The Velodrome

Just for Christmas we have decided to let everyone have a look at a wee project we have been working on.

Edinburgh's very first Velodrome!!

Delivered on time!!!

Delivered Under Budget!!!

With Efficient Service...

and Quality Craftsmanship!!!

and all in time for Christmas!!!

See it in action here!!!

Merry Christmas to our friends in the west!!

Hardwood Recycling

In our quest to try and recycle more of the waste that we produce during the day to day running of the business we have found a novel way to be rid of the excess wood and off cuts that we produce.

While advertising wood that had been left over from jobs that we assumed would probably be used for firewood, we had a visit from a gentleman that made various ornaments, toys and wall plaques. He has since started making regular visits to us to take away any

left over wood that we cannot use. In return he has left some of his ornaments to sell in our showroom and made a chess set for our Managing Director. I have included a few pictures of some of the pieces that he has left with us, but there is a wider collection on his website - http://thewoodnmenagerie.webs.com

Winter Preperation

During Autumn and Winter your hardwood will have to cope with a great deal more than during the rest of the year. To ensure your floor looks its best for as long as possible you should ensure that you have everything you need to care for your floor during the Winter months.

Firstly, ensure that your floor is well sealed. This will help prevent permanent marks on the floor. The lacquer seal on the floor is a barrier between all contact with the wood that makes up your floor. This thin layer stops the wood coming into direct contact with any water sitting on the surface for a short period of time, allowing time to act before any lasting damage is done to the floor.

Secondly, a must have is an appropriate throw down matt or matt well at the entrance to the property. This will help to remove any stones, grit, salt or moisture on shoes prior to contact with the hardwood floor. Preventing damage in the first place is always better than trying to remedy it. For additional protection during snowy weather, use a towel to help cope with the excess of water being brought indoors. Also, as well as drying your own feet, try to keep the amount of water brought in by pets to a minimum. Try and get them into a routine of letting you dry them off when entering the property.

A good quality dust mop is always useful in protecting a hardwood floor. Using it on its own to remove dust and grit or with a cleaning spray to take of residue left by road gritting salt. Trigger spray mops are also good for this purpose, particularly those made by flooring companies such as Bona, which is what we use on all of our floors in the showroom.

Remember that the use of central heating during the winter months can sometime cause board to gap. This is part of having a hardwood floor and should remedy itself during the spring and summer months. Because of the low humidity levels indoors during the winter months, it is a perfect time to lay a new hardwood floor. The floor will be laid during the driest part of the cycle meaning that the floor will expand during the summer rather than contract during the winter. This should minimise any gapping that may occur.

Recycling

We are becoming more and more aware of the waste materials from the projects that we carry out and have recently been researching what the alternatives are to sending it to landfill. Various companies offer services to take away sorted waste and recycle it and we will be taking up one of these offers but we are yet to find a service to recycle waste wood and sawdust.

One company suggested taking advantage of sites such as Freecycle and Gumtree. This turned out to be a fantastic suggestion. We have advertised the scrap wood and have had most of it taken away already, after only a few hours we had three responses. We also advertised the sawdust, which is very good for composting but is difficult to store due to the fact that it can be very combustive. We have also had a few enquiries via facebook and twitter.

Our aim is to recycle all of the waste that we produce and avoid any excess waste being produced. If anyone has any use for scraps, sawdust or even the containers that our lacquers come in, please contact us via our website.

The Showroom

We regularly have customers come and see us that know that they want a hardwood floor but have no idea what they are looking for. If the customer is not given a full enough range to choose from they could end up making the wrong decision and regretting it after the floor is fitted. In our showroom we have over 200 samples on display of all different formats, colours and species. The most popular of all the species is Oak. We have many samples of Oak stained in various colours, a variety of finishes and formats (solid, engineered (1, 2 & 3 strip), real wood laminates and plastic laminates). We also have a wide range of other species on display, including Walnut, Cherry, Beech, Ash and Jatoba. We have also fitted a brand new stand to better show off the floors in Ted Todd's various ranges.

When first entering the showroom customers see our colour chart, which is much like a paint colour chart on a larger scale. It ranges from very pale stained Ash down to black stained Oak and Walnut. This is always a good starting point for customers to give us an idea of what they are looking for and point them in the right direction.

We know that there is nothing worse than not being able to imagine what your new floor will look like. The samples in our showroom are big enough to give a reasonable representation of the floors that we can provide. In the case of Kahrs we can also show off the whole collection in various situations using the virtual showroom as well as a vast library of pictures of floors in situ from all of our suppliers.

Our staff are well practised in finding the right floor for most situations. We can also advise on the best course of maintenance for Hardwood Floors and if a floor can be sanded and resealed or not. Our sales staff are trained by our suppliers to ensure that they have a good understanding of the products we sell and can therefor give you the best advice. Why not visit us today.

