RIVA Takes the lead with exotic teak in the face of birch shortage

To both counter the socioeconomic challenges brought on by the war in Eastern Europe and meet the needs of discerning customers; RIVA announces the new RIVA Core^®.

INNOVATION

The new product is a redesigned versión of its renowned RIVA engineered hardwood floors. The latest innovation features a three-ply construction, maintaning the 100% European White oak top layer; a new exotic teak intermediate layer and pine bottom layer.

DESIGN

The upgrade, in addition to the D4 phenolic glue and Bona^® matte lacquer finish; showcases RIVA’s commitment to maintain the highest quality and design standars, placing the Company at the Forefront of the industry.

After conducting numerous tests that measured resistance to moisture, temperatura changes, stress, and durability, we determined that exotic teak was the optimal species to redesign our product.

To discover more about RIVA Core^® or if you like to receive a sample,
visit our showrooms at New York and New Jersey

Wood Floor Planet

How To Prepare My Home For a Sanding Service?

Unfortunately, sanding is popular for being a messy and stressful experience, but this is only half of the truth, because the process can run really smoothly, almost-completely dust-free and entirely stress-free and to this contributes the good preparation too.

Let’s say that you are already at the point considering initiating a wood floor restoration service. In order to ensure a smooth experience and be able to enjoy great results, you need to consider a proper preparation, no matter if you are hiring a specialist contractor or you are DIY-ing.

Wood floor sanding pre-steps checklist:

Plan ahead:

Scheduling the whole process will help you a lot and minimize the disruption to the day-to-day life of the whole household. In fact, home renovation services never feel like visiting a SPA salon; but you can always make sure to make the whole experience as smooth and bearable as possible. If you are hiring a professional contractor, make sure to ask for the schedule the sanding team will follow.

If you are planning it as a DIY project, your schedule depends on you, so be smart with it. Furthermore, although there is no need to do so, but if you feel that the members of your household won’t feel good at home, while the sanding process is running, book a hotel room for a few days.

Remove furniture and rugs:

It is very important to relocate all furniture pieces, decorations, hanging art, rugs and small knick-knacks outside the room, where refinishing is planned.

Stock on plastic sheets:

Although modern sanding methods guarantee almost completely dust-free experience; make sure to cover windows and doors with plastic sheets that will work as a good barrier for saw dust entering the rest of the house.

Ensure good ventilation:

The drying process after the final application of finishing product can take up to a couple of weeks. The better ventilation you have in the room, the faster the finish will get dry.

Cleaning:

Pre-cleaning your floor is as important as cleaning after each stage of the sanding process. You do not want dust and dirt particles scratching the bare wood or staying trapped in the finish forever, right? Use a powerful vacuum machine and a mop damped into a bit of water and a cleaning product that is designed for wood flooring only.

Inspection:

While estimating the condition of your floor. Look around for popping head of nail and hammer them down; otherwise the sanding machine can catch them later and leave serious dents and scratches.

All minor repairs your floor. Might need are recommended to be finished before the sanding process starts. Including gap filling; nailing or gluing down loose boards, etc.

Wood Floor Planet

Font: Skyway Home Improvement

Sanding and Refinishing of Wood Floors

Many owners feel the confusion of not knowing the exact time a wooden floor is in serious need a Sanding and Refinishing Treatment.

We wouldn’t blame them, although floor sanding service is not rocket science; it is still a controversial. Confusing and even intimidating topic that is hard to analyse for the untrained and unprofessional eye.

Estimating the current condition of the floorboards is not a skill and knowledge you are born with; so even with the slightest feeling of you not being completely sure; consider discussing the topic with a reliable and experienced contractor and ask for inspecting and estimating your wooden floor. In fact, even when there are any noticeable and dramatic issues and imperfections; your floor might be in need of some extra attention, so do not underestimate the importance of professional advice and recommendations.

