Floor Sanding Okehampton

Floor Sanding and Wood Floor Restoration in Okehampton, Devon

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Floor sanding before and after

Floor Sanding in Okehampton and North Dartmoor

Okehampton sits right under the highest part of Dartmoor and the weather makes itself felt in every building in the town. Granite and cob cottages in the older streets, solid Victorian terraces built around the market and the railway, interwar housing towards Crediton Road and modern estates spreading north.

Out on the moor edge, at Belstone, Sticklepath and South Zeal, the cottages are older and lower and the floors more interesting. Wide elm and early pine, often laid straight onto sleeper walls with very little void beneath.

We cover Okehampton, Belstone, Sticklepath, South Zeal, South Tawton, North Tawton, Chagford, Bridestowe, Lydford and Hatherleigh, plus Tavistock, Crediton and Exeter.

Dartmoor Weather and Sub-Floor Damp

Okehampton gets a genuinely high rainfall and long periods of saturated ground, and floors here suffer for it more than almost anywhere else we work.

The pattern is consistent. Cupped boards near external walls, blown or milky finishes in the same band, and sometimes soft timber where a joist end bears into wet granite or cob.

The cause is rarely a leak. It is nearly always a sub-floor void that has stopped breathing, because airbricks were blocked, rendered over or buried by a raised path, or because a concrete floor was put in somewhere that stopped the airflow through.

We take moisture readings before we quote and we will not sand a wet floor. It will cup again and the finish will fail within a season, and you will have paid for nothing. We tell you plainly what to fix and come back when the readings are right.

parquet wooden floor sanding
wooden floor sanding

Old Cottage Floors and What They Need

Moor edge cottages regularly turn up wide elm boards, sometimes over a metre of history in the form of patches, hearth repairs and pipe runs. They are lovely floors and they need a light hand.

Elm is soft and by now often thin, so we measure before quoting and take off the minimum that will produce a sound, even surface. Finer grits and more passes, not an aggressive first cut.

Many of these properties are listed. Refinishing an existing floor is generally acceptable, but lifting or replacing historic boards can need consent from West Devon Borough Council. Ask first rather than after.

Where boards must be replaced we use reclaimed timber matched for age, species and section, so the repair sits into the floor instead of standing out for the next twenty years.

Dust-Free Sanding

Our machines run to industrial extraction rather than the cloth bags on hire equipment, capturing the great majority of dust as it is made.

In a low cottage with small rooms and thick walls that matters, because there is nowhere for airborne dust to go and it ends up on every surface in the building.

We sheet doorways, protect what stays in the room and clean as we go. Most customers stay put throughout, and we go room by room so there is always somewhere usable.

flooring sanding company

Commercial Floors Around Okehampton

We work for pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops in Okehampton and the moor edge villages, plus church and village halls, schools, colleges, nurseries, gyms, dance studios and sports halls across west Devon.

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 grip rather than turning slippery.

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 halls go into holiday windows, booked a term or more ahead because those weeks are fixed and they fill early.

Finishes for a Wet Climate

Hardwax oil suits old elm and pine, keeps the grain visible and can be repaired in patches rather than by redoing a room. It is what we fit most in the moor edge cottages.

Where a floor takes wet boots off the moor, a family hallway, a holiday let or a pub, a two-pack water-based lacquer is considerably harder and cures faster.

In a climate this wet, matting matters more than usual. A generous coir mat at every external door removes the grit and water that would otherwise grind through any finish along the walking line.

We lay trial patches on your own boards and leave them a full day, because old elm takes colour unevenly and it is better to discover that on a test patch.

Wood floor sanding company
Floor sanding taunton

Costs, Timings and Booking

Sanding and sealing around Okehampton generally runs twenty-five to forty pounds a square metre. Parquet is higher. Stairs are per tread and gap filling, board replacement and repairs are quoted line by line.

The survey is free and takes about half an hour. We measure remaining timber, take moisture readings, look at ventilation and tell you what the floor actually needs, including when the honest answer is to wait until it has dried out.

Ring 01823 674562 or use the contact form. Photographs of the room and of the worst area will usually get you a realistic range before anyone drives over.

Nearby areas we also cover: Crediton, Exeter, Tavistock and Axminster. There is a page for each, and the full list of towns is on our areas we cover page.

FAQ: Floor Sanding in Okehampton

Okehampton, Belstone, Sticklepath, South Zeal, South Tawton, North Tawton, Chagford, Bridestowe, Lydford and Hatherleigh, plus Tavistock, Crediton and Exeter.

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

High rainfall off Dartmoor, saturated ground for much of the winter, and sub-floor voids that have often stopped breathing because airbricks were blocked, rendered over or buried by a raised path.

No, and we will tell you so. It will cup again and the finish will fail within a season. We take readings first, explain what needs fixing and come back when the floor is ready.

Usually beautifully, but they need a light hand. Elm is soft and often thin by now, so we take off the minimum needed rather than chasing a factory-flat surface.

Refinishing an existing floor is normally acceptable, but lifting or replacing historic boards can need listed building consent from West Devon Borough Council. Ask before starting.

We run industrial extraction which captures the great majority of dust at source. Not literally zero, but a completely different experience from hired equipment.

A single room is about 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. We use reclaimed timber matched for age, species and section wherever possible so a repair blends into the floor rather than announcing itself.

Yes. Pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels, shops, village and church halls, schools, colleges, nurseries, gyms, dance studios and sports halls including line marking.

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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