself; now I just had to impress the boss.

After the job was laid, he sat with me one time and complimented me on the plan and the detail I had gone to. He then asked me how long it took. I told him it was nearly two hours, and he was again impressed as he thought it would have taken me at least 3 hours. I was feeling pretty good.

Then he pulled out a plan by someone with many years more experience than myself. It was just a bunch of boxes on a piece of paper. He said to me ‘This took Alex 10 minutes.’

My bubble was instantly deflated. He went on to say that there were only 2 measurements in a room that mattered: Length and Width. If we got that right, the rest, while looking very pretty, was a waste of my time.

The Lesson: Don’t make my mistake.

The No Plan & No Drawing Method

This method is less accurate but will suffice in most cases.

Measure each area and tally the number down as you go. You have to be diligent with covering your areas correctly, but it is a simple process. Just remember the length x width of a room will give you the square meterage you need.

This method does not have the built-in safeguards of the other methods, so only use this if you are very confident.

Additional Things to Remember

• Measuring curved areas and unusual angles

When measuring curved areas and unusual angles, remember the product needs to be cut to fit that area, so be sure to ‘box off’ these areas and make sure that they are allowed for in your calculations.

• Measuring for skirting & Scotia

If you will be using skirting or Scotia, measure the perimeter of the area you will be laying flooring on and tally it up to the nearest lineal meter. Regarding doorways, you also need to know which trims you will use, their lengths, and how you will cut them to fit into entrances and areas. If you are using an installer, it may be better for him to help you with the final decision regarding ordering trims, as he will have more of a say in how he would like to lay them.

The post How to Measure Your Floor Space appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

So here it goes.

I decided to break my experience into two areas:

• My experiences with flooring in my own home as a consumer.
• My experiences as a flooring industry representative and the associated successes and failures.

Not all great new ideas are great long-term, making it more important than ever to acquire the right professional advice.

From My Own Experiences as a Homeowner

A Pioneer of Click-together Laminate Flooring

When we first built our house, I was very new to the flooring industry and was quite green within the industry. This was well over 20 years ago, and my flooring tastes were mostly governed by my wife’s preferences. Happy Wife, Happy Life, right?

At the time, she loved the laminate we had seen in several display homes. As this was during the rise of laminate flooring and well before many of the issues of this early version of the category were known, it was what we/she selected for our home.

It came down to two choices:

• The first was an early product by Quickstep, one of the first laminate variants with a locking system (which was to supersede glue-together systems).
• The other product was from a national chain hardware store (you know, the one) and was called Wesfi if memory serves me correctly.

The Quickstep representative at the time was very knowledgeable about Laminate as a category. He educated me on the product and made me a pretty decent offer which was hard to refuse.

I also got very lucky with an installer who talked and walked me through the process as we installed the product in our new home because I still had little knowledge of how to install a floating floor. He also spoke to me about the Wesfi product, which he had laid in the past, and it had many problems. Experiencing first-hand just how easy the Quickstep product was to lay out made me feel confident we had chosen a great product.

The floor itself was very tough and durable. Our mistake was what we did underneath the floor. At the time, floating floor underlays never had a moisture membrane built into the back of them.

It was a new home, and the requirement was to put down a builder’s plastic first. The installer took a moisture reading on the floor and believed there was no need for a plastic membrane, which proved a big mistake. The result was peaking joins around the floor as moisture rose through the slab over time, settling into our new floor’s joins.

We didn’t realise at the time that new concrete slabs release water for ten years or more. Quality saved us! Although the joins on our new floor had peaked within the first six months, there was no other damage on the floor. A lower-quality product may have resembled a series of Wheat-Bix instead of clearly defined floorboards. The floor was easy to clean and live on, with children and pets never showing visible wear and tear. Even as an early laminate, it was incredibly durable and did not expand or contract much.

A Very Different Experience With Bamboo

From there, I went to work for a company called Embelton in their Structure Borne Noise Engineering division. I joined this company to exit the flooring industry, but they also had another division that I was to later end up in. Embelton was at one stage the largest importer of bamboo flooring in Australia. This prompted me to install a bamboo floor in our house. It is also how I ended up back in the Flooring Industry!

First, we had to pull up the quickstep laminate and sell it cheaply to someone (the beauty of a floated floor). Rather than pay to dump the floor, my wife put the old floor on Marketplace, and a young gentleman paid us to take it away. He got the cheap floor he was looking for, and we got rid of our unwanted child, as the bright, shiny new one had come along.

Compared to the laminate, the installation of Bamboo was very different. It was much harder because the product was so dense and rigid, but also harder to damage when installing. After all, it was so strong. It surprised me as both products have the same licensed locking system, but due to the thicker and harder bamboo, it took much more work to engage boards.

The look of the Bamboo was stunning, but we were to find later that it scratched very easily and would sometimes need repairing. We chose a dark colour which always left white scratches! We were forever trying to cover scratches by using WD40 or other oil-based products and rubbing them into the scratched area. Overall, the product stood up well but grew and shrunk a lot.

