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Ideal Home contributor Hannah Carvell says she refurbished her cottage living-room floorboards for under £100 by hiring a sander and applying clear oil. The floor looked darker after oiling than she expected; she said she had not tested the finish on a small patch first.
Screen printer Hannah Carvell says she refurbished the floorboards in her cottage living room for under £100, using a day’s sander hire and clear oil rather than replacing the floor. In an Ideal Home report, she said the work removed visible scratches and stains, but the oiled wood looked darker than she had expected because she had not tested the finish first.
Carvell said the project began while she was redecorating a room she had left largely untouched since moving into the house. She painted the walls, ceiling, skirting boards, window sills and doors in Dulux Heritage Sage Green. The freshly painted surfaces made the stained and scratched floorboards stand out, even though she had not initially planned to work on them.
Replacing the flooring was beyond her budget, she wrote, with the cost of new material joined by the expense of removing the existing floor and paying someone to install a replacement. Instead, she hired a floor sander for £35 for one day. The sandpaper belts were charged on a sale-or-return basis, and she also bought a tin of Osmo clear oil. Carvell put the overall project cost at under £100.
The sanding took longer and created more dust than she anticipated. Carvell said she and her husband worked into the evening and were still going at midnight. During the work, the sander passed over the cable of their vacuum cleaner, which stopped working with a bang and sparks. She said the sander was not damaged and that they later had the vacuum cable repaired. After cleaning up, she found the floorboards had lost their brown varnish, scratches and stains, revealing the wood grain.
A Lower-Cost Alternative to New Flooring
Carvell’s account offers readers a specific example of how an existing wood floor may be refreshed without buying replacement flooring. In her case, the reported cost was under £100, substantially different from the expense she anticipated for new wood, removal and installation. The result was personal to her home and does not establish what another floor would cost or whether it could be sanded successfully.
The story also shows how a small renovation can lead to additional spending. After the floor work, Carvell bought ready-made Habitat curtains for £50 a pair, replacing a plan to make curtains from more expensive fabric. She said the curtains helped complete the room, but those purchases are separate from the floor project’s under-£100 cost.
For homeowners weighing up a similar job, the account highlights two practical issues: sanding creates substantial dust and physical work, and a clear finish can change the appearance of bare wood. Carvell’s experience suggests checking the finish on a small area before treating the whole floor, rather than relying on the word “clear” to predict the final colour.
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From Green Paint to Bare Wood
Carvell is introduced by Ideal Home as a screen printer and one of its Open House contributors, writing about colourful home design for a creative family. She said she had considered redecorating the living room for two years before beginning. The house is a cottage with low downstairs ceilings, which informed her decision to use the same green across the room’s walls and architectural details.
The floor had been dark, varnished wood, and Carvell was unsure whether it could be restored. She said she had looked at discounted flooring online but still could not afford the combined cost of materials and installation. Hiring a sander became a way to see whether the existing boards could be improved without replacing them.
Carvell said sanding made the wood lighter, but applying the oil brought the colour back to a darker tone. She later read the product tin and understood its guidance to mean the wood would take on the appearance it has when wet. Her report does not identify other products tested or establish which finish would have preserved the lighter look.
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The Finish and Full Cost Details
The report does not provide a full itemised bill. It gives the sander hire price, explains that sandpaper belts were handled on a sale-or-return basis, and names the oil, but does not state the final amounts paid for the belts or oil. The under-£100 total is Carvell’s reported figure, not a detailed cost breakdown.
It is also unclear what type or condition of wood the boards were, how much floor area was sanded, or whether the same approach would suit other floors. Carvell wondered whether a different product, perhaps wax, might have kept the boards lighter, but said she had not tested alternatives. The source does not report independent testing or professional advice about the product.
The vacuum incident is described in Carvell’s account; no further details are provided about the cause of the cable failure or the repair. The report does not say whether she would change her sanding or finishing method in another room.
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Carvell’s Other Room Projects
Carvell said the refreshed living room was ready for winter and that the project had prompted her to buy curtains. She also mentioned beginning work on the fireplace, but did not provide details in this report, saying she would write about it another time. No date or further project details are given.
For readers considering a similar floor project, the experience she shared points to checking the floor’s condition, preparing for extensive dust and trying the chosen finish on a small patch before treating the whole surface. Carvell’s report does not offer a step-by-step technical guide, and the suitability of sanding depends on the particular floor and finish.
DIY wood floor restoration supplies
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Key Questions
How much did Hannah Carvell say the floor project cost?
Carvell reported spending under £100. She said hiring the sander cost £35 for the day, with sandpaper belts on a sale-or-return basis and clear oil also included in the work.
Why did the floor look darker after sanding?
Carvell said the boards looked lighter after sanding but darkened when she applied Osmo clear oil. She later read the tin’s guidance and said she understood the wood would take on the colour it has when wet.
What lesson did Carvell say she learnt?
She said she should have done a patch test before applying the oil across the floor. She had not tested it and was disappointed that the finish looked darker than she had imagined.
Did the sanding remove the floor’s marks?
Carvell said the brown varnish, scratches and stains were gone after sanding and that the wood grain was visible again. This is her account of the floor in her cottage, not a guarantee of results for other floors.
What happened to the vacuum cleaner during the work?
Carvell wrote that the sander went over the vacuum’s cable, after which the vacuum stopped working with a bang and sparks. She said the sander was unharmed and the vacuum cable was later repaired.
Source: rss
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