Wood is a living material that wears out over time. If your floor is damaged (scratches, dents, stains, dull colour), it may be time to renovate your wooden floor. All wooden floors, whether raw or protected by a finishing product (sealers, waxes, oils), need to be renovated at some point. The renovation of a wooden floor protected by a finish will take place much less often than for a floor left rough, which is why we advise you to always protect a wooden floor even if it is new. A parquet floor protected early on will keep its beautiful appearance longer and will need to be renovated less often.
Renovating a wooden floor is a very useful operation to avoid having to change your wooden floor. Once the renovation is done, you will need to regularly maintain the wooden floor using suitable products. In this article, we show you which products to choose when renovating a wooden floor.
CAN WE RENOVATE ALL FLOORS?
Before renovating a wooden floor, it is necessary to know your type of flooring. Not all damaged parquet floors can be renovated. Solid parquet and floating parquet (or laminated parquet) can be. On the other hand, laminate floors, which are imitation wood floors, cannot be renovated when they are too worn. They will then have to be changed. You can read more about this in our guide to the different types of parquet flooring.
RENOVATE YOUR WOODEN FLOOR: THE STEPS
PARQUET SANDING
Before you start renovating the floor, you need to sand the floor to return to the raw wood. If the floor has been waxed, use a wax remover before sanding.
Start with a coarse grain, then choose a medium grain and finish with a fine grain. The more damaged the floor is, the more you will need to start with a coarse grain. Vacuum between each pass.
The first sanding with a coarse grit allows the wood to be restored to its raw state, it removes old finishes, stains or scratches. The other two passes make the wood smooth to obtain a beautiful finish, the fine grain being reserved for polishing.
Sanding is a step in the renovation of a wooden floor that should not be neglected. Indeed, a well done sanding will allow you to obtain a perfect finish.
APPLICATION OF A PARQUET INSECTICIDE (IF NECESSARY)
Before applying a protective product for wooden floors, remember to check your floor for wood-boring insects, especially wood-boring insects. If you see insects near the wood or many holes, your wood is probably infected by wood-boring insects. We recommend that you use HM1 parquet insecticide. This natural wood insecticide is colourless and very suitable for use on parquet floors. We advise you to apply this product carefully. Avoid overloading the wood with HM1 insecticide so that it does not remain on the surface after drying.
The natural insecticide HM1 is a perfect alternative to xylophene and chemical insecticides. This product does not chemically treat the wood, it hardens it. Through this physical action, the wood becomes unsuitable for insects. Insects can no longer feed on the wood and die naturally.
THE APPLICATION OF A HARD BASE FOR PARQUET (OR PARQUET PRIMER)
Before applying the finishing product for wooden floors (sealers, waxes), we advise you to apply a hard floor primer such as Special Primer For Parquet PSP400 or the Pore Filler Primer BP400. For tannic or exotic woods, prefer the Anti-Tanins Primer PAT400 which prevents tannins from rising when the floor is in contact with a finishing product. To find out more about protecting an oak floor, you can consult our guide here .
The application of a hard primer is not a mandatory step but is strongly recommended. The hard flooring primer closes the pores in the wood and prepares it to receive the finishing product (sealers, waxes). It will strengthen the adhesion of the protective product applied afterwards.
THE APPLICATION OF A FINISHING PRODUCT
Protecting a wooden floor is essential to keep it in good condition over time. Indeed, the floor is subjected to daily aggressions (repeated walks, shocks, scratches, stains). Without protection, the wooden floor will quickly deteriorate and you will have to renovate it again. We advise you to apply a protective product and to maintain it regularly rather than to renovate the floor, which is costly in time and energy. There are various protective products for parquet floors that we will be presenting to you
Parquet oil will nourish the wood to make it impermeable to water and various types of dirt. It is a product that requires frequent maintenance every year or so. We do not recommend oil as it is an almost definitive choice. Changing the finish after using oil is very difficult.
Parquet wax is very suitable for solid wood floors to protect them while giving them a warm and authentic look. It retains the natural look and feel of the wood. We recommend, for example, Parquet & Furniture Wax CPM800. Wax is a finishing product that requires maintenance. You will need to iron floor wax regularly, approximately every year.
Parquet sealer (or parquet varnish) is a very popular product for protecting and renovating a parquet floor. Compared to wax, the protection it provides is more resistant. It is very suitable for use in damp rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms because the sealer makes the parquet floor waterproof by forming a light film on the surface. The sealer retains the natural appearance of the wood, but not the touch, as it is a film-forming product. Within our range, we recommend the Parquet Glazer VP500
The maintenance of a sealed parquet floor is done many years later (about 5 years), it is then sufficient to carry out a light sanding of the surface and apply a new coat of sealer. To find out more about vitrification of a wooden floor, you can consult our guide here.
The choice of a product to renovate your parquet depends on the desired finish and level of protection. We advise you to use the parquet sealer for highly stressed substrates (repeated passes) and the wood wax when wooden floors are less stressed
PRODUCTS TO RENOVATE A WOODEN FLOOR
