Floor Sanding and Varnishing in Nairobi: Bring the Original Floor Back
KES 400 / m²
Most tired timber floors do not need replacing
A scratched, greyed, patchy timber or parquet floor is usually a sound floor with a worn finish. Sanding removes the old finish and the top fraction of a millimetre of timber, and what emerges is the original floor.
In the older Muthaiga, Lavington and Karen houses this is the single best-value work we do. The parquet in those houses is frequently better timber than anything currently sold, and it has already been down for fifty years.
What it costs
| Work | Rate |
|---|---|
| Sanding | KES 400 / m² |
| Sanding and varnishing | KES 700 / m² |
So a 40 m² living room is roughly KES 28,000 fully refinished. Against replacing the same floor that is not a close decision.
How many times can a floor be sanded?
Solid timber, many times: it is limited only by the depth above the tongue. Engineered board, usually two or three times depending on the wear layer. Parquet blocks, several times, though old mastic-laid parquet needs care because a block that has lifted must be re-bedded first rather than sanded flat.
We check the floor and tell you how much life it has left before we start.
Finish
Oil penetrates, looks natural, and can be spot-repaired without redoing the whole floor, but needs re-oiling every couple of years. Varnish or lacquer sits on the surface, is harder wearing and needs nothing for years, but when it does wear the whole floor has to be redone.
For a busy family house in Nairobi we usually recommend a hard-wearing lacquer. For a floor someone wants to look after and keep looking soft, oil.
Dust and disruption
It is a dusty process even with extraction, and the room has to be empty. Varnish then needs curing time before furniture returns, typically a few days for light use and longer before rugs go down.
See every floor type priced, or the areas we cover.