MILLENIUM FLOORING

How to care for parquet. The main thing that you need to know the owner of a natural wood floor, the main enemies of the parquet and special care products - all this is collected in one article. If your house has a warm, smooth, luxurious, real wooden floor, then proper care will help to preserve it for a long time. For thousands of years, people have been using natural wood as flooring. And he will always use it - as the most environmentally friendly and valuable material for interior decoration. Of course, good quality parquet must be properly laid. When buying a coating, pay attention to the reputation of the seller and his professionalism - this is the key to the longevity of the floor. Immediately after laying the parquet, we recommend treating the joints with special impregnation. It protects the joints of the strips from moisture. Caring for parquet is far from difficult, as some manufacturers of parquet board care products claim. It is enough to know a few fundamental things - and the parquet will retain an excellent appearance for decades. After all, it was for this that you bought it? Parquet daily care how to care for parquet The main thing that the owner of a natural wood floor needs to know: preventive care for parquet is much easier and cheaper than radically updating it. Therefore, remember that the main enemies of the floorboard are: • Rough particles of dirt and sand • excess water • Heavy objects that have to be moved across the floor Spilled liquids must be removed immediately from the floor and wiped dry. As dust and dirt accumulate, you need to remove them in a dry way - with a vacuum cleaner or a broom. Can I wash the parquet? No - just wipe it. For this, a special flat mop pad or an ordinary wet (not wet!), Clean rag is ideal. You can not use a washing vacuum cleaner to clean parquet: a large amount of water supplied under pressure has a detrimental effect on natural wood. Wipe the wood floor along and not across the wood fibers and use only clean water without the addition of chemicals. Never use products that are not intended for cleaning parquet! Remember: “Mr. Proper” and “Mr. Muscle” should not come into contact with a natural tree. Keep the rugs in the house clean - coarse debris accumulates in them, which can easily be transported to the floor and can scratch it. For the same reason, do not walk on the parquet in street shoes and high-heeled shoes. To protect the wooden flooring from mechanical damage, stick felt overlays on the furniture legs (they can be bought at any store of finishing or building materials), and when purchasing mobile chairs, armchairs or cabinets, order rollers made of special soft material or polyurethane rugs. In general, it’s easy to take care of the parquet correctly - it all comes down to the usual maintenance of cleanliness in the house. Special care for parquet and parquet board Parquet Care From time to time it is necessary to resort to additional care. How to care for a parquet board using special tools? Roughly speaking, the means for parquet can be divided into two groups: • Special cleaning products for parquet (cleaners) • Special products for parquet protection How to care for varnish parquet? Detergents for this floor gently dissolve complex impurities, give the parquet board dirt-repellent and antistatic properties. Protective agents on the parquet board under the varnish are applied 3-4 times a year. As a rule, these are simple solutions to use, most often self-polishing. Please note that these products can be matte, glossy or universal, and make a choice taking into account the peculiarities of the varnish coating of your parquet board. How to care for a parquet board and an array covered with oil? Cleaning products for this floor contain not only detergent, but also oil or waxes that refresh the appearance of the parquet board. Parquet preservatives contain waxes and mild solvents under the oil, sometimes only reducing oil. After applying wax-based products, the parquet must be polished. Use such funds is necessary 1-2 times a year. If you properly care for the parquet, then serious restoration procedures you will need very soon. We recommend Dr. parquet care products. Schutz made in Germany. Special products for new and old coatings, cleaners for daily cleaning and removal of heavy contaminants, protective products, oils and polishes - with advice from professionals! Author Ecowood company.