Seasonal Changes

During the winter we often get enquiries about why a floor is starting to have gaps appear between the boards. This is usually due to seasonal changes in the climate. As the humidity in a space reduces the wood will begin to contract, this causes the gaps to appear between the boards. Humidity reduces because of the increased use of central heating during the winter months and then return to normal when the humidity reverts back.

This can be minimised and sometimes prevented by the way the floor is laid. Using a floor system that does not need to be nailed or glued to the sub-floor, such as Kahrs or Junckers floating systems, can minimise the chance of gaps appearing in a floor.

The Kahrs Woodloc Joint holds the individual boards together preventing them from pulling apart when the humidity changes. The floating floor system is fitted with a silicone seal or cork filler around the perimeter of the floored area. This is called an expansion gap and allows all expansion to occur at the edges of the floor rather than between the joints of each board, letting the floor expand and contract as one. Many different types of engineered flooring have a similar system to this and all have their benefits for different situations.

The Junckers clip system works in a similar way but uses metal clips to hold the solid floor together rather than the boards holding themselves in place. Each Junckers board has a groove cut into the underside to allow for a metal clip to be inserted to connect each board to the one next to it. This connects all of the boards together and prevents them from pulling away form each other. The floor is again fitted with an expansion gap to allow it to expand and contact around the perimeter. Junckers is the only solid floor that can be laid in this way. As with engineered floors different solid floors are more suited in different situations.

How to look after a new hardwood floor

A hardwood floor is one of the most expensive decorative home improvements you can make, so it is important to make sure that it is looked after properly. A well maintained floor can last a great deal longer than other types of floor coverings. Here are a few points to make sure that your new floor can last and look at its best for its life.

Firstly try and protect the seal on the floor wherever possible. Apply felt pads to furniture feet to prevent scratches and castor cups to castors and heavy furniture to avoid dents occurring. When moving furniture use furniture movers or pieces of carpet to avoid scratching. Minor scratches often appear in a floor as general day to day accidents happen, these just add to the character of the floor.

Secondly, never apply water to a hardwood floor. Using a mild floor cleaning detergent with a dry mop will take any surface marks off of the floor, we would recommend GL E-Zee clean, but any hardwood floor cleaner would do. Regularly sweep the floor with a dry dust mop and use a hoover with brush attachment to remove dust and prevent scratches from grit left lying on the floor.

Once or twice a year polish can be applied to the floor to refresh the lacquer, a layer of polish can also protect the lacquer. A build up of polish can occur if used too often and cause a film to appear on the floor, if this happens polish remover can be used to remove the polish and reveal the lacquer underneath.

At some point in its life your floor will need to be sanded and refinished. A well finished and maintained floor should last about 12-13 years before its first sand, but more regularly in high traffic areas. You can tell if your floor needs to be sanded and resealed when it begins to look dull and looses its warm colour. At this time if you fancy a change you can add a stain to your floor to give your room a new look at a fraction of the cost of a new floor.

Just a few points to help you look after your new hardwood floor. If you require any help or further information visit our website and use the ask the experts section or give us a call on 01316691204.

Laminates

Even though at GL we prefer real wood, there is always a situation that may benefit from a laminate floor. Then again a laminate floor doesn't always have to be plastic. One product that we sell is Kahrs Linnea, a laminate board with a very fine layer of real wood (0.6mm) instead of a plastic copy. This gives a floor the warmth and natural variances of a real wood floor. The construction of the board makes it very hard wearing, meaning it can be laid in areas with high traffic and last without wearing as quickly as a solid or engineered floor. This is due to the High Density Fibreboard (HDF) core. Another major selling point for Linnea is its price, in many cases it is cheaper than the plastic alternative.

Linnea can be repaired and maintained in much the same way as an engineered or solid floor. It cannot be sanded due to the thin wear layer, but can be re-lacquered if the floor begins to look dull. With the right maintenance the floor should not need to be re-lacquered for years and has a 13 year guarantee.

In some situations a plastic laminate can be appropriate. It is a cheap alternative to a real wood floor and can offer a more unusual talking point for any room. Parador even offer some floors with a 3D pattern, which can be seen on their website through the link on the right side of the page. Parador offer bright colours and unusual patterns, completely white or black floors, wood and tile effect. What ever you are looking for there is probably a Parador laminate to suit.

New Year

The new year often signals a new start for many people, or even just a bit of a change for others. The most unchanging part of any house/room is the flooring. Statistics show that people like to change their décor once every five years, but this doesn't always include the floor. This is often because it is too expensive to change, but this is not necessarily the case. Often the easiest way to make a change is to sand a floor and have it stained, giving the look of a brand new floor without have to replace it.

Often if there is a fitted carpet in a house prior to a person moving in, they usually have no idea what is underneath it. In older properties there is often the pleasant surprise of a beautiful, slightly mistreated, hardwood floor. These types of floor can sometime be restored to their former glory and can become a real talking point of any room as an original feature of the house.