A big issue was that I broke the installation requirements rules and had the product in much larger rafts than I was technically supposed to. The product grew and shrunk more than laminate, and during humid seasons, the expansion breaks that I left were insufficient. The product would expand hard up against the walls, and this would cause a build-up in pressure in the mass of the floor, and it would lift a little in places. Not much, but you could feel the movement on the floor, and it would make noise and be noticeable underfoot. Again, not a lot, but more than it should have. I do have to stress, though, that this was my fault, as I chose not to follow the rules.

The product also had a semi-gloss finish which looked great just after we had mopped it (by we I mean me,) but in humid temperatures, it would have a haze all over the floor, and there wasn’t much we could do about it.

A Better Experience With Bamboo for Our Neighbours

Sometime after our bamboo flooring experience, we put a different type of bamboo flooring into the neighbour’s house. It was the same product but a much more sensible coffee-coloured version with a hand-scraped finish. Because of this, they had a very different experience from us.

The rustic colour variation of this product gave you a lot more latitude with scratches and dents. Also, with their lighter colour, the natural appearance of the Bamboo shows through (Yes, this is the correct tense, as they still have it.). Their raft size also met supplier guidelines meaning that expanding and contracting did not cause any problems for their floor. We recommend you read this blog post to understand the importance of acclimatisation of flooring.

Clever Choice Bamboo Balinese

Clever Choice Bamboo Champagne

Clever Choice Bamboo Coffee

Water Resistant Laminate: The Game Changer

When I was employed at signature floors in their hard flooring division, We were starting with an Australia-first product of what is known as second-generation water-resistant laminate flooring. This product had a 72-hour water guarantee, and compared to the usual 24-hour surface guarantee the first generation offered, the product looked very promising.

So that said, I installed the product in our home. We again packed up our old Bamboo Floor and put it on the marketplace. This time a young couple with a young child came and bought us flooring for the home that they had just bought. This felt good, as while to us we no longer wanted the product, to them, it was precisely what they were looking for at an incredible price!

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Trapani

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Palermo

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Rieti

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Massa

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Cagliari

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Oristano

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Salerno

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Avellino

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Teramo

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Pavia

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Ferrara

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Siena

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Asti

Eclipse Aqua Guard Laminate Flooring Vercelli

The experience with this product has been amazing. Where a bamboo floor might scratch from a chair’s legs and furniture, we have dragged heavy furniture, bookcases and fridges across our laminate, and there are absolutely no signs of passage!

There have been no issues with expansion and contraction whatsoever, as this product is allowed to have a raft size of 20 metres in length and width, Truth be told, I again broke the rules, as from our front door to the end bedroom of the house is just over 22 metres. Even so, there has been no measurable growth in the floor, and no seasonal change is noticeable.

We have had this floor for 8+ years, and I cannot find a good reason to replace it. Since the evolution of this product, there has been a host of others in the category coming in its wake. One such is eclipse aqua guard, which offers a 96-hour fully submerged water warranty and has a much better, easy-to-use joining system. So although you still cannot call these laminates waterproof, you can pretty much consider them that way with what you can subject them to.

Another thing about this kind of laminate is that it looks great! It is usually at the top of a supplier’s range, and having worked on the other side of the industry, suppliers do not put their best colours, pictures and finishes into their cheapest products!

That, plus the additional toughness of a laminate, makes it a hard-to-beat product. As I say, floors are meant to be lived on, which is what we found with this one. We have a pool, a tap-dancing daughter, dogs, and careless friends and family. We can just enjoy our time with them instead of worrying that they are going to destroy our floor!

My Experiences as a Wholesale Flooring Representative

After working in Flooring Retail for several years, I first started in the wholesale side of the industry with Johnson Tiles before moving to the engineering division of Embleton. As someone who inspects flooring complaints, you only really meet the end user if something goes wrong. As they say, no news is good news, so news means bad news.

It was my job when things went wrong to ascertain what went wrong and why.

In my time, greater than 95% of the issues were caused by the following:

• Installer error
• Subfloor is not being prepared properly
• DIY customers and Builders (….especially builders) not paying attention to installation guidelines.

Today, there is very little in the way of product failure that happens simply out of nowhere. Products today are rigorously tested, and much loss happens simply from lack of understanding or lack of preparation in the following areas:

Subfloor Preparation

Most issues that arise in new homes happen when a builder prepares a slab to the ‘Australian Standards’. In their eyes, it is good to go; job done. However, the Australian Standard applies to concrete slabs and differs significantly from those required for flooring products such as Timber, laminate and hybrid.

The consumer often finds themselves in a no man’s land where the builder gives the slab a tick of approval, and the flooring installer says it needs potentially thousands spent on flooring preparation.

“Isn’t it just a slab?” I hear you ask.
Followed by this statement: “Gee, that looks flat.”

A Concrete slab can look flat to the naked eye until you put a straight edge over it. You will often discover it has more dips than a BMX track. It is often interesting to look at a slab and then come back after it has rained. Where pools of water gather after the rain will show you where the slab has low points.

Rigid Flooring Products suspend themselves between high points, creating cavities above low points. Stepping onto these areas causes the product to deflect, which causes stress that is transferred into the joints of the flooring. The deeper the dips, the more pressure and energy are applied to the joins on these boards. Over time this will compromise the joins on a product to fail. However, this is not a product failure but an installation error.