Laminate or parquet board. WHAT TO CHOOSE? So, finally, your repair is coming to its logical conclusion - to the city and not only you are now looking through brand new double-glazed windows, draft and wet work have been completed, the ceilings and walls have been painted and glued, an even foundation has been prepared for laying floors. About two times more money and time was spent than planned. And you still have to choose and install doors and floors. Let's say briefly - choose the doors and the floor in parallel, always laying the floor sample you like under the door you like, consider as many options as possible. Sometimes, it would seem, incompatible options together look harmonious and stylish, and vice versa. Another nuance, the door is displayed under a certain floor level, do not forget that the laminate is on average 2 times thinner than a parquet board. What to choose, a parquet board or a laminate? What are their differences? What is best for your premises? Which is cheaper? What is more practical and what is more durable? I will try to give you answers to these and other questions in this section. We note immediately if you are finishing your new office, store or cafe, the question of choosing the material disappears automatically - absolutely only a laminate! Doubts in the choice are permissible only in two cases: the first - you can afford to change the sexes every year or two, the second - you are a big boss and a rare mortal can get to your office, and even then in dry and clean shoes and without stilettos. In fairness, it should be noted that in some European hotels, banks, restaurants, large offices of well-known corporations lies precisely parquet board. But do not forget that visitors to these premises mostly move by car, and the streets in Europe are for some reason drier and cleaner than our relatives. Thanks to this and proper care, parquet floors retain their pristine, neat appearance for longer. LAMINATE. ADVANTAGES. 1. Practical floor - a high-quality laminate is not afraid of scratches from heels and furniture, is resistant to pressing and loads, does not fade, is low-flammable, moisture-proof. 2. Suitable for all types of premises - from the nursery and the bedroom to the pool or airport - depending on the class of wear (distinguish between 23, 31, 32 and 33 load classes) and on additional characteristics provided by one or another manufacturer. 3. Unlimited number of decors - under a tree, a tile and a stone, marble, color, design, etc. 4. A simple way of laying thanks to the castle connection and small size. 5. Easy care - a well-wrung rag or vacuum cleaner is enough. 6. A good laminate can last up to 25 years. LAMINATE. LIMITATIONS. 1. Compared to parquet floors - cooler floors. 2. Noisy floor - you can use a special sound-absorbing substrate. 3. Laminate - a static floor - there are laminate floors with an antistatic coating and you can purchase a product with an antistatic effect. 4. Not amenable to restoration. 5. Despite modern production technologies that allow imitating natural wood as much as possible, still it is not. PARQUET BOARD. ADVANTAGES. 1. Natural wood, with all that it implies, as they say: - warm - environmentally friendly - quiet - pleasant to the touch - unique natural beauty. The tree creates an atmosphere of warmth and coziness in the room. 2. Can be restored: can be sanded up to 4 times and re-varnished. 3. Can be laid in a new house, but on a well-leveled base. 4. Easy and quick to fit. 5. Easy to care for: a well-wrung rag and a vacuum cleaner (only not water). 6. Unstatic. 7. Service life - up to 50 years (with proper installation, operation and maintenance). PARQUET BOARD. LIMITATIONS. 1. Requires compliance with the rules of operation - likes constant temperature and humidity, does not like water, chemistry, sand. 2. Wood can be sold with heavy furniture, and varnish can be easily scratched - it prefers slippers to stilettos. 3. The tree loves care - use special care products.

Types of flooring and characteristics. Let's take a closer look at the types of flooring: Piece - consists of several planks made of natural wood. For the manufacture of piece parquet used solid wood. The mount is simple, with grooves and spikes. Depending on the thickness of the flooring, the life of this material varies. So, if we consider parquet tiles with a thickness of about 15 mm, then the thickness of the so-called working layer will be 7-8 mm. Enough such parquet for decades, subject to the rules of care for the coating. Pros: it is possible to lay down piece parquet as you want. Many variations, patterns and drawings. The downside is the duration of the work, but it's worth it. By the way, there is another important plus - the ability to repair individual elements, as well as replace them with new ones. Therefore, reusable repair of piece parquet is welcome. Of the shortcomings, as you already understood, the first and most significant is the complexity of installation, there is one more feature: a parquet board can only be laid on a specially prepared surface. The length of a standard parquet board is from 20 to 50 cm, the thickness can also vary from 1.4 to 2.2 cm, and the width is from 4 to 7 cm. A variation of this flooring is artistic parquet, with a complex pattern, pattern or ornament. A