Staining
Where wood flooring is concerned, staining refers to the use of solid particles of pigments in a solvent to change the natural color of wood. What most people aren’t aware of is that wood staining is different from floor finishing. Of course, a professional can explain this and lead you through the processes, differences and effects of each, using clear and concise English, without jargon.
Dyes and pigments are what make up the colour in stains that will be used on your floor; the difference between them depends on their solubility. You can also differentiate the two substances from their size. While dyes are dissolved in solvent, pigments are usually suspended in it. Most of the stains you‘ll find will contain both pigments dyes in varying degrees. The ratio and intensity will depend on the colour and effect you’re hoping to achieve, so our professionals will discuss with you to understand exactly what you want for you flooring.
Staining however is not always recommended for all floor types. You‘ll need to consider the related effects and consult with our professionals before we go ahead to make recommendations. When undertaken by professionals, wood floor staining can give your floor a total face lift. In case of redecoration, you’ll find it cost effective to stain your floor, so that it blends in with your furniture. Wood staining requires the hands of skilled professionals like the kind BTown Flooring have on staff.
Types of Wood Stains
Solid wood stains: This type of wood stain helps highlight the colour of the wood, whilst giving old wood a refreshed appearance and appeal. Most people choose these types of wood stains because they also protect the wood surface from direct sunlight, rain, and other natural factors. They are perfect for decks that experience lots of foot traffic.
Clear sealants: This type of wood stain is perfect if you’re looking to highlight the natural grains of the wood, without applying much colour to the floor. This type of stain seals the wood so that the natural colour can shine for a long time without washing off or being blocked by a deep stain colour.
Semi transparent stains: These allow you to protect the quality of your wood and display it, whilst also letting you play with colours. In fact, they let you visibly change the appearance of the wood, depending on the tone you choose.
Toners: These stains are great for when you want to change the colour of your wood, but still want to savour the appearance of the wood. They are a bit like clear sealants, as their appearance is a subtle mixture of the wood colour and tone given to it by the stain.
Floor Stain Colours
There are many wood stains colours – simply pick any to fit your mood or the effect you want to create in the room or generally any personal connection you have with a particular colour. Whichever it is, you only have to tell us and we’ll have your floor beaming with it. Popular choices include pristine white and traditional brown colours. There are even floor stain colours for when you want a darker floor, which includes black and grey colour wood flooring.
For those who prefer a less traditional and unconventional colour, a bronze and lime washed floor staining could be a good way to announce this. There are just so many tones and colours to choose from, but this ensures you have more than enough options to give your room that finesse you dream about. Some other stain colours include light, dark and medium oak colours, as well as ebony, mahogany, antique pine, teak, and American walnut staining colours. There are simply hundreds of these colours and we can provide samples to make your decision easier. Sometimes, our clients are not sure about the colour until they see a sample and become immediately attached.
Btown Will Bring Your Wood Floor Vision To Life!
Applying Stain to Hardwood
Applying stain on a hardwood floor must be carried out in a well ventilated room. Make sure to clean, dust, vacuum and even sand the floor properly. If the floor is recently sanded, mop it with a wet mop so that the stain will be well absorbed into the wood. However, the mop should of course be wrung out, so you don’t have water logged on one side of the floor. Then, use a sponge or rag to begin staining the floor. Start from one side of the room and move slowly to the other, applying the same amount of stain on all sides to give it an even look. We advise you always pick the stain colour that’s closest to that of the wood in order to achieve the best result. Give it a day or two to dry properly before applying polyurethane, which will protect the floor from wear.
Duration of the staining process
The staining itself doesn’t take too long – perhaps just a few hours. However, it takes about 24 to 48 hours before the stains dry. It will take longer if it’s an oil based stain. After that, you should start walking barefoot on the floor, preferably in socks and not shoes.
Tools and machines for staining wood flooring
- Foam brush
- Mop
- Vacuum cleaner
- Clean rag
- Stain
- Paint stirrer
- Paint tray
How much is covered by a gallon of stain?
Our professionals will take measurements of the rooms to determine how much of the product you’ll need. However, there are ways you can calculate how much will be covered by a gallon stain. Simply check on the label of the stain tin for the maximum covered; then, divide your total square footage. If you need, you can round it off to the next whole number to get an idea of how much it will take to cover your floors.
