Real Oak Floors Wood Floor Blog

Wood flooring company Real Oak Floors now have available a range of high quality walnut skirting boards and maple skirting boards. This skirting is available in a range of heights including 95mm, 141mm and 170mm with a selection of profiles such as Ogee, Torus, Pencil Round, Chamfered and Lambs Tongue. Our maple and walnut skirting looks great with any wooden flooring and hides any small gaps between the flooring and the wall. All of our skirting boards are sold per linear metre.

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In 2007 new regulations were introduced in the European Union regarding VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) levels in coating materials.

There are also new laws due to take effect from 2010 which will see most products requiring zero VOC levels.

In an attempt to meet the ecological requirements of the increasingly environmentally conscious customers, WOCA have made further developments to their products for wood flooring.

All the products fulfil these regulations and have furthered this by confirming that from 1st January 2008 all the oils for floors are free from VOCs.

They feel that this is an important ecological step in the protection of our working and living environment.

VOC free oils have the following features:

The same advantageous characteristics and application methods as before positive influence on the working area and living environment Improvement of product characteristics and application methods
Recommended by the Biological Institute for Building Materials in Rosenheim Germany

WOCA VOC Free Products:

• WOCA High Solid Master Oil
• WOCA Master Oil
• WOCA Colour Oil
• WOCA Wood Floor Oil
• WOCA Stone Oil
• WOCA Maintenance Oil

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The Danish wood flooring oil manufacturers Trip Trap have lost a court ruling on the name “Trip Trap”.  Due to this ruling they will now be changing their name to Woodcare Denmark - or Woca for short.

When the company Trip Trap split into separate divisional entities several years ago, the lawyers in Norway retained the ownership of the Trip Trap name outside of Denmark for thier “Traditional Trip Trap Furniture”.
As a consequence they are requesting full removal of the trip trap name for their own use, therefore changing the name of the “original” trip trap oils to Wooodcare - woca.

The new name will be taking immediate effect and Real Oak Floors will be shortly changing their website to reflect this (Woodcare oils).

The flooring oils are exactly the same and no changes to the trip trap product names or items will take place.  Woca danish oils have been one of the leading manufacturers for wood flooring oils for some time - their products are natural, effective and adaptable for all wood floor, furniture and wood products.

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Real Oak Floors now have available another great range of wood flooring oils and maintenance products. The Saicos flooring oils range not only covers oils and maintenance products but also covers wood flooring cleaning products such as the Saicos Wash Care and Saicos Magic Cleanser.

The Saicos range covers oils specifically designed for wooden floors such as the Saicos Colour Wax Classic,  which is available in 18 different colour shades. Externaly used oils are also available which can be used on all outdoor wood such as fencing and decking (Saicos House and Garden Colour).

Saicos flooring oils are made from naturally found vegetable oils and waxes making them environmentally friendly. Also they contain no biocides or preservatives and are safe to be used around children!

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Oiling Hardwood floors by using Wood Lye and oil

For oiling hardwood floors you will need the items listed below. Our quantity recommendations are based on experience of the average floor – if your wooden flooring is very old and porous then increase the quantities and vice versa for dense wood types.

Stage 1 - Treat the floor with the wood lye. This will soak into the wood and is left to dry overnight.

Stage 2 – Buff the woca wood floor oil (master oil, colour oil) into the floor. The floor surface should then be rubbed down with coarse patina disks to smooth the wood grain. Any excess oil needs to be removed with a cloth so that the surface is damp rather than wet with the oil. If using the white master oil you will notice that some of the white residue is removed when wiping off the excess.

Stage 3 – Wash the floor using the wood cleaner. Re-oil with maintenance oil and rub down with the medium patina disk

Stage 4 – General maintenance of your floor. The white pigments in the soap will keep the floor light. The white soap should be used regardless of which oil was originally applied.

Preparation with Wood Lye: Stage 1

Ensure your wood floor has been correctly sanded ready for the oiling process.

