Trade Guides
Problem-solving articles for floor sanding contractors. Mid-job fixes, prevention, and the products that help.
How to Sand a Timber Floor
Full step-by-step guide with video. Watch Sap & Grain Timber Flooring sand a cypress pine floor with Bona Traffic HD Extra Matt. From prep to final coat.
StandardsAnti-Slip Coatings for Timber Floors and Stairs
AS/NZS 4586 P ratings, NCC stair requirements, all brands compared, NATA testing labs, and how to quote commercial stairs with a slip test certificate.
CoatingsTint a Timber Floor White with Bona Toner
The whitewashed look with Bona Toner White - mixing ratio, how many coats, TanninShield on hardwoods, SDS safety, and why Australian species don't behave like oak.
CoatingsTannin Bleed on Blackbutt
Green or grey haze through a freshly coated blackbutt or tallowwood floor. Why it happens and which Bona primer stops it dead.
SandingSanding Marks Through the Finish
Drum stripes, edger swirls, witness marks. How to find them under raking light before they show up in the topcoat.
AdhesivesHollow Spots Under Glued Floors
That dead-sounding patch on a glued-down floor is the adhesive losing contact. Green Grab and how to keep boards down.
CoatingsFish Eyes in Water-Based Finish
Round craters in fresh polyurethane mean silicone or oil contamination. How to find the source and recover the floor.
SandingPicture Framing Around the Edges
Visible boundary between belt and edger zones. Blend the two scratch patterns before you coat instead of after.
SandingDust Nibs in the Topcoat
Tiny bumps in cured polyurethane. Where the dust really comes from and how to control it at source instead of after the fact.
MoistureCupping and Peaking in Timber Floors
Two opposite board distortions driven by moisture. When to sand, when to wait, and how to read the moisture meter before committing.
MoistureMoisture Content: When to Sand and When to Wait
Target MC ranges for Australian conditions, how to test a concrete slab, and why sanding too early is the most expensive mistake in the trade.
MaintenanceCare and Maintenance of Timber Floors
The client handover guide: cleaning routine, what never to use, finish-specific care, and when to recoat. With a printable A4 PDF to leave on the bench.
MaintenanceScreen and Recoat: Refresh Without a Full Sand
A buff and coat restores a worn Bona floor in half a day. When it works, when it doesn't, and how to test compatibility first.
CoatingsFinishing Spotted Gum: Oil vs Poly
Interlocked grain, natural oils, and tannin make spotted gum one of the trickiest floors to finish. The poly path and the oil path, step by step.
CoatingsStaining Timber Floors: DriFast Tips
Bona DriFast Stain application tips, species absorption differences, and the full stain-to-topcoat system for an even result.
For Homeowners
Plain-English guides for people who own the floor rather than sand them for a living.
How Much Does Floor Sanding Cost in Australia?
What sand-and-polish really costs per square metre, what pushes the price up, and what the materials alone are worth if you do it yourself.
DIYDIY Floor Sanding vs Hiring a Professional
What the hire machines can and cannot do, the three mistakes that ruin DIY jobs, and when doing it yourself is genuinely the right call.
AssessmentCan My Timber Floor Be Sanded Again?
Solid vs engineered, how to check the wear layer at a floor vent, and the tell-tale signs a floor is on its last sand.
RenovationFloorboards Under the Carpet: What to Expect
How to peek without committing, the staple-and-tack-strip cleanup, glue and masonite surprises, and judging whether what you find is worth polishing.
FinishesMatt, Satin or Gloss: Choosing a Floor Finish Sheen
How each sheen level lives day-to-day -- scratches, dust, dog hair -- and why the whole trade has drifted matt-wards over the last decade.
PlanningHow Long Does Floor Sanding Take?
Day-by-day for a typical house, when you can walk on it, when the furniture and rugs go back, and whether you need to move out.
RepairsHow to Fix Scratches in a Timber Floor
Triage by depth: what buffs out, what can be touched up invisibly enough, and when the honest answer is a screen and recoat.
RepairsGaps in Floorboards: Normal, Fixable, or a Problem?
Seasonal gaps vs permanent gaps vs warning signs, the three legitimate filling methods, and why filling at the wrong time of year backfires.
RepairsSqueaky Timber Floors: Causes and Fixes
Find the squeak, then pick the fix: screw-downs, talc in the tongues, work from below, and what a sand and polish won't solve.
LivingDogs and Timber Floors: Making It Work
The finish and sheen that cope best with claws, the urine-stain clock, slipping, and the honest expectations for a dog household.
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Coverage Calculator → -- how many litres of finish for your floor area
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