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Thomasparketpro

02 · SERVICE · OILING

Floor oiling

Oil sinks into the wood instead of sitting on top of it. The grain stays open and warm to the touch, colour deepens, and worn spots can be refreshed patch by patch without redoing the whole floor.

  • SheenMatt to satin
  • Coats2, wet-in-wet
  • RepairableSpot by spot
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Garden room strip floor sanded back to bare, even pale wood, with the dust extractor still in the corner

The full story

A finish that lives in the wood, not on it

Oil is applied thin and worked in, then the excess is buffed off — what stays is inside the top millimetre of wood. That is why an oiled floor still feels like wood underfoot, and why light falls softly on it rather than reflecting off a film.

The trade-off is maintenance. An oiled floor wants a maintenance product now and then and a re-oil every few years in busy routes. In exchange, damage is local: a scuff in the hallway is cleaned, oiled and blended in an afternoon, with no visible repair line.

Colour is chosen on your own boards. Natural, white, grey and smoked oils read very differently on oak than on pine, so samples are sanded and oiled on your floor before anything is decided.

Right for you if

  • You want a matt, natural look and the feel of real wood
  • You would rather refresh a worn spot than resand a whole room
  • You are open to a maintenance rhythm of a couple of times a year

On the day

How an oiling job runs

  1. Sample and choose

    Two or three oils are applied to your sanded boards; you pick in daylight and evening light.

  2. First coat

    Oil is spread and worked into the grain with a machine, then the surplus is taken off — a wet film would stay tacky.

  3. Second coat

    A thin second coat evens out absorption differences between boards and end grain.

  4. Buff and hand over

    The floor is polished to an even sheen and you get the care products and the schedule for the first weeks.

Scope

What the quote covers — and what it does not

No surprises on the invoice. This is the standard scope for an oiling job; anything outside it is listed and priced separately before work starts.

Included as standard

  • Sanding to a fine, even surface first
  • Two or three oil samples applied to your own boards
  • Two thin coats, worked in and buffed off
  • Final polish to an even sheen
  • Care kit and a written first-weeks schedule

Quoted separately

  • Coloured or white oil upgrades on very thirsty wood
  • Board repairs and gap filling beyond fine filler
  • Skirting and stair treads in the same room
  • Extra visits if the room cannot be kept warm and ventilated

The result

Warm, open grain

Drag the handle: the same oak, dull and grey on the left, oiled and deepened on the right. No gloss, just contrast.

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The same bay-window room after sanding and finishing, the knotty oak planks light and open-grained
Wide oak planks in a bay-window room, dark and dull with a worn, patchy surface
beforeafter

Finish options

Four ways to finish the same floor

Colour and sheen change how a room reads. Thomasparketpro brings samples so you can judge them on your own boards, in your own light.

  • Wide-plank light oak floor running towards garden doors, still at the finishing stage

    Natural oil

    MATT · WARM

    Deepens the wood a shade and keeps the grain open.

  • Pitch pine plank floor sanded back to a natural pale tone in a room with a bay window

    White oil

    MATT · LIGHT

    Holds back the yellow in oak and lifts a dark room.

  • Old pine floorboards sanded smooth and even, in front of tall panelled double doors

    Hardwax

    SATIN · TOUGH

    Looks like oil, resists water like a light lacquer.

  • An oak strip floor divided by a line of masking tape, raw sanded wood on one side and freshly lacquered wood on the other, roller in the foreground

    Lacquer

    MATT TO GLOSS

    A sealed film for stairs, hallways and shops.

Oil · hardwax · lacquer, side by side
PropertyOilHardwaxLacquer
LookMatt, open grainMatt or satinMatt, satin or gloss
Feel underfootLike bare woodWood with a closed topSealed film
Water and spillsWipe up promptlyBeads on the surfaceBest in class
Local repairSpot by spotRefresh a routeScreen the whole area
CleaningOil soap, damp mopWax soap, damp mopNeutral cleaner, damp mop
Refresh interval2–4 years3–5 years7–10 years

Sanding sits underneath all three — the choice is only about the finish on top.

We wanted matt, not plastic. Two samples in and the choice made itself — a year on, the hallway still looks like the day it was oiled.
Family home in Amersfoort · 84 m² oak
The same rustic garden table and benches, oiled to a warm honey tone, on paving in a sunny garden

What drives the price

Priced per project, not per guess

Every quote is written after seeing the floor. These are the factors that move the number up or down, so you know what you are being asked about.

  1. Floor area

    Oil is priced per square metre including the sanding it needs underneath.

  2. Colour choice

    Coloured and white oils often need an extra coat and a pigment-safe base to stay even.

  3. Absorption

    Soft wood and end grain drink more oil; pine and old boards need more product than dense oak.

  4. Drying window

    A room that cannot be kept warm and ventilated needs more days, which shows in planning.

Start with the area

Measure your rooms in a minute — the total travels with your quote request, so the first reply already fits your project.

  • Multiple rooms in one total
  • Comma or period decimals
  • No account, no obligation
Open the floor area calculator

Afterwards

Keeping the finish

An oiled floor stays beautiful with little effort, as long as the effort is regular rather than heroic.

First 2 weeks

No water, no rugs

Sweep only. Rugs and mats trap curing oil and leave a dull print.

Weekly

Damp, not wet

A barely damp mop with a soap made for oiled floors — ordinary cleaner strips the oil.

Twice a year

Maintenance oil

Treat the walking routes; the rest of the floor usually needs nothing.

Questions

Asked before every job

Something else on your mind? Ask it in the quote request — you get a written answer, not a call centre.

The machines extract at the source into sealed bags, so there is no cloud and no grey layer on your shelves. Expect a fine film in the first days — as with any work in a lived-in house — and doorways screened off while the machines run.

Often combined with

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Want to see how oil looks on your own boards?

Send the room measurements and a photo of the floor — you get an honest recommendation and a written quote.

Request a free quoteCalculate floor area