How to DIY Varnish and Take Care of Your Parquet Floor

Parquet flooring is the most classic and elegant form of real wood flooring. It is the first type of hardwood floor ever installed. Its origin dates back to many centuries ago when this type of floor covering was chosen over marble floors due to its easier maintenance, functionality, and beauty. To this date, parquet wood floors are widely liked and preferred. Coming in a variety of beautiful and engaging patterns, some of the more complex and artistic, some of them simpler and effortless, parquet floors can practically fit in any room and workspace and create a unique atmosphere. Besides the beauty of the parquet’s geometric pattern that creates more than just a floor, a true piece of art, parquet flooring also provides all the advantages and benefits of the real wood floor, so you get all the functionality, durability, stability, effortless maintenance and care.

When it comes to wood floors, be it parquet, solid wood, or engineered wood, a very common choice for a finishing product is varnish. Wood floor varnish is often preferred over the other alternatives available on the market because of its hard-wearing and strong protective power. The varnish creates a strong and lasting barrier on top of the floorboards that protects the floor from common issues such as scratches, dents, marks, water and moisture damage, stains, fading of the colour, etc. Wood floor varnish is recommended for parquet floors especially.

Due to the complexity of most of the parquet patterns and the fact that floorboards or wooden blocks are fitted in different directions to create the patterns, sanding parquet floors is a more challenging job than any other service in the industry. In case the parquet floor is sanded by DIY-ers and people with not enough knowledge and experience, the risk of sanding against the grain of the floorboards and by this damaging them is very high.

Additionally, in order to achieve flawless results and to sand the parquet floor properly, one needs a wide range of sanding tools and machinery to achieve outstanding outcomes. When the floors need it, floor sanding is very beneficial and can make the floor look brand new. However, when it comes to parquet flooring, the goal is to keep the sanding machines away for as long as possible. And this is when a varnish finish and its hard-wearing power and protection come in handy.

Proper, suitable, and regular maintenance of the varnish finish is required too. Not that you will have to invest too much elbow grease, time, energy, and money, but simply make sure to follow the right maintenance routine for the finish. In case you don’t feel confident enough to do that by yourself, you can always rely on the professional help of a renowned team of wood floor maintenance service contractors. However, if you want to DIY the project of varnishing and maintaining the varnish of your floor, here is what you can do.

Parquet Floor Varnishing

Start by cleaning the parquet floor thoroughly and in-depth. This is not your typical weekly vacuuming of the floor and a bit more is required. After you collect all the dust and debris with the help of a vacuum machine with an attachment with a soft brush that won’t scratch the surface of the floor, use a commercial cleaning product that is designed for hardwood floors and their finishes especially. These products normally come with a neutral pH that won’t damage the finish of the floor or the bare wood underneath it.

In case you have recently exposed the floor by lifting up and removing an old carpet above it, make sure to thoroughly remove all tack strips by prying them off the floor with a chisel. The remaining nail holes you want to fill in with a natural resin in a colour as close to the floor’s colour as possible. This will ensure an even and uniform look of the surface.

Next, there is a bit of parquet floor sanding work required and in this stage, you can rely on professional help if you don’t feel experienced and knowledgeable enough at this aspect of the project. Alternatively, rent sanding equipment from your local wood floor showroom or service provider. First off, you start sanding the floor with an orbital sander fitted with fine, 120-grit sandpaper. Make sure to vacuum the sandpaper pad every 5 minutes so you can prevent the buildup of sawdust that can easily scratch the floor and also hinder the sanding process overall.

Once you are done with the entire floor, make sure to vacuum it thoroughly. Once again, use the attachment with a soft brush, especially now when bare wood is more exposed and the top layer of finish is removed. Then wipe the floor with a tack cloth to remove the remaining fine dust and any debris.

You continue by pouring a small amount of varnish on the top of the floor. Always start from the farthest corner of the room from the door. Use a long-handled roller to even out the varnish. Initially, you spread the varnish in the same direction as the wood’s grain, then you spread it across the grain for full coverage and no spots missed. Work on small areas to prevent the varnish from drying in order to achieve full coverage and evenness of application. Continue working on small sections until the first application is finished.

Once the first coat of varnish is completely dry, which takes approximately three hours but also depends on the product you are using, you can slightly sand the floor again, then vacuum it thoroughly again and wipe it with a tack cloth. Next, you apply a second layer of varnish by following the guidelines from the previous point.

Parquet Floor Care

When it comes to parquet and hardwood flooring, one of the higher risks of scratches and damage to the finish comes with the debris and dust entering the house from outdoors. This is why it is highly recommended to place mats outside the entrance of the area and at the main door of the house. Additionally, consider not wearing shoes inside the house if possible.

Attach protective felt pads on the legs of all furniture pieces to prevent them from scratching the floor. Clean and vacuum the floor regularly to avoid buildups of dust and debris. When you mop, make sure the mop is just slightly damp and always remove immediately excessive water and other liquids.

On very sunny days, make sure to close the drapes and curtains in the room where the parquet floor is fitted in the hours of highest sun activity. When exposed to high sun activity for too long, the colour of the floor will start fading and the floorboards will dry out quicker, which will affect their durability.

In order to prevent the finish from becoming dull or losing its protective power that will affect the condition of the floorboards, make sure to repeat the process of sanding and varnishing regularly. In most cases, when it comes to domestic floors with medium traffic, regularity means usually every four to five years.