If you’re taking this time to carry out some DIY projects or generally spruce up your home, you could make some surprising discoveries once you start lifting up carpet and moving furniture around.
One thing you could be lucky enough to find if you’re focusing on your floors is parquet flooring underneath your carpet. This kind of flooring is experiencing a resurgence in popularity and can look stunning when it’s repaired and brought back to its best.
If you do discover that you have some old parquet flooring and you’re keen to show it off, you can follow some of the steps outlined by an article for Foreign Policy. The first step is to clear the room that your parquet flooring is in of all of the furniture.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to remove the carpet that’s been hiding it for all of these years. At this stage, you’ll be able to see whether your new floor is in a good state and will just require a thorough clean, or whether it needs more work. At this point, you might decide it’s best to get some help with parquet flooring restoration.
Begin by cleaning your floor though. Start by vacuuming to remove any debris or dirt that’s been left behind from the carpet, and then get a mop to clean up the remaining dirt. You might find there are some particularly dirty spots, so spend a bit of extra time and elbow grease cleaning them up.
The news provider cautions against using too much water, however, as this could damage the wood, so be careful when you start cleaning.
Once you’ve cleaned it up you’ll have a much better idea of its condition. The next step is to walk across every inch of your parquet floor and check for any loose blocks. You might feel them shift slightly beneath your feet as you walk, or you may hear a noise as you step on them.
They may simply have come loose, or the noise or movement could signify that they’re damaged. Mark them with a pencil or a piece of masking tape as you find them so that you can see how many repairs might be required.
While you might be tempted to remove the blocks and reinstall them yourself, be aware that this can be more challenging than you might imagine. One of the biggest issues is making sure that the floor is level once you’ve finished. That’s why it might be advisable to get professional help with your restoration.
Parquet comes in many designs, but two of the most popular at the moment are chevron and herringbone patterns. These two layouts are very similar but subtly different, as an article for the London Free Press recently explained.
It noted that herringbone floors are made using a series of identical rectangular pieces of wood, laid out in a broken or staggered zig-zag pattern.
The pieces used for chevron patterned floors, meanwhile, have slanted ends and these fit together to create the inverted V shape that marks out this style.