As you can expect, the homeowner usually needs help understanding this. They hear two differing stories about the state of their new concrete slab. One of which costs money to fix, the other costs nothing, and says you are ‘within standard’. So what do you believe? The flooring contractor may be seen as trying to get extra money from the job, and the consumer wants nothing to do with it. After all, it is a brand new build and ‘within standard’. From here, subfloor preparation all too often gets ignored, corners get cut, and products fail. Then when the inevitable happens, everyone points at the supplier and blames the product.

The story’s moral here is that some unforeseen costs are still necessary. Discussing with your builder what is expected when you get to your flooring is far less expensive and problematic than dealing with it at the end of the path. After, the concrete has to do the job anyway, so why not do it right?

Again, this is not a product failure.

Moisture Damage

Cheap laminate and engineered timbers are particularly susceptible to this. If you spill a glass of water on your floor and you can mop it up within 10-15 minutes, you won’t have any issues with your floor. There is a view that (wrongly) exists in the market that if you spill a thimble full of water onto a laminate floor it will explode. This is simply not the case.

What is of concern is:

• Liquids left on the floor for an extended period, say during a storm
• Moisture that you cannot see

For example, when you are in a new home with a new slab, water is released from this slab for ten or more years. For all timbers and laminate floors, there needs to be a vapour shield between the floor and the slab. This allows the water vapour to be dispersed to the outsides of the raft of flooring rather than into the flooring itself.

Builders’ plastic underneath the underlay will save you a lot of heartache. It is important to know that all underlays have a moisture membrane, but the thinner ones that are under 200 microns in thickness are not waterproof. Builders’ plastic is only sometimes necessary with new homes, but we recommend it as a cheap way to ensure no moisture complications with your floor.

Laying builders’ plastic up the wall with around a 100mm overhang from the edges of your flooring is another way to direct moisture away from your floor. It is a process known as Tanking. The floor is installed with this additional plastic around the edge of the floor. When the job is finished, but before skirting or scotia are fitted, this overhand of plastic is cut back at the level of the top of the floor. This ensures that any moisture vapour travels along the path of the plastic and bypasses any exposed edges of your flooring.

Another common form of moisture ingress is environmental, which is typically through the floor acclimatising to the atmosphere. It typically causes the floor to grow, but only sometimes if you live in a particularly dry climate. This is precisely why the raft (or expansion) breaks stated in supplier guidelines are so important. In most cases, rules are in place for a very good reason.

Incorrect raft sizes and lack of expansion breaks mean the floor has the potential to grow to a point where walls can be pushed out, doorway tracks pushed out, kitchen benches moved, and the floor pulled apart. These are extreme cases (and thankfully) that only really occur with Bamboo due to its sheer strength.

In one case, a builder installed a bamboo floor in a building while the occupants were away for six weeks. The house was in Byron Bay, and locked up for the period, essentially turning the unit into an oven. The product grew, and problems arose because the builder needed to allow for more expansion in the floor and had it hard up against benches and walls.

The owners arrived home to a nasty surprise, and I was called out to do the inspection. A draft of hot air greeted me as the elevator door opened and told me everything I needed to know, even before the floor was within my eyesight.

On inspection, the floor had a huge ridge, almost like a BMX jump in the middle of the room, running down the length of the boards. Many of the wall frames had been damaged and pushed back. The builder was very defensive, boasting decades of experience, and I had to be the one to tell him if he had read and adhered to the instructions in the box, then all this damage could have been avoided. Each box had a set of instructions (that he had discarded,) and he need only have read one of them.

Bamboo flooring is solid and can grow a lot: usually 2.5 times (sometimes more) than engineered timber and 5 times more than laminate. In this case, the product was delivered very dry and then entered a hot and humid environment where it grew with no allowance for expansion and no acclimatisation. The builder had to repair walls, doorways, kitchen benchtops, and the floor.

Thin Core Hybrids

Again this is something we have discussed in another blog post where Hybrid products can experience problems when there is not enough weight in their cores. This can result in the product being unable to restrain the growth and shrinkage of the wear layer, which is temperature sensitive, as it is made from Polyurethane PVC. Keep in mind that these wear layers are solid. Every time you go into a supermarket, the chances are that you are walking into one of them.

A wear layer needs a specific amount of weight to balance against this wear layer. Typically, if an SPC product has an mm wear layer, it needs to be at least 6mm in total thickness (if the backing is 1.5mm,) to give it a chance. Many suppliers at the moment are experiencing issues with this, and scratching their heads. 7mm is typically very stable. Remember that Aerated Core Hybrids (PVC Core, WPC, APC, IPC, ETC) are far lighter than an SPC product and must be much thicker to have the same core weight.

Rail Roading in Engineered Timber

This occurs in engineered flooring in block core timbers: Engineered Timber that uses a 3-layer, and not a Ply Core construction.

