Hardwood Floor Cleaning in Downtown Augusta, GA
In a shotgun house the boards run front to back and so does everybody in it, which puts every footstep in the building onto the same narrow strip of floor.
The shotgun plan is one room behind another with no hallway, and there are still a lot of them in Laney-Walker and the streets around it. It is an efficient way to build a narrow lot and it makes a genuinely pleasant house.
It also concentrates traffic like nothing else. In a house with a hall, the hall takes the abuse and the rooms are spared. In a shotgun, the route through the house is the middle of every room, one after another, and the wear pattern arrives as a continuous stripe running the whole length of the building.
What the Stripe Looks Like
About a yard wide, dead center, running through every doorway on the same line. Inside it the finish is dull and often thin. Two feet either side it can be close to original. That contrast is dramatic under a raking light and it is the reason these floors read as much worse than they are, since most of the square footage is fine.
The Doorways Take the Worst of It
Where the stripe passes through an opening the traffic narrows further and pivots, so every doorway in the house has a patch that is a stage ahead of the rest. Those are the places to check with a drop of water. If the doorway boards drink it and the room boards do not, the finish is gone at the openings and coating over bare wood there would lock in the color difference for good.
Old Pine and What It Will Take
Most of these are narrow heart pine over joists, frequently with no subfloor, and generally carrying a century of wax, paint drips from various decades, and whatever cleaner was cheap. The pine itself is dense and holds up remarkably well. The layer on top is the whole job, and the color that comes out from under it surprises people every time.
Not sure whether your floor needs cleaning or refinishing? There are three tests you can run yourself in about a minute, and they will tell you which one you are dealing with before anyone quotes you.
Hardwood problems we handle in Downtown Augusta
Booking runs through 762-222-4728 or this page, and the first job is $50 lighter. If the middle of your floor is a different color from the edges, that is the one to mention.
Areas we cover around Downtown Augusta
Neighborhoods: Downtown Augusta, Broad Street district, Laney-Walker
Zip codes: 30901
Hardwood questions from Downtown Augusta homeowners
Can you even out the stripe?
We can reduce how much it stands out, considerably, by removing the film from the untouched areas so the whole room reads more consistently. Where the finish has actually worn through in the lane, that part stays visible and we will say so before we quote.
Would a runner down the middle have prevented it?
Yes, and it is worth doing now. A runner through the main route is the cheapest floor protection available in a house laid out this way, and it does not have to be a fancy one.
Is it worth doing on a rental property?
On a century-old pine floor, yes, because the alternative is watching it wear through to a point where replacement is the only route. A clean and a coat between tenancies is a small fraction of any other option.
How long does a whole shotgun take?
Most are a single visit. The footprint is small and the rooms are simple, which is the upside of the layout.
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Schedule your Downtown Augusta hardwood floor cleaning
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 762-222-4728. Otherwise, pick a time below.
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