Australian Hardwood Floor Sanding

The timbers under older Gold Coast houses

Brushbox is the one we meet most: fine even texture, pinkish brown to warm red, and it sands to a lovely smooth surface. Ironbark is darker and extremely dense. Tallowwood is a yellowish olive-brown and slightly greasy to sand. Jarrah is deep red and unmistakable. Turpentine sits between brushbox and ironbark.

Plenty of floors are a mix of two or three of these, especially where rooms were added over the decades. That is not a problem: it is a colour decision at the finishing stage.

Density is a double-edged thing

These are among the hardest floor timbers in the world. They resist denting and they last generations. They also blunt abrasive quickly, which means the sanding costs more in consumables and takes longer than a softer floor of the same size.

Dense timber also means the coating cannot key in as deeply, so surface preparation and the choice of sealer matter more. It is not a job to do with worn paper and a general purpose primer.

Old floors, old problems

The hardwood floors we uncover come with history: cut-outs where a hearth or a wall was, patched sections in a different species, nail holes, staple holes, black water staining around old plumbing, and boards that have cupped over eighty years of humidity.

Most of it is fixable. Boards can be replaced or turned, nails punched, gaps filled, cupping flattened if it is not too severe. Black tannin staining sometimes will not come out and that has to be discussed rather than discovered. We tell you what we can see before we start.

Finishing red hardwoods

A solvent polyurethane makes these timbers glow, and on a traditional home that is often exactly the right call. A water-based finish keeps them cooler and more contemporary. A dark stain unifies a floor that is a patchwork of species and repairs, which is frequently the practical answer on an old house.