kit can consist of a set of planks in different shades and even textures. Array - or massive parquet. Unlike the first version of the flooring, massive parquet is different in size. It is impossible to lay it with a pattern, only standard styling. Cons: high cost. Pros - ease of installation. The sizes of the boards can be different: from 12 to 20 cm wide, 1.8-2.2 cm thick, from 20 cm long. Shield parquet - is a multi-layer cake. The top or front layer is made of expensive wood, the substrate is made of coniferous. Such parquet is made in a square shape, the length of the side can be from 40 to 80 cm, the thickness of the board is from 1.8 to 2.2 cm. A standard parquet board consists of 2-3 layers of wood, a cheaper option is from pressed material. Because of this, the flooring is resistant to temperature extremes and humidity levels in the room. Pros: the parquet is coated with protective varnish at the factory, so you do not need to do this yourself. But it is known that if you cover a natural parquet with a layer of varnish, then it will dry for a very long time. Another advantages: the parquet is made of natural materials, the maintenance is not complicated, there is nothing complicated in the installation. On sale you can see a parquet board with 1, 2 or 3 stripes. Dimensions: length 20-25 cm, thickness 1.4-2.0 cm, width 18-20 cm. And another type of parquet - laminate. Such a floor covering is not made of wood: melamine or acrylic resin is the upper thin transparent layer, then a decorative layer that imitates both natural wood and other materials: stone and even ceramic tiles. The next layer is the base, this is a dense sheet of chipboard or fiberboard. Bottom layer - made of materials resistant to moisture. The thickness of such a parquet board: 7-11 mm, the service life is small, high wear resistance, pluses: low cost, ease of installation, large color gamut.

How to choose a parquet. Varieties, varieties. It is not difficult to choose a natural flooring in our time: a large selection of materials, colors and sizes: parquet made from popular types of wood: ash, birch, oak, cherry or beech; parquet from eastern and southern types of wood: these are bamboo, teak, merbau, rosewood and others; parquet made from wood species native to Africa: Irocco, Wenge and Dusya. Manufacturers of these types of flooring: countries China, Poland, Italy, Germany. Before you get acquainted with the popular varieties of parquet, it will not be out of place to find out that parquet is divided by the nature of cut into 3 ways: Radial, when rings of wood (annual) are placed perpendicularly. As a result, the flooring is homogeneous. This is the most expensive type of cut, it is the most valuable. Tangential cut, when the cut passes along the tangent of the cut. As a result, annual rings are clearly visible on the floor, and the fibers of the natural material acquire wavy lines. This method of cutting is also highly valued, because only high-quality material without damage is used to make such parquet. Mixed cut, which results in the following types of flooring: premium and 1st grade parquet. Exquisite or selective variety - cutting of wood species is allowed, with fiber curvature up to 20%, other mechanical damages, knots are not allowed. And the “standard” parquet variety is the first variety that includes minor defects (this is not the case in the premium class). On the wood there may be small knots (up to 2 cm), flakes, as well as yellow patches on the surface, crevices and even splits, bark within 1 cm, insignificant “passages” of insects, cracks. The last and most demanded sort of parquet called “rustic” is an affordable price, so there is a demand for such parquet made of wood with defects: uneven shade and color transition, cracks, knots of different shades (up to 2 cm), breakouts (insignificant ) Advantages and disadvantages of a parquet board The most important and significant plus of parquet is that the material does not need to be prepared either before or after installation. That is, you do not need to do grinding, puttying and scraping. All this was done in advance, in the manufacture of flooring. Consider the benefits of parquet: natural, non-toxic material; simplicity of laying by means of the lock-to-lock mechanism; excellent sound insulation; after laying, the parquet does not deform (if everything is done correctly). Disadvantages of a parquet board: You will have to properly care for the parquet, treat it carefully, protect it from moisture, heat and chemicals; Does not tolerate parquet board and mechanical stress. Cracks and dents may appear on the surface, for example from thin heels. Parquet restoration is a complex and laborious work. Laying a standard parquet is simple (decking method), only such a floor covering will look boring. Another thing is to lay the board diagonally, but for this you will have to increase the consumption of material and spend much more time on laying. Despite the list of shortcomings, nevertheless, parquet is a popular floor covering. This once again confirms the wide scope of the use of parquet: from residential premises (bedrooms, living rooms, offices), to offices and even conference rooms. Parquet is also used for institutions (schools, kindergartens, clinics, libraries, sports centers, etc.).