Can your floor be restored or is it time to replace it? Thats a big question our customers ask themselves when thinking about renovating or just trying to spruce up their home.
RESTORATION
I have been in the flooring business for well over a decade and I can tell you in ALL that time I have only come across 1, yes, 1 floor that I myself, could not restore. It was a VCT (vinyl composition tile) floor that had been severely damaged by over waxing ,burnishing .and improper maintenance over the years. They had never had it professionally done before . I actually drove an hour and a half to do a demo on this floor in the middle of the night. They wanted a 100 sq foot demo, which is unheard of but the place was giant so I obliged, trying to make them happy. I didn't realize what I was up against so I just brought the basics with me. It took me over 2 hours before I had to call it quits . no matter what I did , I just couldn't remove the black from it. I tried to explain to them that with stronger chemicals and pads, I would have a better chance at fixing the issue. They weren't convinced. They decided to replace the floor instead . Over 6000 square feet ! 😲 To this day that floor haunts me. I think about it all the time . I can't stop wondering if I just was prepared more , could I have fixed it. All the odds were stacked against me that night tho. I was almost 2 hours from any flooring store and it was almost 2 in the morning so it wouldn't matter if I made that long haul anyway. Sorry, I keep rambling on about this floor but it was the one that got away so to speak .
Alright now, should you personally restore or replace YOUR floor. There are a few things you must take into consideration when asking this question. Do you personally like that particular floor? Do you want to change the color of the floor? Do you want to go from a hard floor to a soft floor? Do you want something low maintenance? Is your floor really uneven with lipage everywhere? These are a few main questions in which will determine if you need or want to replace your floor.
I will give you some examples of when you should restore rather than replace and why.
1- First of all ,the huge why to restore instead of replace is the cost . Everyone loves to save 💰 money. Including me. Restoring your floor is a fraction of the cost compared to replacing it.
2- It takes a considerable amount of time to replace your floor as well. Probably Leaving you and your family looking for a place to stay for a few days if not longer depending on the size of the project. This is very inconvenient as it will cost you more money on top of what your already spending to rent a hotel. About 95 percent of restoration jobs take only one day to complete. Another huge plus.
3- A new coat of wax gos a long way. If you have a VCT floor (this mostly applies to businesses but not always) that is looking like its on its last leg you probably just need to strip that old ,dingy wax off and apply 3 new coats to completely transform your VCT.
4- Natural stone floor such as Marble , Travertine or Limestone to name a few can really lose their shine making them look old, ashy and worn out. By professionally polishing them we can bring back there natural beauty , making them look vibrant and as good as new.
5- Dark , dirty and damaged grout can really make your entire floor look horrible. This will make the prettiest of tiles or stones look depleted. We can restore those grout lines to look actually better than new by using a color sealant on them. (More info on that in a previous post)
6- Scratches and holes will can look unfixable creating eye sores making you think you have to replace the pieces when in actuality we can diamond cut the scratches away and fill those wholes with a special stone filler saving you hundreds or even thousands depending on the size and damage of the floor.
7- Lucky number 7 will be my last example. Using the wrong chemicals to clean your floor can really cause some damage. I have seen it all from bleach spots on travertine to acid etching on marble. These chemicals can make your floor look disturbingly awful and the only way to fix it is to have those spots professionally sanded down and diamond polished back to perfection. There is NO DIY solutions for this Huge mistake. Research proper maintenance products to use on your unique floor. rule of thumb . Always use a neutral PH cleaner to clean and maintain your floor. This product is safe for ALL types of floors and counters.
REPLACING
Here are a few cases in which replacement is required or warranted .
1- If you outright absolutely hate how your floor looks even after its cleaned , polished and sealed . Then replace it to your personal choice. Your personal taste will definitely dictate whether or not you replace your floor. It just might not be your style or you want to modernize your home. Personal preference plays a HUGE role in this decision.
2- Does your floor have cracks EVERYWHERE? Cracks are hard to restore to new . Replacing individual pieces is one option or if the floor has way to may cracks all over the house it might just be better to replace the entire room with new stone or tile pieces depending on how good you want it to look.
3- Uneven floors are a pain to restore and cannot be fixed if it is a tile floor. A stone floor can be shaved down but inturn may leave your floor a little brittle and may cause pits to occur . Uneven floors will have lips that one can trip over and can be quite hazardous, especially with the elderly. Replacing the floor might be your best option to insure that NO accidents happen.
4-My last example is if you want to go from a hard floor surface to a soft floor surface . i.e. carpet to stone or tile to carpet . There is no other way to do this than to replace the flooring entirely.
TAKEAWAY
More often than not your floor can be saved by restoring it rather than replacing it . Save yourself lots and lots of mulla , aka cash 💵 money by restoring your floor instead of replacing it. Your time is also very important. Less than a full day and we are outta there. Good as new. Call us for more info or to set up a FREE consultation.
LV Floor Restoration 📲 (702) 349-1457