Wood For Perfect Flooring

If your new business or new location is going to have <a href="http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/hardwood/armstrong">wood floors</a> then they will be one of two types.  One type is in new construction and the floors are already finished.  With these floors you are still going to need product and equipment for the floors up keep.  The other type are floors that need wood restoration.  You will still have the issues of upkeep that the new floors have but you will first have to work on the wood restoration and that too will require different equipment and products.

If you are someone that has only new floors to deal with then all you will need to worry about is wood polishing.  This finial step of the floor is what help protect the floor from simple scratches.  Without it, even the smallest scratch would need to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandpaper">sanded out</a> and that is not a practical way to work.  Luckily there are machines that can help and they come in the perfect size for you.  A store that sells only candles is going to be much smaller than one that sells dining room suites and they make machines for both sizes and any size in between.

Of course if you are doing wood restoration it is going to be a little more involved.  There will be sanding that needs to be done and, like the wood polishers, the <a href="http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_12605_Tools_Portable+Power+Tools_Sanders">sanders</a> come in a variety of sizes that can work with any size job.  Before you start sanding, of course, there will be preparation work to make sure the floor is ready.  Part of wood restoration involve things like ressesing the nails but also making sure that the floor is secure and not squeaky.

After the sanding there is the process of dying and staining.  This is often the hardest part of the whole process because it can be quite a challenge to change so be careful when you choose.  After it is done though it will be time to add the finishing coat of polish.  Just like it does with the brand new floors, wood polishing helps protect the floor from scratches and small scratches can just be polished out with your wood polisher.

Wood floors have a sense of class that no other type of flooring offers.  Carpets can look dated and concrete too informal.  Rock or tile looks nice but they lack the warmth of wood.  Wood flooring can make all the difference.

Making Old Wood Floors The Right Choice

You think you  have finally found the perfect place for your restaurant or retail store.  It is an older building that has charm.  It has location.  Best of all, it has beautiful wood floors.  Ok, the floors might need a little work but it was one of the selling points to the property.  How hard is it going to be to get them looking great again and how hard will it be to keep them looking great?

You are in luck because wood restoration is not very hard and on floors it is even easier because you can use larger machines to do the bulk of the work.  The most important thing you have to remember about wood restoration is to take it step by step and do each step well.

The very first thing you are going to want to do is take care of all the nails.  Wood floors are full of them and you have to check each one.  If you can, reset the nails because it will make <a href="http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_12605_Tools_Portable+Power+Tools_Sanders">sanding</a> much easier.  If the sander comes across the head of a nail it will shred the sander's pads so make sure all the nails are in and reset.

Once you have all that cleaned up it will be time to decide what you want it to look like.  Do you want the natural colors of the wood coming through and how much should it show through. When people think of adding <a href="http://colorwoodfloors.com/customcoloring.html">a little color</a> to the wood they have a mind set of stain but it is much more than that.  If you are going to try to stain then you might also look at dyes as well.  When doing wood restoration, you add the dye first then, after it has dried, you go over it with a lighter stain than you would have used.  The result is a deeper effect and a 3-D look to the wood.

The wood polishing is your finial step.  This last step will help protect the finish.  When doing the wood polishing you can use a machine that is of a suitable size to make the job almost effortless.  Using those machine you will be able to go back and protect the floor again and again.

Wood floors worry some people because they fear it might take too much work.  In reality, using the right products and equipment make it a breeze and give you a great floor for years to come.    

Nothing Says Class Like Stone Flooring

There is little doubt that some of the best looking floors in the world are stone.  They range in styles from polished marble to unpolished slate.  Each type of stone has its own type of use ranging from formal settings to the laid back atmosphere of a walkway around a hot tub.  It doesn't matter what type of stone you use or what type setting you use it in there are some things that they do have in common.  That is that they are expensive and that stone maintenance is important.

The first thing you need to know is what the greatest thing that threatens your pretty <a href="http://www.wfca.org/Pages/Stone-Flooring-review.aspx">stone floor</a>.  That is dirt.   This does not mean dust.  That is easy to clean up and even if you miss some while cleaning it is soft.  It is dirt as in sand, concrete dust , and tiny little pieces of asphalt.  This is collectively known as grit and can cause scratches in the polish and then through the stone.  The best thing to do for stone maintenance is keep the grit off the floor and the best way to do that is with dust mats at the door at least if not through all areas of traffic.  This will also keep down on your stone polishing.