The Wood Lye is a solution which contains a white pigment that ensures the floor will remain light after it is finished and continues to lighten when exposed to sunlight. You can use Wood Lye on any wood type, both softwood and hardwood. There are 2 types of wood lye which will complement your floor – for softwoods such as Pine and Larch, you need to use the softwood lye. For hardwoods such as oak and exotic species the Wood lye should be used.

Empty the Lye into a bucket or container and stir thoroughly to ensure all the pigments have been fully mixed together (these often settle at the bottom of the bottle).
When applying the wood lye use a blue nylon pad with the flat mop to get into tight corners. The instructions on the Woca Wood Lye state that the floor needs to be washed with Intensive Wood Cleaner before applying the Wood Lye, however this is not always required and the floor can be prepared by removing any dust with a vacuum.

1. Spread the wood lye in to the floor using blue flat mop. Apply a generous coat of aprox 7sqm per litre to the floor. Ensure the wood is evenly saturated by brushing along the grain of the wood. Leave to dry for 8 hours.
2. A further wash with intensive wood cleaner is recommended by Woca to remove any excess lye but this step is not always required as this process is also done when the floor is treated with the master oil.

The oiling process: Stage 2

Ensure all the Wood Lye has completely dried out before applying the oil.

It is advisable to wear old clothes during oiling as this process involves using plenty of oil cloths and the oil can damage your clothing. The process takes aprox 1 hour per 20sqm. Take care when using the oil as it can cause skin irritation – the use of oil resistant rubber gloves is recommended. When the cloths have been used they need to be placed in a bucket of water as the fumes can cause self-combustion. Empty the contents of the oil into a container and stir well to ensure the white pigments are not settled at the bottom of the container.

Apply the oil using the flat mop, brush, roller or cloth. Take care around the edges of the room and apply with a small brush and cloth to ensure no oil is splashed onto skirting or adjoining floors.

Leave the oil for 20 minutes to soak into the wood. If the oil absorbs through before this time apply more oil. Buff the floor using a flat mop to ensure the oil is fully absorbed. Working along the grain of the wood, buff the surface using the green patina disk to smooth the surface. Working from the edge of the room furthest from the exit, wipe off all excess oil using clean cloths and ensure there are no patches of oil left on the floor as this will start to shine when dry. A polishing machine can be used during this process for larger areas. These can be hired from most hire shops. Leave to dry for at least 12 hours and do not walk on the floor in this time. Dispose of all the cloths by placing in a container filled with water as they can self combust / ignite.

Maintenance process: Stage 3

A final maintenance coat should be applied to ensure that the floor is completely protected – if building work is being done protect the floor with Everbuild Roll and Stroll until all work is complete – then apply the maintenance coat.

1st Maintenance Coat

The 1st maintenance coat is applied to ensure that the floor stays durable and wear resisistant. This maintenance coat should be done after all building / decorating work has been completed as it can remove any dirt / wear from work done.

Step 1 – Wet Clean and scrub

This step involves cleaning the floor with Intensive Wood Cleaner. This should be made up of 1 part cleaner and 40 parts water. Scrub the floor using the flat mop to get any dirt off the floor.

Using a dry mop head or dry cloth, wipe off all the excess water from the floor. When the cloth / mop head get saturated rinse and wring out before continuing. Check the floor for marks whilst it is still wet – any marks on the floor can be removed with the edge of a knife.

Leave the floor to dry for 1-2 hours. Some wood floors including oak floors may look dull now – however the sheen and colour will return when re-oiled.

Step 2 – Oil

Apply a thin coat of maintenance oil to the wooden floor using a cloth and rub in well. The maintenance oil should be used sparingly. Whilst the floor is still damp, the floor should be buffed by using 2 green patina disks with the flat mop. This will smooth the surface of the wood to give a beautiful protected finish.

