Work Requirement –
We were contacted by a customer in Goudhurst, Kent to carry out a survey of the first floor hallway which had carpet on top of what they believed to be wood.
Work Activity –
The carpet was lifted by ourselves and we were looking at original pine boards but as we were reaching the far end of the hallway, a piece of thick glass 75cm x 40cm approx was actually fixed as part of the floor with the boards fixed all around it – we were not expecting that!!!
We suspect that it might have been a sky light previously but underneath on the ground floor there was now a plastered ceiling. We checked to see if the client wanted to keep it there as a feature but once seen, she asked if we could remove it and install pine boards.
We removed several boards around it and attempted to lever the glass without out breaking it in case it went through the ceiling below. The glass had been there for many years and had been fixed in very well and after trying to loosen the glass panel, we decided to have a think of how to remove it later.
We sanded the floor using a Pallmann Spider and went through the grits from 40, 60, 80 and ended with a 100 grit multi hole. We sanded the thresholds also with a Pallmann Gecko ready for oiling.
The floor was now ready for the application of two coats of Pallmann Hard Wax Oil – BUT – We still had the issue with the glass in the floor to be removed?!!
I decided to rake out the adhesive that was holding the glass in place from all around the edges and then use a Double Cupped Suction Lifter in the hope it would be enough to finally prise the glass from the joists which was also under part of the skirting board as well.
Success – we began to pull the lifter and the glass panel suddenly went very loose, came out from under the skirting board and lifted away and up!!!
We were now in the position to replace the boards we had taken out and also measure then cut reclaimed pine boards that we had with us. These were sanded once installed, some gaps filled and ready to have Hard Wax Oil applied.
Where the carpet had been removed, it now left gaps under the skirting board to the pine boards – we dealt with this by using Pine slivers cut to size and gluing them in place. The Pine floor looked great and the replaced boards once oiled blended in with the rest of the floor.
Conclusion –
The client was given Pallmann Neutral clean and it was explained how to use it etc… to keep the floor looking good and this job was definitely an unusual one to work on.
Testimonial –
The client works from home so she was able to see the progress we made with the floor throughout the daytime and said that at one point she really thought the glass would have to stay but was very impressed that we removed it and was extremely pleased with the replacement of the oiled reclaimed boards and the whole floor overall – a very happy customer it’s safe to say.