Your next line of defense in stone maintenance is just keeping the floor swept.  That gets rid of the grit and therefore helps protect the stone.  A normal broom will work but vacuums or <a href="http://www.galeton.com/pro-sweep-trade-broom-system-fine-bristle-head-only/11330-product/">fine bristled brooms</a> work better.  The best stone maintenance is preventive maintenance.

There are other things that you should also keep in mind to help your stone flooring last.  One important thing is mopping the floor once it has been swept.  First, wash the stone often but not too often or you will start to see a build up of the cleaner.  Next is use the right cleaner for that type of floor.  Every type of stone is different so the <a href="http://www.cleanfreak.com/Qstore/c000008.htm">cleaners</a> must be different as well.  Consult a professional for advice as to what you should be using.  Just taking a guess is not a good idea at all.

Once you have the right cleaner, use it correctly.  Follow the instructions to the letter.  If it says use 2 ounces per gallon then use 2 ounces per gallon, don't use 4 just because the floor looks dirty.  Finally, rinse the floor after washing.

These little tips on stone maintenance should help you keep your stone flooring looking great.

The New Image Of Concrete Flooring

Though they were once looked down upon in a retail or restaurant setting as looking trashy or cheap, concrete is now a very vogue choice in flooring.  30 years ago if you went into a restaurant with concrete floors you would most likely be in a BBQ dive in the middle of nowhere.  If you went into a retail store that had one you would think you were either in a very cheap thrift store or maybe a hardware store.  This is not the case anymore.  Now they are the flooring of choice of trendy art galleries, the hippest bars, and the coolest retail stores.  Concrete flooring is not at all what it used to be.

The first thing you need to do is get rid of that vision on concrete as that ash gray slab that is in your driveway.  That is not what you want in your gallery/retail store/restaurant.  Concrete comes in colors now with as many shades as a box of crayons.  For most people the darker gray is the one to go with.  Would you really want to try to eat at a place that has a magenta floor?  No, you want people to focus on the food/art/items and not the floor.

Once you peck your color, hopefully dark gray, you will be ready to move on to the concrete preparation.  This involves making sure that it is sealed before the concrete polishing.  You won't be able to polish it well unless it has been properly sealed.  It is not as had to have done as you might think.  Professionals can do it for you rather quickly as they already have the equipment for the job and the knowledge to use the products involved.

The last part of getting your concrete flooring ready is the concrete polishing.  This is what gives the floor that pretty sheen and helps to keep scratches on the outer surface.  You will want to protect the floor because deeper scratches are harder to conceal.  The important thing is to keep the floor polished and looking fresh.  This might seem like a slow, labor-intensive, process but it is not.  There are plenty of machines to aide you in concrete polishing.  They come in all sizes just as businesses come in all sizes.  You might only need a small one that is pushed by hand or you might need one of the much bigger ones that you ride like a lawn tractor.

When you are considering flooring don't forget concrete.  Concrete has a whole new image.

Using Concrete For Your Business Flooring

For any commercial or industrial work concrete is going to be your solution.  Let's face it, if you are doing any sanding or grinding the last thing you want in indoor/outdoor carpeting.  That will just collect little particles that will never come out.  Tile might be a solution but it poses its own problems.  For one, it is very expensive to install and also expensive to repair if you crack one.  Concrete does not catch particles and it is inexpensive to both instal and repair.  On top of all that it is easy to maintain when done correctly.

Just a slab of concrete will not really work for what you are going to need.  You are going to want a smoother surface to avoid catching particle and you will want a polish to help prevent staining.  This is going to require proper concrete preparation.  When that is done you can then start your concrete polishing.  This will include doing such things such as sealing the seams so that you will have a good surface for concrete polishing.

All of this sounds like you are going to need big, expensive equipment to do all this.  The concrete preparation will be handled when the flooring is installed.  The concrete polishing is more the portion you are going to have to worry about.  Yes, for that you will need some equipment but it does come in a variety of sizes depending on your needs.  Also, once it has been polished, clean up is basically easy.  In some smaller applications a broom and a mop can be enough for standard cleaning and the machines can be used less often.

Concrete flooring is the best choice for a lot of applications.  It works for thing as wide ranging as restaurants to commercial/industrial settings so it is always a flooring that should be considered.  It cleans well, stays clean, is inexpensive to both maintain and repair.  The key to making it work is preparation from the start.  The concrete needs to be prepared when laid so it takes the polish well.  All the seams and corners need to be sealed then the polish can be applied.  Once all that is done the up keep is dependent on the wear the floor takes.  A restaurant will need less up keep than a machine shop will but both can look great with a well done concrete floor.