Wipe any excess oil from the floor after buffing. Leave the floor to dry for at least 4 hours before walking on it. If you are using a buffing machine and you want a higher sheen on the floor you can apply a second coat of maintenance oil and leave to dry for 1 – 2 hours. When the floor is tacky the excess can be buffed off.

Periodical cleaning: Stage 4

The White soap needs to be used when cleaning and maintaining your wood flooring to keep the floor light. When the floor requires a maintenance clean complete step 3 to bring the floor back to its fully protected condition.

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The Queen walked on WOCA oiled flooring

The Eurostar is a train of up-to-date design and performance. It competes well with any of the airlines uniting Europe. So its new St Pancras International Terminal was built in luxurious fashion comparable to airport standards.

For the flooring in the Eurostar departure and arrival halls, the 800-million-pound project used approximately 6, 000sqm of FSC accredited solid Jatoba wood flooring which is quite likely to be the largest, single space, solid wood flooring installation in the UK in 2007.

The architects chose to use surface treatments and maintenance products manufactured and supplied by WOCA in Denmark. The project thereby also sets a new quality standard for wood floor finishing in Europe.

On November 6^th, 2007, Her Majesty the Queen opened the new St Pancras International Terminal in London. Queen Elisabeth II. Highlighted the importance of attention to detail and the quality of the completed terminal through which millions of people are expected to pass each year.

WOCA’s contribution
WOCA Denmark (known in Denmark as Trip Trap) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of real wood flooring treatment and maintenance products, in particular for heavy traffic projects such as St Pancras International. Before WOCA became the surface finish supplier, the architect team visited Copenhagen Airport with the design team, where a similar floor has been in service for nearly two decades, and which has been treated with the WOCA oxidising oils, and has been since maintained successfully using a variety of WOCA maintenance products, speciality chosen to meet the arduous traffic conditions.

WOCA UK, with the support from its Danish technical teams, and the UK oiled floor treatment specialists worked with the experience from Copenhagen Airport, and formulated an oil treatment and protection, and maintenance procedures for meeting the needs of the St Pancras project.

Surface treatment at St Pancras
After the solid FSC Jatoba solid wood floor had been machined to the customers exact specifications, and fitted. The ladder bordered patterned floor was belt sanded with 100 grit abrasion. The cross beams were then hand abraded to eliminate sanding marks and to achieve the fine finish required on the cross beams. Then two coats of High Solid natural WOCA Master Oil were applied, and finished off with the final coat of WOCA Maintenance Oil. The high quality finish demanded on this prestigious project required the development of a unique oiling and buffering technique using Dane Care special discs on the 2^nd and 3^rd wet coat to produce the fine, hard wearing quality finish.

Inevitably there were several weeks between the final floor finishing work and the opening date, and given that other trades were on the floor until the last minute, a complete re-oiling became necessary to achieve a perfect finish. So another WOCA innovation was introduced, which is the unique WOCA oil refresher product, applied the same way as traditional wood floor WOCA master soap, but having a two in one ability to remove the dirt from the surface and at the same both restore the floors natural appearance and ensure the appropriate protection.

The team was able to hand over the completed Jatoba flooring, dust free and in perfect condition in time for the Queen’s arrival. According to the WOCA team it was tremendous to see and hear her majesty confirm in her speech, how impressed she was with the attention to detail, after she saw and walked around the completed new St Pancras International terminal.

WOCA Denmark, of course, has also developed the future maintenance procedures for the project. With the use of the WOCA formula, the railway station floor will be perfectly maintained and remain in good condition and appearance for decades to come.

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Up until now Real Oak Floors specialised almost exclusively in wood flooring and wood flooring accessories, however Real Oak Floors will now be offering to name a few; carpets, carpet tiles, vinyls, laminates, rugs, safety flooring, commercial flooring, residential flooring softwoods and hardwoods.

Not only that, but Real Oak Floors finance options now extend to cover purchase and fitting of these new products!

See more at http://www.realoakfloors.co.uk

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