Next, if you feel confident enough to inspect your own floor and look for signs of wear and tear and other imperfections; here is what you will expect to notice:

Worn finish: The main idea of floor sanding is stripping off the top layer of your floor that is mainly a floor finish. With time and due to a number of factors, mainly due to high traffic, heavy footfall, everyday use, etc; and the finish will start experience wear and tear to the point; where if you neglect it for longer you can start noticing spots and patches of completely bare wood, where the protective power of the finish is weakened, or does not exist at all. Remember that you need to re-finish your floor with the same type of finish applied previously.

If you are not sure about the type of finish, here is how you can identify:

• Scratch a small hidden spot of the surface with a coin or a metal object. If it chips off; this is a surface finish like varnish or lacquer.

Otherwise, you can place a few drops of water on the floor and if white spots do appear you have a penetrating finish (oil-based or wax). You can identify wax finish by wiping an inconspicuous spot with a white rag with a small amount of ammonia. If the rag turns yellow or brownish. Your finish is wax.

• Chipping, flaking and bubbling are signs of worn or damaged finish too.
• Fine scratches and surface stains affect the entire appearance of your floor. You can get rid of them with the help of sanding.
• Dullness or fading of the original colour can be results of high traffic or sun exposure. These imperfections usually affect the surface finish only and can be easily removed along the sanding process.

Generally, a sad, tired and worn look is a sign reminding you that re-sanding is much needed. In case your wooden floor looks like a patchwork quilt and this is not your genuine intention and liking. In order to get a uniform, even, smooth and fresh look. Refinishing is the way to go.

How Sanding Will Help For Wood Floor Improvement?

Sanding is the process of stripping off the top surface layer of your wooden floor with the help of varying in density and intensity of grain sanding paper.

While removing the worn finish. It can also remove a thin layer of the top of the bare wood underneath. In case it is needed and depending on the thickness of the wooden boards. It’s recommended every now and then, while it can happen up to 6-7 times in a life of solid wood timber. Up to 4 times in a life of engineered wood planks.

The improvement method is also recommended for newly installed. Unfinished wooden boards; because the process opens the pores of wood’s structure and the finishing product can be absorbed better. Adding a lot of strength and protection.

Wood Floor Planet

Font: Sanding

Hardwood Flooring in Bedrooms Review: Pros and Cons

Except for kitchens, bathrooms, and other damp areas, hardwood flooring is a classic material generally regarded as a premium flooring for almost any room in the house. Bedrooms are no exception.

While the warmth, coziness, and sound-dampening qualities of carpeting are quite popular in bedrooms, many homeowners are now removing carpeting in bedrooms to either expose the existing hardwood or lay solid hardwood or engineered hardwood planks during remodeling projects.

The visual warmth and natural appeal of real wood make it very appealing from a design perspective.

Types of Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring comes in several different types:

Solid unfinished planks: Traditionally, solid hardwood flooring boards were installed, then stained and finished in place. This type of hardwood can be sanded down and refinished several times over the life of the floor; but it has gradually lost its popularity to prefinished hardwood products.

Solid prefinished planks: This form of solid hardwood has been prestained and top-coated by the manufacturer; which makes for an easier, faster installation. However, prefinished hardwood flooring is sometimes milled so that the planks have slightly beveled edges, creating channels between boards that can collect dirt, dust, and pollen.

Engineered planks: In this form of hardwood. A relatively thin veneer of hardwood is bonded to a base of plywood or MDF. This type of flooring is always prefinished and is often created with a “click-lock” system in which the planks interlock at the edges. This type of floor usually “floats” over a thin foam underlayment placed over the subfloor. This form of hardwood is the easiest for DIYers to install.

Maintenance and Repair

Hardwood flooring is among the easiest of floorings to maintain. Simple sweeping and wiping with a dry cloth will keep dirt and dust at bay, and there are no places for dirt to hide. Hardwood flooring will, however, need to be refinished at some point—a process that can range from a simple reapplication of varnish to full stripping; sanding, and application of a new top-coat.

But a hardwood floor kept clean may go decades before refinishing of any kind is needed, especially in bedrooms, which see relatively light foot traffic. And the simple fact that solid hardwood flooring can be refinished is one of its main advantages. Carpeting typically needs to be replaced every 10 years or so; while hardwood floors have been known to last as long as the house itself.

Design

Hardwood has been used as a flooring material for centuries, and despite radical shifts in trends and times. It has never gone out of style.

