Original boards in Great Shelford's older homes
About 320 homes in the parish predate 1919 and about 330 more were built between the wars. Pine boards from either period can usually be sanded back to clean timber, repaired and oiled. Terraced houses, around 14% of the village, often have the same boards running through the ground floor.
Chris, our wooden floor specialist, lifts a corner to check thickness and condition before anything is quoted. Engineered boards may take one sanding or none, and laminate can't be sanded at all; he'll tell you plainly.
Sanding, filling and oiling
The main floor is sanded with a belt sander through coarse to fine grades, the edges with an edging sander. Gaps are filled with the floor's own sawdust mixed with Induro Morrells Mix & Fill, a Mirka dust-free sander gives the final pass, and the boards are finished in thin coats of Osmo Polyx oil. The Haddenham gold-oiled floor shows each stage, and you can see Chris introduce himself on our videos page.
Great Shelford at a glance
- 14 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 21 minutesOSRM routing
- 14%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 14%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
- 14%are terracedCensus 2021
- 34listed buildingsHistoric England
- 2,030householdsCensus 2021
How we approach floor sanding
In an older Great Shelford house Chris first secures loose boards and punches down any nails standing proud. He sands with belt and edging machines, fills gaps with sawdust and Mix & Fill to match the timber colour, smooths with a Mirka sander, then applies Osmo Polyx in thin coats, clear or tinted, letting each dry fully. The full method, products and FAQs are on our floor sanding page.