Heritage & Period Properties
Heritage Floor Restoration in Edinburgh's Period Properties
Original floors are usually the oldest surviving surface in a period home — and the easiest to ruin. We restore Georgian boards, Victorian parquet and tenement pine across Edinburgh and the central belt, taking off as little as possible and putting back finishes that belong in the building.
The Floors
Edinburgh's floors, by era
Edinburgh's housing stock is a timeline you can read underfoot, and each era needs a different hand.
Georgian, 1760–1830
Georgian boards
Wide softwood boards, often hand-cut, frequently with 200 years of wear, old repairs and movement. These floors have a finite amount of wood left in them. Our first job is assessing how much can safely come off — and being honest when the answer is “very little.” Sensitive flattening, gap and board repairs with reclaimed timber of matching age, and finishes that keep the patina rather than erasing it.
Victorian, 1837–1901
Victorian parquet & pine
Pitch pine boards, parquet in principal rooms, decorative borders. Victorian parquet is usually thicker than people fear and restores beautifully — but blocks lift, substrates fail, and borders need rebuilding before any machine touches the surface. We re-bond, replace missing blocks with reclaimed stock, and sand to a finish appropriate to the room's period.
Tenement, 1850–1920
Tenement pine
The workhorse floor of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Often hidden under decades of carpet and bitumen, usually in better condition than expected. The challenge is staining, old adhesives and previous bad sandings — all recoverable with the right sequence.
For Specifiers
Working with architects and designers
If you're specifying floor restoration on a period project, our job is to take the risk out of yours.
Honest assessment first
Before anything is priced, we tell you what the floor can take: remaining wear layer, repairs needed, and what's achievable without compromising the boards. If a floor shouldn't be sanded again, we say so and propose alternatives.
Finish samples on the actual floor
We sample finishes in situ — on the client's boards, not a swatch — so appearance is signed off before the main work begins.
Method statements and documentation
Written scope, products, and process for your project file, including RAMS where required. Low-VOC systems throughout, full insurance documentation on request.
Conservation-appropriate systems
Where a natural, traditional appearance is specified, we work in oils and hardwax oils rather than film lacquers, and we'll work to whatever constraints your conservation officer sets.
One craftsman, start to finish
The person who assesses the floor is the person who restores it. No crews, no handovers, no surprises on site.
We're BwfA certified and work exclusively with Bona systems.
Discuss a projectFinishes
Finishes, in the terms you'd specify them
Most conversations about period floors come down to one question: how should it look and feel? We work exclusively with Bona systems, chosen per project.
Natural matt, traditional appearance
Bona Craft Oil 2K
A penetrating two-component oil. The wood reads as wood: low sheen, grain open to the touch, patina preserved. Repairable in patches rather than full re-sands. The default recommendation for Georgian and Victorian boards where authenticity matters.
Natural look with film protection
Bona Mega EVO
A waterborne lacquer with a close-to-untreated appearance. For clients who want the natural aesthetic but the durability of a sealed surface — busy family rooms, stairs, halls.
Maximum durability
Bona Traffic HD
The commercial-grade system, specified where footfall is relentless: public halls, retail, offices in period buildings. Available in matt finishes that sit comfortably in heritage interiors.
All systems are low-VOC and applied with 99.5% dust-contained machinery — occupied homes stay occupied.
The Craftsman
The person doing the work
Valesterra is run by Nicolas Clabaut, a French-trained tradesman who started in the builders' merchant trade in France before settling in Edinburgh. In 2025 he invested £15,000 in professional Bona equipment and training to do one thing at the highest standard available: restore wood floors.
He is BwfA certified, works exclusively with Bona systems, and personally carries out every assessment and every restoration. Every completed project also plants trees in the Scottish Highlands through The Valesterra Grove with Trees for Life.
Questions
Heritage restoration FAQs
Discuss a period property
Whether you're an architect specifying a restoration, or it's your own hallway under the carpet — send photos and a rough idea of the space, and we'll tell you honestly what the floor can take.