Small gaps between the blocks in a block wood core give them room to grow, as they run at a 90-degree angle to the top and bottom layers. In areas of extreme humidity, these blocks can grow to the point that they come into contact, and with nowhere else to go as they want to keep growing, push upwards as they meet. Looking down the length of each board, it appeared like mini railway sleepers lay across the width of the floor.

I did see this a lot in Australian species timber with a whiteboard block core, but it was never an issue when they had a ply core. Additionally, it didn’t happen on floors with Oak Veneers. Only ever Australian Species Timbers.

Loose Lay Vinyl Plank

Vinyl Plank was originally sold as a loose-lay product. Although there was extensive product testing before coming into our market, there was limited real-life testing in the Australian environment. As an example, heating a room to 50 Degrees Celsius in a temperature chamber is different to sun coming through a window at 50 degrees Celsius, and the product proved to be susceptible to environmental, climatic change.

Australia has a huge range of fluctuations in climate, equivalent to that of many countries in Europe in a single land mass, and as a result, the whole loose-lay version of Vinyl plank was a flawed concept in our environment.

In my time at Signature Floors, I spent time working with Robert Herten, former joint Owner of the company. From the Outset, He was nervous about about Loose-lay vinyl planks with a perimeter expansion gap.

Vinyl Clicking Systems

Attempting to put a click system on a vinyl product is less than successful to put it. Because the product is temperature-sensitive, it softens with heat, grows and expands, causing the joins to be damaged in its expanded state. It was a failure and very quickly came off the market.

Cheap Laminate

I have seen some cheap products work, but care needs to be taken. Take some hidden gems in this blog, for example. I have to be clear here that cheap laminate products as a category are not the best idea. They may be well made for what they are, but they have no moisture protection, making them highly susceptible to all forms of moisture ingress. Going with a cheap hybrid is a better option to go with.

All this being said, and considering my lifestyle, higher-end laminates are often my pick of the bunch in terms of flooring types. A well-made laminate is sturdier, harder, easier to maintain, and able to withstand wear and tear better than all other product categories.

Floated Timber Floors

I have seen many issues with floated timber floors over the years and would recommend direct sticking to the subfloor if you are looking for a ‘forever floor’. For reference, this blog covers the pros and cons of both. Timber is usually a permanent long-term investment in your home that gives a wow factor and can boost your home’s resale value.

Direct sticking costs more initially and takes more time, but once it is done, you forever have the floor (whether engineered or not), giving you that full solid feel. It also alleviates the need for as many expansion breaks to be cut into the floor, and you will never notice any of the associated noise or ‘bounce’ of a floated floor.

Products That Have Always Been Successful

• SPC Hybrids of 7mm or above rarely cause any issues due to a decent core weight that stabilises the product.
• Micro Veneer-engineered timber products have been another very dependable product. They are just like normal engineered Timber but with a very small veneer which, in this case, becomes an advantage because they do not have enough strength to deform and influence the layers underneath.

I have never once in my years of being a flooring rep ever gotten the call to go look at a stability issue. Just like any engineered floor, there is the possibility of scratches, but they are often very easily repaired with a wax kit or good ‘ol WD40. It is also a great-looking and cost-effective product; once it is on the floor, you cannot tell it is a solid timber floor to look at.

We highly recommend Eclipse Australis Compacto as being a stand-out in this category. It is less expensive and so much more stable. Bigger is not always better.

Eclipse Australis Compacto Engineered Timber Flooring Blackbutt

Eclipse Australis Compacto Engineered Timber Flooring Spotted Gum

Eclipse Australis Compacto Engineered Timber Flooring Jarrah

Eclipse Australis Compacto Engineered Timber Flooring Tasmanian Oak

• Water-resistant Laminates, since coming into the market, have been a game changer. The only issue I have ever had to go and inspect is the installer error rather than the product itself. They are a wonderful, dependable product.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

I am not a great fan of sanding and coating any engineered flooring without a good reason. If you are coming from the perfectionist’s point of view, I consider more frequent light sands to be your best option as they do not cut into the veneer of your floor.

In my opinion, reasons for full sand & refinish for me include:

• If you have let your flooring deteriorate due to years of neglect, the coating has deteriorated, and there is undesirable greying to the timber as a result of this.
• Another reason to sand and refinish is that you want to change the look of the floor completely.
• You want to change the finish by cutting back the lacquer finish and replacing it with an oil finish or hard wax oil finish.

Well, that concludes a snapshot of my career in flooring to date. For a more in-depth understanding of what products might suit your home or business, I encourage you to read this post to gain further clarity.

The post Clem’s Flooring Experience From a Consumer Perspective appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

This post identifies various sustainable, non-toxic flooring options that minimise environmental impact. These flooring choices will better align with your eco-values.

