The best time to restore a ballroom or function room floor is in the quiet stretch before your busy events season.
The best time to restore a ballroom or function room floor is in the quiet stretch before your busy events season, not in the middle of it. These are large floors, often original parquet, and they take an unusual kind of punishment: intense use during events and long quiet spells in between. Getting the floor sanded and refinished ahead of your peak bookings means it looks its best exactly when the weddings, galas and conferences arrive.
We take on function room and ballroom floor restoration for hotels and venues across London and the Southeast, and the run-up to a busy season is when we are busiest with it. Here is how to plan it well.
Two things set these floors apart. The first is size. Ballrooms and function rooms tend to be some of the largest single floor areas in a building, which makes any work on them a significant undertaking that needs proper planning.
The second is the pattern of use. Unlike a lobby or restaurant that sees steady daily traffic, a function room might sit unused for days and then host three hundred guests for a wedding. That mix of heavy, concentrated use and long quiet gaps is unusual, and it is also an opportunity: those quiet gaps are exactly when the floor can be restored.
An event floor sees things a normal floor never does. Stiletto heels concentrate a surprising amount of weight onto a tiny point, which can dent and mark softer finishes. Dancing puts sustained, twisting pressure on the surface. Then there are the tables, chairs and staging dragged into position, the catering trolleys and the spilt drinks that come with any celebration. It all takes a toll, and because it happens in bursts, the damage can appear quickly.
Concentrate a surprising amount of weight onto a tiny point, denting and marking softer finishes.
Puts sustained, twisting pressure on the surface across the whole floor.
Tables, chairs and staging dragged into position, catering trolleys and spilt drinks all take a toll.
The trick is to line the restoration up with a natural lull. For most venues, the big pressure points are the wedding season through spring and summer and the party and conference season across autumn and into Christmas. The quiet window before each of those is the ideal time to refinish the floor, so it is pristine when bookings ramp up.
Because these floors are booked well in advance, we would always suggest planning restoration early. Slot it into the diary the moment you can see a gap, rather than hoping one appears at short notice. Booking the survey a few months ahead gives everyone room to work the dates around confirmed events.
Many of the finest function rooms and ballrooms have original block or herringbone parquet, and that changes the job. Over decades of use, individual blocks work loose or go missing, and these need to be refixed or replaced before the floor is sanded. It is skilled work: matching timber, getting the pattern right and lifting and relaying blocks without damaging the surrounding floor. Done properly, a restored parquet floor is one of the most striking features a venue can offer.
A dance floor has a particular requirement that other floors do not: it has to be safe to dance on.
A finish that is too glossy can look and feel slippery, while one that is too matte can feel like it drags underfoot. We specify a finish with the right balance of slip resistance and appearance, so the floor looks the part under the lights and gives dancers a sure footing. It also has to be tough enough to take heels and furniture without marking easily, which is where a quality commercial finish earns its keep.
If your ballroom or function room floor is looking tired ahead of a busy run of events, now is the time to sort it, while there is still a gap in the diary. We offer free, no-obligation surveys across London and the Southeast, and we plan the work around your bookings. Call 0800 917 7770 or request a quote.