A bedroom is a place that people often feel compelled to “recreate” every few months with a new design. One big advantage of hardwood is that it will look amazing with just about any decorative treatment you use.

Hardwood Flooring Installation

Generally speaking, hardwood floors are more difficult for DIYers to install than other non-carpet flooring options. Such as laminate, vinyl, or even ceramic tile. Solid hardwood planks, especially, are best installed by professionals. The process involves “blind-nailing”. The boards down one at a time by driving nails through the edges of the boards and into the subfloor.

However, engineered hardwood flooring materials are increasingly popular. These products normally use a “click-lock” assembly method that is considerably. Easier than the blind-nailing process used to install solid hardwood planks.

Be aware, though. That these engineered hardwood flooring products do not have the longevity of solid hardwood plank floors;&nbsp. Most cannot be sanded and refinished multiple times, as you can with solid hardwood flooring.

Wood Floor Planet

Trespruce

After the curing process, people often ask, when can we walk on the floors? o When can we put the rugs and furniture back?

In the flooring installation process, curing time is the time it takes for all solvents or liquid carriers to evaporate from the finish. For vapors and odor to cease, and for it to fully harden.

However, it will also depend on the type of finish system you choose. As well as temperature, airflow and humidity levels.

Once a floor has fully cured. It can undergo long-term normal wear and tear without having to worry too much about damaging it.

You don’t need to wait for a floor to fully cure to move in and replace all of your furniture and carpeting. Your floors will be durable enough long before the full cure time.

After the curing time. The drying time is carried out, it is when a finish has dried and cured enough so that it does not suffer any damage when carefully walking on it.

During this time, floors are very susceptible to contaminants such as foreign dirt and oils adhering to the soles of shoes and feet.

Water and other liquids like dog urine also count as damaging agents for your floor.

After the final coat is complete, we recommend that the floors be clear of traffic for a full 24 hours.

This will allow the entire finish to dry enough that you can walk on it without damaging it.

When can carpets and furniture be replaced?

Within 24 hours, you can carefully replace your furniture; but this will depend on the type of material used for the finish.

Being very careful with rolling and sliding chairs during the curing time is also necessary; in this way we avoid scratches on our new investment.

As far as the carpets go, we would really like to see a full week go by before they are laid on newly refinished floors.

Allow sufficient time for solvents and liquids used in the finish to evaporate unimpeded and for the floor to cure.

But just as with furniture, after 24 hours you can place them, taking into account the expert’s recommendations.

WFP

Naperville Hardwood

Take care of the environment by choosing a green floor

We present a more ecological and healthy alternative for the environment: a green floor!

Generally when we install our floor most of the time we choose hardwood floors; without thinking about the ecological damage we cause.

That is why we present a more ecological and healthy alternative for the environment.

Bamboo known to have faster regeneration than a tree because where trees can take decades to grow bamboo takes about five years to restore. Once the bamboo has been harvested. The root of the bamboo grass is not damaged so it can self-regenerate meaning that it does not need to be re-planted like trees.

Bamboo grows quickly and naturally in its native environment so there is no need for fertiliser or irrigation systems
Bamboo forests are never harvested all at once; ensuring that there are abundant and healthy crops ready for harvest each year
Bamboo forests are carefully harvested by hand to ensure there is no damage or harm to the surrounding environment.

The aforementioned are ecological features; but you may wonder what benefit they will have in your home:

Resistant to abrasion, chemicals and stains, fire, bleeding and oiling. In addition, they prevent electrostatics.

Another favorable feature of bamboo floors is that they can be installed in a very short time. This being very convenient, since it comes ready and finished. There is no need to polish; sand and give additional finishes such as wood, which take up a lot of time, up to months for its installation.

Once installed, it can be nailed or glued down. Except for the above. Bamboo flooring has better grain and is more elegant and graceful than hardwood flooring.

If you are one of the people who wants to take care of the environment. This option for your home is the best.
And even better than that are the professionals at WOOD FLOOR PLANET who will achieve an impeccable finish on your new ecological floor. Do not hesitate and contact us them now.

bambooflooring