Frequently Asked Questions

Almost always yes. The original boards in London's Victorian and Edwardian homes are sturdy timber, and decades under carpet usually means they're protected from the worst wear. Gaps, splits, the odd water mark and the occasional missing board are part of the job. None of that is a problem. We'll tell you straight at the quote stage if anything is genuinely beyond saving.

With our industrial extraction in place, fine dust around skirtings and edges only. No clouds, no settling on every surface. Clients carry on living and working from home through most projects. We never use the older non-extracting machines that some companies still rely on.

For first floor and above, almost always engineered. It handles the heating cycles in London flats far better than solid wood and you avoid issues with movement. The wear layer on a quality engineered board is still 4 to 6mm, plenty for future sanding. For ground floors with stable temperature we'll discuss both.

Both options work. Most clients prefer us to supply. We get trade pricing from Natural Wood Floor Co, Flooring Sales and Staki and pass a fair portion of that on, which usually beats high-street retail. If you've already bought the wood, we'll happily fit it after a quick check on the product spec. You can also browse a selection of boards and aftercare in our shop.

A typical room takes 1 to 2 days of sanding, with finishing coats applied over the following day or two. Staining adds roughly half a day. Whole-house and larger projects get a clear timeline at the quote stage. If you want the full detail, read how we sand a pine floor or how we sand an oak floor.

As a guide: hardwood sanding £30 to £50 per square metre, pine sanding £30 to £50 per square metre, depending on condition, the finish specification and size (large areas earn a discount). Every quote starts with a free site visit and you get a fixed written price. No surprises mid-job.

Generally 2 to 4 weeks ahead for restoration work, 3 to 6 weeks for installations where wood needs ordering. Smaller repair jobs can sometimes be fitted in within a week. Urgent jobs we'll do our best to slot in, just ask.

Almost always, yes. We work room by room, seal doorways, and the water-based finishes we mostly use are low odour, so the rest of the house carries on as normal. The honest caveats: sanding days are noisy, and nobody walks on a wet finish. On the rare job where a solvent-based product makes a night away sensible, we'll tell you well in advance.

As a rule of thumb: careful sock feet later the same day or the next morning depending on the finish, furniture back after 2 to 3 days with felt pads under everything (lifted into place, never dragged), and rugs last of all, after a week or two, because covering the floor too early stops the finish hardening properly. You'll get exact times for your finish on the day, not guesswork.

Neither is better; they suit different households. Lacquer is the tougher, lower-maintenance choice (we apply three coats) but when it eventually wears through, it needs re-sanding. Oil looks and feels more natural and can be topped up and spot-repaired without sanding (we apply two coats), but it wants feeding every year or two. Busy family hallway? Usually lacquer. Natural look and happy to maintain? Oil. We'll talk it through on your floor, not in theory.

Yes. We stain with LOBA's twelve-colour range, from bleached white to near-black, and the colour decision is never made from a chart: we patch-test your shortlisted shades on your own sanded boards, free, before any final coats go on. One honest note: pine takes stain less evenly than oak and needs proper preparation, which is exactly the sort of work we enjoy.

Most of it, completely: surface scratches, paint splatter, grey weathering and general wear all sand away. Deep gouges get filled. The honest exception is black marks from old water or pet damage, which soak deep into the timber and often won't fully sand out; the options there are replacing the affected boards, disguising with a darker stain, or living with a little character. We'll tell you which marks will go and which won't at the site visit, before you commit.

Gaps can absolutely be filled, and it makes a real difference to draughts and looks. We use a flexible filler that moves with the boards through the seasons rather than the hard resin that cracks out, and traditional pine slivers for the bigger gaps. Because timber moves, no honest firm promises total draught-proofing forever, but done our way it stays put for years.

Yes. We replace damaged pine with reclaimed boards of the same age rather than new timber, because new pine is far too pale and never catches up. Once the whole floor is sanded and finished together, you'll struggle to find the repair. Parquet blocks are matched and re-bonded the same way.

Original solid boards have many sandings in them; each proper sand takes off a millimetre or less, so a Victorian floor can be renewed for generations. Engineered boards depend on the wear layer: a good one takes two or three sandings over its life, a thin one maybe one. It's also why we never sand a floor that only needs a clean and a fresh coat of oil.

You could, and some people enjoy it. Honestly though: hire-shop drum sanders are unforgiving (chatter marks and gouges are common first-timer souvenirs), it eats a full weekend before you've touched the finishing, and once you've paid for the hire, the abrasives and the finish, the saving is smaller than you'd hope. Our three-stage process with industrial extraction exists because the difference shows. If you do go DIY, we'll still cheerfully sell you the right aftercare.

Paint and paper first, floor last. Any decorating dust wipes off a finished floor's protective coats easily enough while you work, but paint splashes on a freshly finished floor are a heartbreaker. The one exception: leave the final coat on the skirting until after we've sanded, as the edger works right up against it.

Sanding days are genuinely loud, an industrial sander and extraction running together, roughly on par with serious DIY. It's daytime-only and we'll agree hours that suit you (and your neighbours; flats especially). Finishing days are quiet.

The room needs to be completely clear for a proper job; a floor sanded around a wardrobe shows forever. Who moves what is agreed at the site visit: most clients handle the small stuff and we'll lend muscle with the big pieces by arrangement. Carpet uplift and disposal can be included in the quote too.

Yes. The water-based lacquers and natural oils we use are low-odour and safe once dry. Little feet can come back with the normal walk-on times; claws are harder on a young finish, so dogs and cats stay off for a few extra days if you can manage it. We'll give you the exact all-clear for your finish.

With the water-based finishes we mostly use, only a mild one that clears within hours with the windows open. Some stains and primers carry more of a smell for a day or so, and if your job needs one, we'll warn you before we start, not after.

Yes, every day, not just at the end. Daily clean-down is standard on every job, dust sheets and maskings come away with us, and waste removal is arranged in the quote. You get a floor back, not a building site.

Estate agents love original restored floors in period homes, and buyers pay attention to them; it's also a fraction of the cost of replacing the floor. We won't invent a percentage for you, but of all the work you can do to a Victorian or Edwardian house, bringing the original boards back is one of the most reliably admired.

Yes, and the reviews are public, both on Checkatrade and on Google. Same name on every job: Howard Naish Wooden Floors Ltd.