Overview:

Eco-friendly Flooring and What It Means

When it comes to eco-friendliness and sustainable flooring, we feel some factors can place a flooring product under the umbrella:

• Renewable and Natural Materials: Eco-friendly Flooring should be derived from natural, renewable resources. This means it can be regrown and replenished quickly and faster than consumed.
• Recycled or Reclaimed Materials: Sustainable Flooring often uses repurposed and recycled materials. This means they are diverted from becoming waste and reduce the need to produce new products. Examples include reclaimed timber flooring, repurposing flooring scraps, and even recycled carpet tiles that can be manufactured from plastic bottles or nylon fibres.
• Low Environment Impact: The flooring product should have a minimal environmental impact during manufacturing and its life cycle. This includes energy production, carbon emissions, water usage, and waste as a byproduct. This reduces the risk of respiratory issues and allergic reactions.
• Non-toxic and Low VOC Emissions: Non-toxic flooring in Australia should not affect indoor air quality or human touch.
• Durability and Longevity: An eco-friendly flooring option must be durable and have a considerable lifespan, requiring minimal maintenance and replacement and contributing to waste.
• Energy Efficiency: As an isolated example, concrete floors can contribute to energy efficiency in homes by retaining radiant heat. This is true particularly when combined with underfloor heating, reducing the energy costs of additional heating.
• Responsible & Ethical Manufacturing: This means being mindful of the manufacturer/supplier’s processes regarding sustainability, renewable energy, waste reduction and fair labour. Certifications and memberships to ethical and sustainable organizations or lack of often leave clues.

After reading the above, few products available to the public qualify in these areas.

That being said, some flooring products below do or at least come very close to ticking all the boxes:

Examples of Environmentally Friendly Flooring Categories

We chose some categories below we felt were evident to DIYers and customers. Some other choices will require you to read on to understand what makes them non-toxic or sustainable.

Bamboo – The Sustainable Natural Product

As expected, bamboo flooring makes the cut due to its rapid growth, renewability and sustainability. This product is aesthetically pleasing, durable, versatile and comparable to traditional timber floors. This flooring type is available in various finishes and colours, which will fit many home interiors. Maintenance is minimal, with the bonus of bamboo being it’s resistant to moisture and pests. Additionally, the Moso species of Bamboo used in flooring is not the bamboo that Pandas eat.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

Bamboo is usually thought of as a variant of timber flooring. Technically though, is grass, and not timber, and can be harvested without killing the plant which also means faster regeneration.

Trees Regrow Their Cork When Harvested for Flooring

Cork is harvested from the bark of oak trees, causing no damage. This gives a whole new meaning to the use of Oak flooring products. This product has exceptional insulative properties, is comfortable for walking barefoot, and reduces noise underfoot to a minimum. It is also resistant to mould, mildew, and insects, making it very hygiene-friendly. It is available in various styles and colours, including tiles and planks, giving it versatility in applications from room to room.

Reclaimed Hardwoods

Reclaimed hardwood flooring is a great eco-friendly way to add character and charm to your living space. It can be salvaged from various structures, allowing you to enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of aged wood while reducing the need for new timber and conserving natural resources. If well-cleaned, acclimatised, and maintained, the durability and strength of hardwood flooring ensure longevity for decades to come.

Refinishing old timber floors can mean discovering a hidden gem in your home. Some rare hardwood floorboards are found under paint, carpet, or decades of wear and tear. Sanding and polishing timber floorboards can turn an eye-sore into a showpiece quickly, making it a terrific sustainable option. Homes with pristine solid timber floors can have a higher resale value.

Showcasing the Beauty of Timber Using Engineered Flooring

Engineered Timber flooring is an excellent option as it uses up to 1/6th of the slow-growing hardwood compared to solid timber flooring. Additionally, Micro-veneer timber floors can create more than 20 times more flooring than a solid timber floor can. Engineered flooring comprises multiple layers, and sub-layer timbers are purpose-grown plantation timbers, which grow faster than the top surface layer. Hardwood trees are very slow growing, so engineered timber flooring drastically reduces the amount of these trees required per square metre of flooring produced.

In addition, engineered flooring products are more stable in expansion and contraction than solid timbers. This is because sub-layers prevent excessive expansion and contraction.

Natural Composition of Ceramic Tiles

Made from natural materials such as clay and sand, ceramic tiles are environmentally friendly and non-toxic. They have a long life span and are resistant to scratches and moisture. They can withstand heavy foot traffic, making them suitable for kitchens, entrances and hallways. At the end of their lifespan, they are also recyclable.  Ceramic tiles require little maintenance, requiring sweeping and occasional mopping.

Making Solid Timber More Sustainable

Timber can be considered sustainable in the sense that it can be regrown. However, some wood is easier and faster to grow than others, and illegal logging of slow-growing desirable timbers is a real problem. It is important to ensure timber is not sourced from clear-felled rain forests in less regulated countries. Importers and processors must abide by rigorous standards to ensure the wood is legally, sustainably and ethically produced.

The following sources are great resources related to sustainably sourced timber: 

• The Green Peace Good Wood Guide
• Look for FSC-certified products which aim to prevent the logging of conservation forests worldwide
• Australian Forestry Standard Certified (AFS)
• Good Environmental Choice Australia

Expert Insights From Raquel Billett

Interior Décor Expert

Many of our products have a FloorScore® sticker, and they are the most recognised indoor air quality standards (IAQ) certifier. The Floor Score program is a global certification that tests for harmful chemicals associated with flooring products and delivers results. If a flooring supplier passes all the tests, they are certified to display the FloorScore® Private Label correctly through their advertising.

