Location: Westminster, London.
Property: Georgian terrace.
Timber: Non original new pine boards
Age: Unconfirmed – possibly circa 2005
Removed finish: None
Applied finish: Two coats stain tints, shellac, one thin coat matt lacquer, one coat antique beeswax
Notes: I go to considerable effort before I even accept a job to manage expectations being as open and descriptive as possible but sometimes even this is not enough. This customer was a young artist and changed her mind constantly requiring me to end up hand waxing the floor with a coloured wax to meet her new expectations, which I did!
Description: This floor was a very badly laid newer replacement floor which had not been fitted correctly and was very dirty. The customer wanted a medium stain and she showed me an example via her neighbours house, although preferably smoother. I did smoother painstakingly sanding the floor by hand and after many colour samples in situ we agreed on a colour. After colouring the floor the next day I found overnight she had scrubbed some off with bleach. The next night she hacked out some of the filler. After the floor was finished she changed her mind on the colour. Again. Then she said it was too smooth! No amount of skill and experience can stop humans being human, but they can help resolve problems. Luckily I keep an old tin of Mylands antique brown wax on the van and was able to bring the colour round just enough to make her happy. I sanded and washed the floor again by hand and then applied the wax with fine wire wool to dull the sheen and give a traditional waxed look, this made the colour a more neutral brown.
