Collingswood Cottage Vintage Hardwood Cleaned Up

Damaged Pine Comes To Life Once Old Paint Is Peeled

Local realtor sees a diamond in the rough in Newton Lake area. A nice cottage on a block with good curb appeal, with a little TLC it they will put their stamp on it and make it their own.

Seeing our work at her client’s across town, she was hoping her bedrooms and loft area could be restored. Angie’s List steered her client right, and hopefully Team Sparkle will get that old paint a’peelin!

Porch Repair Peeks Loft Floor

The current project focuses on two bedrooms downstairs, which are relatively straightforward. One has a significant scratch, while the other has plywood covering what is probably a hole near a HVAC Vent. It is apparent several boards were replaced in both rooms, but they were not weaved in randomly. While we could address them, it was not a big deal, and they would most likely stand down once the furniture was set up.

However, as we were taken to the loft area the new owners were questioning whether the peeked boards, gaps and hole could be repaired and the lovely battleship gray paint could be removed. And, the answer was yes, and yes.

Apparently the exterior porch roof needed some stabilizing and repair, so when that was taken care of it repair jacked up the boards on floor from beneath. Clearly the process stressed floor. And, the resulting gaps stuck out like a sore thumb. If that could be leveled they would prefer to restore the floor instead of dumping money into replacing it. Of course equally of importance perhaps there was a proud pine floor a’waiting to be revived and revealed once more.

Ask And Yee Shall Receive

First we went to town on the two downstairs bedrooms. Holes were uncovered after the plywood patch was popped off.  Secondly we ‘wood’ have to do some surgery underneath. There was a support board missing. From what we could tell there must have been an hvac repair, but when the repair took place they did not bother to fix the floor. Next, with the normal sanding process the scratch ‘wood’ be addressed.

Shimmy Shimmy – No More Pop

With a little luck we ‘wood’ pop out the peeked board and shim it down, either the board or the support boards underneath, or both. And working a little magic, now you saw it, now you don’t. With that the board went back down, the gaps and hole were repaired, and it was ready for the assault attack on the battleship gray.

Sanding, Sanding, Sanding

The sanding of the floors went smoothly (literally.) First up is the rough sanding. It begins in the “field” or main portion of the floor, followed by the edges and corners. Working with aggressive grits, then moving to finer grits. Next moving to our fancy, dancy “trio” we convert the floor to a furniture-cabinetry grade smoothness (we only know of 4 of these amazing machines in NJ. That’s a lot of floors getting sanding where the client is missing out on the enhanced, gorgeously flat surface prior to the finish application.)

The Finish Line

The downstairs finish coats were applied. Then after careful detailing, the finish coats were applied to the loft. What a reveal!

These excited clients can’t wait for Phase II, the main living and dining room. Were it not for walls being moved, they would have done it at the same time.

Stay tuned!


People with older ‘jacked up, cracked up’, even painted floors can have them refreshed, revived and revealed. Although the finish process is the same, older floors require an added skill set and vintage resource needs. You can’t just go get some wood boards and pop them in. You need the same species of wood, and the same vintage. Vintage stock is less available, and hard to find. So extra care and concern and attention to detail is crucial. Always dustless and water based, the floors are transformed without harmful chemicals, for a sturdy resilient result. Free estimates friendly advice, and a safer process.  Call us at 609.953.0472 or contact us online.

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