Benefits of staining your floors
The benefits of staining your floors are many. They allow homeowners to mimic the appearance of certain woods they love. They bring out the natural substance of the wood itself, thereby giving your floor some character, so that you can go for a more modern or traditional touch if you so please.
Apart from the appeal, stain protects your floor from water, direct sunlight and even rot. No matter how careful you are, your floors will still see their fair share of water spillages, so it’s safe to have your floor stained to serve as a waterproof layer.
Wood staining pitfalls
A wood floor sanding expert may advise you against staining your floors for one reason or another – one of which might be that staining your floor makes sanding marks appear visible. This often happens when you contract an inexperienced sander. Also, some floors made from marble, birch, pine and fir (amongst others), are not meant to be stained. It is close to impossible to stain them evenly. The floor might also experience a bleed back, whereby some of the stains absorbed into the wood start coming to the surface after the solvent evaporates.
Reviews
Sanded lounge/diner/hall floors & finished with a white wash. Totally transformed the house. Ben is a lovely guy & very knowledgable. We love the new look & would highly recommend.
Btown Flooring did an incredible job of all the floors in my house - they look beautiful! Ben's considerable expertise reassured me from the first that this was the company I trusted to look after my original Victorian floorboards. He guided me through the options in a professional and friendly m...
Fantastic service from a very professional team. From quoting through to the final product Ben and his team delivered an impeccable service. Have and will continue to recommend to friends. Ben was able to recommend the best type of finish for our particular wood to bring it back to an amazing fin...
Ben and his team answered a last minute pleas to restore our floor whilst we were away for half term. We came back to find an incredible result which we were delighted with. Ben's communication, clarity on pricing and standard of workmanship all first class. Thank you Btown flooring!
We're delighted with our floors. Ben and his team worked really hard and the floors look great. They are polite and courteous and very good value. We would highly recommend Btown floor sanding.
Ben and his team sanded all the floors in my 1930s house including the stairs, replacing and infilling a fireplace where the chimney breast had been removed. They left the house looking beautiful. It took a lot of work as the stairs were covered in bitumen, some of the floors wre covered in rende...
After contacting several companys to sand and varnish our parquet flooring, these was the ONLY one to reply!! After a short conversation, a date was made. Three guys turned up with lots of equipment and set to work.
I can not praise these guys enough. They were polite, hardworking and very...
35sq m of American oak flooring sanded after 25 years of wear. Great job. Professional, polite and we will use again. Highly recommended.
We employed Ben and his team to sand, varnish and stain our living room and kitchen floors. They did a wonderful job. They took plenty of time ensuring that we were happy with the shade of our stain - what Ben doesn't know about wood and how it will react to a stain isn't worth knowing! So please...
We contacted Btown flooring after a few other local companies let us down. And thank goodness they did, because we fell in the hands of a highly capable and professional team! We had taken the carpet out of two bedrooms, the landing and the stairs. The floor boards (more than 100 years old), were...
Ben and his team did an excellent job on our wooden floors. They were polite, responsive and professional throughout, from the initial request for a quote, right through to the extra visit after the job was finished to repair (free of charge) a scratch that we had accidentally caused to the new s...
Ben and his team sanded and varnished our downstairs living areas and hallway. They were very polite, respectful and Ben took as much time as was needed to make sure everything was done to a high standard as well as being happy to explain all aspects along the way as well as allowing us time to m...
I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. In fact I was so pleased I sent pictures to the rest of my street to recommend them!
They kept me informed at every step of what they were doing. They were super family friendly, working around the kids after school, which is amazing.
The...
BTown have just completed 3 days of sanding/renovating our wooden floors. We are absolutely delighted with the finished job. The work was carried out in a timely & organized manner with minimum disruption. Ben & his team were polite & respectful. Couldn't have wished for a better experience. We a...
Ben and his team did an amazing job of sanding, varnishing and lacquering our engineered wood floor. It has totally transformed our home and looks amazing. Ben and the team were complete professionals from start to finish, providing timely visits and quote, clear information and they completely s...