Green tag certified is another label that frequently gets used on our website. Global GreenTag is a well-known and trusted ecolabel aiming to test and certify products using scientific methods. It has become a consumer household name and a cornerstone for businesses, governments and certification bodies worldwide.

The post Sustainable Eco-friendly Flooring Options appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

From One Room to Another

Trims are implemented when transitioning flooring from one room to another or in tricky places where scotia or skirting can’t be used.

This includes:

• Floor-to-ceiling
• Windows
• Doors
• Benchtops

In this post, we cover the most common situations that require trims and the different types of trims available.

Expansion Gaps From Floor to Floor

From raft to raft, when you are breaking a floor up to allow for expansion, you use trims to conceal this expansion gap.

Below are two of many different types of products you can use to achieve this:

H Profile Trim

As the name suggests, this trim looks like an H laid on its side. It has clearance for the flooring to sit on either side. It must be installed before the installation of the product, and then the product sits inside the slots that are provided by the H trim. The trim will typically have an overhang wide enough to allow for expansion and contraction on either side. Although very flat, this trim is infrequently used because of the pre-installation requirement. You can find more information on expansion gaps in this blog post.

Multipurpose Trim

This trim type has a base section installed before installation, and a cover dropped in after the floor is installed. It covers the edges of the floor installed on either side of the base and allows for movement in the floor. It is a lot more versatile than the H-trim because it does not inhibit your ability to install a floor. However, it also does not sit as flat as an H-trim.

In some cases, the multi-purpose base either screws, glues or nails to the floor. Some other variants use a plug arrangement where plugs are drilled into the floor instead of the base that is used in most cases. Whichever system is used, the trim connects directly to the floor.

Multi-purpose trims typically have two slots on the top that can be used to attach them to the base arrangement. One slot allows it to sit level for products that are of an even height. The other slot is offset slightly and allows for a small ramp for products that have a difference of up to about 5mm.

Meeting Other Floor Coverings and Doors

A few main options come down to personal preference when dealing with doorways with different floor coverings. For some, multi-purpose trims might be perfect for connecting one flooring type to the carpet. However, some people are dissatisfied with this look and prefer to tuck it against the trim against an aluminium angle trim.

C Section

Sometimes called Junior, Mid or Senior end trim (depending on its size,) These are typically used for floating floors and come in different sizes to suit various products. They usually need to be installed before installation through either screw, glue or nail. The product you are installing sits inside the ‘C’ shaped section.

These trims are usually used up against upright surfaces like door tracks or kitchen benches. Where they are used in open doorways that lead into carpeted areas, the carpet can be tucked into a space between the trim’s back and the carpet’s smooth edge, leaving a nice, clean finish.

L Trims

Also called an Angle End, This is like a C Trim without a base. However, rather than bonding to the floor, the L trim goes against the wall or surface it is pushing up against. They are more fragile because the trim has limited space to bond with them and can become loose. However, they are versatile as they are installed after the floor is installed.

C Trim Variant

Sometimes referred to as a Border Profile, this multipurpose variant uses a track similar to a Multi-purpose trim below but has a top section that finishes it like a C-Channel. The challenge is they are pricier, bulkier and not as flat as C Channel. Also, some suppliers do not make them. They are, however, very strong and may be installed after installation.

Height Differences in Flooring

If you are going from one flooring type to another and there are distinct height differences, multipurpose trims can work well when you are going from 14mm engineered flooring to a 10mm tile as the trim can accommodate this amount of height variance.

But let’s say is a more significant drop from a 14mm timber to a 2mm vinyl plank:

Ramp Trims

These are dedicated specifically to significant height differences between flooring types where they meet. They work the same way as the multipurpose trim in that it has a base & channel arrangement. These are rare because people typically do not have these types of drops between flooring types, but they do exist. They are more unsightly compared to the other trims.

Stair Nosing

When dealing with stairs and most flooring types, a few different options are available:

Aluminium Trims

It can be used to create a box stair where you join the planks as the stair riser and the tread. This is the less visually appealing method but is the cheapest.

Prefabricated Stair Nosings

These are colour matched to the product. Many hybrid floors have the option to have stair nosing that will connect to the product, using the product’s exact picture film. Depending on the supplier, they typically come in 2.2m or 2.4m lengths and can be cut to the size of your staircase, which you install as you lay flooring. They are cost-effective and a very good option aesthetically.

The only downside is that they often do not have the same wear layer protection as the flooring and are coated in polyurethane, meaning they will not be as resilient as the rest of the floor.

Custom-Made Stair Nosing

Many suppliers will send the product away and have them turned into a stair nosing. This is by far the most expensive but best-looking and resilient option because it is seamless. It also issues the same locking system that your floor does.

• The pro of this is that this product is on your floor with the same wear layer and sheen.
• The con is the widths can only be made at the length of the floorboard. This can become a wasteful process as most stairs are 800mm to 1000mm wide, meaning there will be lots of offcuts wasted.

