Floor Sanding Ilminster

Floor Sanding and Wood Floor Restoration in Ilminster, Somerset

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Floor sanding before and after

Floor Sanding in Ilminster and the Isle Valley

Ilminster is one of the prettiest small towns in Somerset and almost all of it is built from Ham stone quarried a few miles away. The Market House, the minster church with its Somerset tower, and the streets running off Silver Street give the centre a coherence that survives largely intact.

Behind those frontages the floors are frequently very good. Wide pine over generous joists in the Georgian buildings, narrower boards in the Victorian terraces, and older elm in the cottages out in the villages.

We are twenty-five minutes from our Wellington workshop, so Ilminster is genuinely local work and surveys usually happen within a couple of days.

We cover Ilminster, Ilton, Broadway, Donyatt, Horton, Barrington, Shepton Beauchamp, Isle Abbotts, Whitelackington and Dowlish Wake, plus Chard, Crewkerne, Langport and Taunton.

Ham Stone, Listed Buildings and Consent

A large proportion of central Ilminster is listed or sits in the conservation area. Refinishing an existing floor is generally acceptable, but lifting boards, replacing timber, altering levels or changing the character of a historic surface can need listed building consent from Somerset Council.

It is worth a call before work starts. Consent tends to be straightforward for sensible work and the conversation is easier beforehand.

Ham stone is porous and buildings made from it need to breathe. Where cement render or modern paint has been applied, moisture goes elsewhere, and often that somewhere is the floor. It is one of the more common causes of cupping in this town, and worth understanding before you spend money on a floor.

parquet wooden floor sanding
wooden floor sanding

What Is Under the Carpet

In the older Ilminster property what comes up is usually pine, wide in the Georgian buildings and narrower in the Victorian terraces, laid over sound joists with a ventilated void beneath.

The standard findings are gripper nail holes round the perimeter, staple holes across the middle where underlay was fixed, a darker rectangle where a rug sat, and paint from decorating. Occasionally boards lifted for plumbing and put back badly.

All of it is routine. We punch proud nails and staples, replace butchered boards with reclaimed timber matched for age and section, sand through the grits and finish properly. On genuinely old timber we take off the minimum needed rather than chasing a factory-flat surface.

Sub-Floor Damp and Ventilation

Ilminster sits low in the Isle valley on ground that holds water, and sub-floor damp is a regular finding in the older property.

The symptoms are consistent: cupped boards near external walls, blown or milky finishes in the same band, and occasionally soft timber where a joist end bears into damp stone.

The cause is nearly always ventilation rather than a leak. Airbricks blocked by planting, rendered over or buried by a raised path, or a void sealed with concrete at some point.

We take moisture readings before quoting and we will not sand a wet floor, because it will cup again and the finish will fail. We tell you what needs sorting first, which is usually simpler and cheaper than feared, and come back when the readings are right.

flooring sanding company

Dust-Free Sanding

Our machines run to industrial extraction rather than the cloth bags fitted to hire equipment, capturing the overwhelming majority of dust as it is created.

In an old building with lime plaster that matters a great deal, because fine dust settles into the surface and lime plaster does not take kindly to being scrubbed.

We sheet doorways, protect what stays in the room and clean as we go. Nearly all our customers stay in the house while we work, and we plan the room order so there is always somewhere usable.

Commercial Floors Around Ilminster

We work for pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops in the town and the villages, plus church and village halls, schools, colleges, nurseries, gyms, dance studios and sports halls across south Somerset.

Sports halls and dance floors are sanded back to clean timber, re-marked to the correct governing body specification for badminton, netball, basketball or five-a-side, then sealed with a proper sports system that keeps its grip.

Village halls we normally complete inside a single closed week. Pubs and restaurants are done overnight or on closed days with fast-cure sealers. School and college floors go into holiday windows booked a term or more ahead.

Wood floor sanding company
Floor sanding taunton

Finishes, Costs and Booking

Hardwax oil is what we fit most in period Ilminster property, because it penetrates rather than forming a film, which suits a breathing stone building, and it can be repaired in patches. For family halls, rentals and shops a two-pack water-based lacquer is harder and cures faster.

Sanding and sealing generally runs twenty-five to forty pounds a square metre, parquet forty to sixty, stairs by the tread, and repairs quoted line by line.

The survey is free and, being twenty-five minutes away, usually happens within a couple of days. Ring 01823 674562 or use the contact form.

Nearby areas we also cover: Crewkerne, Taunton, Wellington and Burnham-on-Sea. There is a page for each, and the full list of towns is on our areas we cover page.

FAQ: Floor Sanding in Ilminster

Ilminster, Ilton, Broadway, Donyatt, Horton, Barrington, Shepton Beauchamp, Isle Abbotts, Whitelackington and Dowlish Wake, plus Chard, Crewkerne, Langport and Taunton.

Usually within a couple of days. Our workshop is in Wellington, twenty-five minutes away, so Ilminster is genuinely local work for us.

Generally twenty-five to forty pounds a square metre for sanding and sealing, and forty to sixty for parquet. Stairs are per tread and repairs quoted separately. Survey and quote are free.

Refinishing an existing floor is normally acceptable, but lifting, replacing or altering historic timber can need listed building consent from Somerset Council. Ask before starting.

Ham stone is porous and needs to breathe. Where cement render or modern paint has been applied, moisture is pushed elsewhere, often into the floor.

We run industrial extraction which captures the great majority of dust at the machine. That matters in a lime-plastered building where fine dust is hard to remove safely.

A single room is around two days and a full downstairs three to four. Oil wants a day before light use and a week before rugs. Lacquer is quicker.

Yes, nearly everyone does. We work room by room, keep a route through and tell you which rooms are out of use on which days.

Yes. In older property we generally recommend timber slivers rather than resin, because the boards still move with the seasons and slivers move with them.

Usually yes, including sanding, any line marking and sealing, so bookings are barely interrupted.

Case Studies

Once your floor has been professionally sanded and finished, it is important to take steps to maintain its appearance and durability.

FLOORING GUIDES

Once your floor has been professionally sanded and finished, it is important to take steps to maintain its appearance and durability.

Our company provides professional wood floor restoration services and floor installations for both commercial and domestic clients across the UK. With more than 30 years of experience under our belts, ..

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