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Restoring old picture frames

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Restoring old picture frames

I love how much work went into old picture frames. They often told as much of a story as the picture inside. I see lots of frames in my business that have not been treated well, that have been stored badly in sheds or sat in rooms with smoke building up on them for years. It's great to be able to get the frames back to their glory days and let their beauty shine on through. If you are looking to do some restoration of your own, my site has a collection of the tips and tricks I've learnt over the years to get the best effects.

Wooden Floors: Simple Tips on Repair and Restoration

23 December 2015
 Categories: , Blog

There are numerous materials that are suitable for residential flooring, but wood has remained popular due to its diverse advantages. The material has a natural appearance which matches with modern interior styles and traditional homes. The surface of wooden floors is warm and comfortable, which limits the need to purchase floor coverings like carpets.

In addition, wood is resilient and sturdy, and the flooring product will provide extended durability. On the other hand, this flooring material is still susceptible to damage when exposed to harsh conditions. This can lower the floor performance and even shorten the product lifespan. Here are some simple guidelines on performing common repairs and restoration tasks on your residential wooden floors.

Repairing Scratched Areas

Scratches can be formed on the surfaces of the floors due to the normal wear and tear of high usage. In addition, the blemishes can occur if the furniture is frequently dragged on the floor. This type of damage is not severe, but it ruins aesthetics and exposes the internal material to moisture. You can remove all the minor scratches by buffing them away with steel wool.

Alternatively, use sandpaper with progressively finer surface grit. The sanding action should be localised in the damaged area, and you should conform to the grain of the wood when buffing. If your floor has a polyurethane finish, consider using scoring pad with some mineral spirits to make the process easier. You can use paste wax to fill the deeper scratches and to seal the sanded areas.

Removing Stains

The floor can sustain marks when exposed to spills from water, beverages and other liquids around the home. The stains are unattractive, and the damage will rarely disappear without serious restorative work. Ideally, you should engage a professional timber flooring expert for repair, especially if the stain is in a prominent place.

However, you can remove minor stains without extensive expertise. Generally, you will need to sand the damaged area and vacuum to remove the existing surface finish. If the stain was oil-based, wipe with mineral spirits and use water on regular latex stains. Apply some bleach or oxalic acid on dark stains and sand the floor to remove the colouring. Finally, apply the same existing finish to complete the work.

Replacing Rotten Flooring

If the floor has been neglected for too long, the wood will become rotten and unstable. Therefore, this type of damage will necessitate replacement of the rotten sections. Generally, this involves removing the old planks, gluing the new planks to the subfloor and refinishing.  A floor installation service can help with the repairs.