Where Ely's original floorboards are
Council Tax data puts about 12% of Ely homes before 1919 and another 7% between the wars, so roughly one in five has a fair chance of original timber floors. Terraced houses make up a quarter of the city's homes, and an older terrace is a likely place to lift a carpet and find pine boards underneath.
Newer houses are a different case. With 38% of Ely homes built since 2000, many floors are engineered boards or laminate, which can be sanded only a little or not at all. Before quoting, Chris looks at what is actually down in your Ely house.
The Haddenham floor, and how we'd approach yours
In Haddenham we had already decorated in Farrow & Ball before Chris was called in. He used belt and edging sanders, filled the gaps between boards with sawdust mixed with Induro Morrells Mix & Fill, and smoothed it all with a Mirka sander before the gold oil went on. The Haddenham floor restoration has the photos.
Ely at a glance
- 12 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 18 minutesOSRM routing
- 12%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 7%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
- 25%are terracedCensus 2021
- 199listed buildingsHistoric England
- 8,965householdsCensus 2021
How we approach floor sanding
Loose boards are secured and proud nails punched down. Chris works through grades of paper on the belt sander, edges along the skirtings, then fills gaps with the floor's own sawdust and Mix & Fill. A Mirka dust-free sander does the final pass, and Osmo oil goes on in thin coats. Our decorators touch in any skirting scuffs afterwards. The full method, products and FAQs are on our floor sanding page.