Colour Matching

Most scotia comes in a colour match to the flooring. Some suppliers bring in a colour match for every product they do. Terra Mater Resiplank Hybrid is a great example of this. Other suppliers have a “best match” arrangement, offering a range of colours and matching them to their products as best they can. For instance, they might have a single spotted gum colour for Scotia which goes with all their spotted gum and similar coloured varieties across different ranges. As you might have guessed, this might be a differentiating factor regarding cheap vs expensive flooring.

This is also true for other trim types, where suppliers keep vinyl-wrapped trims to closely match their flooring products.

Colour matching can be quite a complex process, and in some cases, a product can be close enough but not right and can look worse than a metal trim. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Skirting & Scotia Around the Outer Edges

We will soon go into this topic in further detail. But to avoid confusion, we also thought it necessary to cover skirting and scotia.

When updating your floors, you can remove the existing skirting around your home, install the new floor and reinstall the skirting. This covers the exposed outside edges of your flooring and is the most favourable way to deal with edge-to-wall situations around your home.

In some cases where you are installing, say, hybrid flooring over tiles and the tiles were laid after the skirting was installed, the skirting will be concreted in, and unable to be removed. In this situation, scotia performs a similar role to skirting and is installed in front of the skirting to hide exposed product edges and any required expansion gaps. Sometimes, people don’t want to remove the skirting and install Scotia instead.

Expert Insights From Clem Sturgess

20+ years' experience in hard flooring

Removing and replacing skirting is the cleanest way to finish your floor. We see scotia as a last resort rather than as pleasing to the eye. Yes, it will add a few hours to the job, but skirting looks like the job is done properly. Considering how long the floor will be there, it is worth the extra time.

The post Flooring Trims for All Floor Types appeared first on Online Flooring Store.

Recently my wife and I took the plunge with our reputable underfloor heating supplier as part of our main bathroom renovation. To top things off, we elected to perform a DIY installation (aside from raw electrical components), which ultimately proved to be a rewarding money-saving outcome.

In this blog, I discuss the hands-on process, questions and decisions made along the journey. To summarise, it’s worth every penny; ask my wife! Once you have it you will wonder how you ever lived without it. It is one of those things that you don’t realise you need until you have it!

Why We Felt Confident to Attempt This

Like many things, on the surface, it can look complicated, and I can understand why this would deter DIY-ers. The permanency and perceived intricacy of the job hint at a low window for error which is partly true.

But as we also know, perception vs reality are often two very different things.

In a nutshell, it wasn’t that difficult to install. The beautiful thing is that the system that we sell includes a mathematical equation (stick with me) that you run, which I can confirm is foolproof. Written instructions and pictures include steps on how to install, plus access to the supplier Livella for further support, which is beyond helpful.

Why We Chose an Electric System

There are many different heating systems on the market. As discussed in this blog post, when it comes to underfloor heating, you have two main options:

• Electric
• Hydronic

The latter in Australia for most homeowners isn’t a consideration as it requires pumps and a hot water boiler, which takes a lot of energy to heat the flooring and get it to the right temperature. But once it is heated, it requires little power to keep going. For these reasons, Hydronic systems are typically turned on at the start of the cool season and turned off at the end. Hydronic underfloor heating makes little sense for what can be weekly or even daily climate fluctuations in Australia.

In contrast, Electric underfloor systems like the one we use are designed for more short bursts as needed throughout the day. It takes less time to heat your floor, and when the heat is transferred into something such as a ceramic tile, the heat is retained for some time long after you switch the heating off at the power.

In regards to electric underfloor systems, our product range has two distinct options:

1. On-slab underfloor heating systems – This is what we used, which is more of a retrofit and can be used once the concrete slab is poured. Making this system perfect for renovations like ours.
2. In-slab underfloor heating systems – As you may have guessed, this underfloor heating system has to be installed as a new home is being constructed, and the slab is being poured. It is intertwined with the concrete reinforcement wire.

Expert Insight: A bonus of in-slab is that you can turn it on for only four hours a day, and the ambient heat through the concrete heats the house for the remaining twenty hours of the day, making it very energy efficient. Concrete retains heat very well, keeping your floor warmer for longer. This makes perfect sense, particularly for southern states of Australia if you have the opportunity to have it built into your home.

Our Bathroom & System

The on-slab system we picked for our bathroom renovation was perfect for DIY and functionality. It can be adapted for any house or room of any size, and multiple zones can be set up in the system and it is very common amongst users to do this.

Each zone has its programmable thermostat, which you can set to the room occupier’s choice. Each zone can be automatically configured to come on and turn off at the times you require.

Typically in our house, we set the system to turn on for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night in line with our bathroom usage schedules. It must be noted that our daughter does not use her bathroom now, because we do not have a Livella system installed there.

Installation

Our bathroom underfloor heating is run off a single-wire system (we even included the shower) comprising a single insulated wire installed using the mathematical formula based on your floor area. There are different kits for different floor areas, up to 27 square meters for a single cable kit, with the ability to extend this by using extra cable kits and still controlled by a single Thermostat.

Note that a qualified electrician must do the electrical connecting to adhere to supplier and safety guidelines.

