Parquet restoration

Time, great operation pressure, bad condition of subfloor result in destruction of luxurious parquet floorings that decorate halls of palaces-museums. Sketches for these parquet floorings were made by famous Russian architects. Floorings were produced by experienced cabinet-makers.

Parquet restoration is return of former beauty and prolongation of life of artistic parquet that has cultural and historical value trying to preserve its original appearance. Parquet restoration requires special grounding (expert examination, studying archives), high professionalism of installers and relevant technical base. All restoration works are held under surveillance of Russian Ministry of Culture.

Completed restoration works

More than 10 years already the company Art Parquet has been restoring parquet floorings of the best Russian traditions. Old technologies, modern finishing materials and hi-tech equipment are combined in order to make parquet restoration possible. Thanks to the company’s restoration activity the ancient technique of artistic decoration – graphier – was restored. The company uses this technique extensively when producing modern parquet flooring.
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Such projects as the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Paskov’s House, Estate museum Arkhangelskoye, Residence of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the State Hermitage, the Bolshoi Theatre, Tsaritsino museum and reserve helped the company to gain the experience that gives the company opportunity to create the most complicated artistic parquet flooring in modern interiors.

There are two ways of parquet restoration:

1. Restoration of lost or unserviceable pieces of parquet flooring, usually small. These pieces are restored in accordance with material, tone, grade and humidity of the existing parquet flooring. The detail is considered unserviceable if is absent, not fastened or has the thickness that is not commensurate with service. The change of details of parquet design is made when it is impossible to restore the initial details. The details are fastened manually.

2. Reconstruction of the initial design of greatly destroyed parquet flooring using ancient techniques, different techniques of wood ageing (for example, brushing, toning), modern materials and high-tech equipment. More often the initial design has to be reconstructed with the help of archives.

During restoration works in the State Hermitage the company Art Parquet restored the design made with graphier. This design of parquet flooring was completely lost during previous repair works. The company’s specialists found under the radiator a fragment of the flooring design that was not preserved. The company’s designers restored the design of parquet flooring.

The most common defects of parquet flooring:

• losses and uselessness of pieces of parquet flooring (for example, absence of detail fastening);
• marks of the previous repair works including defects of sanding, late inserts of other wood species;
• drops of decorative layer (often parquet flooring is worn out till veneer);
• cracks, scratches, worn spots, buckling, black gaps in seams between elements of artistic parquet;
• wear of lacquer, dirtying.

Stages of restoration works:

1. Sanding of parquet flooring (carried out in several stages till the complete removal of lacquer layers trying at the same time to preserve the parquet decorative layer).

2. Carrying out expert examination in order to appraise the conditions of parquet-panel constructions and floor battens (organoleptic and instrumental methods).

3. Taking pictures of defects of parquet panels and floor battens.

4. Selection of wood species for producing details of parquet design when it is impossible to restore the initial details that would exactly match the material, tone, grade and humidity of the original parquet flooring.

5. Anticeptization and fire-retarding of floor battens and the first layer of plywood.

6. Strengthening of parquet subfloor including strengthening of floor battens, producing and installation of additional supports.

7. Covering of seams and cracks of pattern parquet with laths. Manual fastening of original and restored elements.

8. Applying filler and protective layers of lacquer to parquet flooring after restoration.

9. Installation of skirting.