Adhering to the instructions, this is how our process went:

1. Work out where your control system and heating wires will come from in the wall. Your electrician will help you with this decision and process.
2. No additional floor preparation is required for the system. In our case, we began work after the tiler had bedded our floor and it was hard enough to walk on.
3. Using a red crayon and adhesive tape (supplied in the kit), follow the formula for mapping and sticking the wire onto the floor. The formula will tell you how far apart you need to space the wire. Our spacing was roughly 106mm apart from memory, but yours may be different relative to your space calculations.
4. Before sticking, I drew a grid on the floor to run the cable over.
5. The wire is run around the floor as mapped out and stuck down with adhesive tape.
6. For the benefit of the doubt, I am adding a step here: email images of your job to the supplier to ensure you did get the job done right.
7. Your nominated floor tiler will now take over the job. The wire is thin enough to be completely embedded in the tile adhesive, meaning that there is no additional work for the tiler: just a little care.

If you use a different type of floor covering, You will need to install a concrete screed of at least 3mm in depth to bury the wire into the screed. You are then ready for carpet, timber and other floor coverings, being sure to check with the flooring manufacturer.

Expert Insight: A benefit to having a cable vs. a matted underfloor heating system is that the cable can be run in and around nooks and crannies easily, such as toilets, vanities, baths and shower screens. With a matted system, you cannot cut the mat because it contains power circuits. Our wire system provides superior flexibility and means no unwanted cold areas on your floor.

Trusting Myself as a First-time Installer

Pardon the pun, but underfloor heating is set in concrete, meaning there may be issues if it is not set up correctly the first time. Right up until the point where you turn the system on and feel your floor heating for the first time, there are those niggling doubts in the back of your head questioning your job execution. But the reality is; if you can follow clear and straightforward rules and guidelines, little can go wrong.

That being said, there are a few things to be mindful of:

• Avoid excessively bending or twisting the copper wire too much to the point of snapping.
• Avoid dropping heavy & sharp objects around the wire.

The wire is unbreakable once the concrete is set with the wire with tiles or flooring over the top, without first smashing the flooring on top.

Expert Insight: If you have solar in your home, you can set your underfloor heating times around this to ensure maximum energy savings. Also, the latest thermostats have Bluetooth technology which means you can control the system while away from home.

Does the Supplier Actively Endorse DIY?

The simple answer is yes, providing all electrical work is done by professionals. Livella has been very open and easy to contact regarding the process during installation.

Picking a Ceramic Tile for Underfloor Heating

Any ceramic tile will be fine for underfloor heating. These products were created using extreme temperatures and will not be negatively affected by the system and its output.

We used Stonalix Tiles from Online Flooring Store, and they work beautifully, being a nice dense porcelain tile that holds and retains the heat well. Any ceramic or porcelain tile will do this to affect and keep the heat.

So choose the tiles you love! Livella proudly states that their underfloor heating will work with any floor covering.

Is Underfloor Heating Necessary in a Place Like Queensland?

Places such as Victoria and Tasmania undoubtedly have colder climates to warrant the underfloor heating installation, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t get plenty of use in our home state of Queensland.

The idea of underfloor heating for us stemmed from a holiday in New Zealand where there was underfloor heating in our accommodation. It was notably nice to walk around in bare feet on ceramic tiles in a colder climate. It made an impression on my wife, who became a big fan of the idea for our home as part of our renovation goals. Queensland still does get quite cold, particularly at night and in the mornings, where underfloor heating can make a huge impact.

Power Consumption

We capitalised on a solar rebate many years ago, meaning we can get paid for the electricity that we feed into the grid. From that perspective, we haven’t seen any difference in our power bills so far, and we still receive a cheque for the power we contribute to the system. For people who don’t have solar, I suspect no huge increase in power because you only have to have it for a fraction of the time for it to be effective.

Was the Wife Happy?

My wife and Daughter (who now uses our ensuite) are very happy. The whole family loves the new space, especially the luxury of underfloor heating.

Insight From a Long-term Underfloor Heating Customer (Levi’s Mum)

28+ years ago, when we built our family home in Burnie, Tasmania, we elected to get in-slab underfloor heating for downstairs and parts of the house, including toilets, bathrooms and hallways. Back then, it was still a great option for areas with concrete flooring, particularly tiled areas that get very cold during the Tasmanian winter.

In nearly 30 years, there have been no malfunctions, and the system works perfectly. Being a system decades old, a drawback is it takes a few days to heat up, and it could be more convenient on power consumption compared to what is available on the market. Due to slow heating time, you are also more inclined to have it on for days/weeks at a time. If we were to estimate, it increases our power bills by 30% during winter, which is quite significant.

That being said, the comfort the system provides in a cooler climate is very much worth the extra power consumption. As far as heating goes, it is still a very effective way to warm the whole house compared to alternatives.

If we were to build again, we would include underfloor heating. However, Hydo underfloor heating may be more of a consideration in Tamania’s colder climates than most other Australian states; however, I would like the flexibility to be able to turn the system on and off during each day, so my mind an electric system would be more suitable.

New underfloor heating technology and options such as solar make it an intriguing option for effective heating and comfort for homeowners.

The post Using Electric On-Slab Underfloor Heating System to Escape the Cold appeared first on Online Flooring Store.