Those are wise words Karen! am so glad it worked out for you. Love to see a photo, what colour or shade did you choose? Jools, The bitumen is a right pig, best way we found is to make it cold, so it becomes brittle, then you can scrape /chip it off. We used a window scraper, coarse wire wool and various sandpaper. We left the window open on a cold night, turned heating off in there, and you could try a cooler fan on it. Putting ice bags on it didn't work as well as we hoped. we used a round sander, but it can cause swirls, it's really awkward ! To be honest a few dips and scratches on an old floor are okay in the end, don't be too afraid of it, they are only pieces of wood stuck down on the floor, not bone china, as long as you try not to break them, or set fire to them, otherwise you can't possibly do more damage than I did, and they recovered!

Engineered wooden flooring is a very wise and popular choice for a kitchen. As everyone above has advised ...wipe up spills etc as soon as possible. But from my own personal experience (as well as professional ) I have a character oak UV oiled engineered floor fitted throughout the ground-floor of my home. I also have a dog and 3 x boys it still looks beautiful 5 years on, in this time it has encountered 3 washing machine leaks (youngest son had an obsession with pipes - argghh) and has not warped or moved. My advice if you opt for an engineered wood floor is to have a large inset doormat fitted at entrances, to force people to wipe their feet , as the biggest threat to a wooden floor finish is grit (acts like sandpaper / or will scratch). Apart from this it is a very low maintenance floor that will last for years and years.... The floor below is currently our most popular floor White Stained Ash engineered flooring - the photo below is of one of 22 open-plan Mews Houses this floor was installed within , and makes for a bright, light, incredibly durable, floor. One last thing your reclaimed engineered floor sounds beautiful...if it is naturally light in colour be aware that over time sunlight / UV will cause a goldening / darkening effect ...if it has been lightly stained then the timber will remain the same colour as stains act as a 'wood sunblock'. https://woodflooringengineered.co.uk/

Hi Amy, Have a look here, it is our splashback and other glassworks catalogues: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lNMo-zjO2Qm1domfNMNmhrBYxmX23d6x/view?usp=sharing We do all of the splashbacks by UV printing method, you might want to learn more about it before buying splashback because if you will be going for printed one, there are many cheap alternatives that i.e. require reprinting in few years. UV Printing lasts for 70+ years. Moreover, by UV you can also do the plain colour splashback that you initially decided for, but it is going to be slightly cheaper. Have a look on pricing here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232760255417 Are you looking for some samples or real pictures? I can have a walk through our workshop with a camera as we have one (60x60cm) black splashback in stock waiting to be posted. #Edit: Toughened and Heat resistant is a must-have feature! Otherwise, it will not usually last for longer than few weeks, it is too easy to smash annealed glass (standard type).

If it's dark wood... it's dark wood. It's nice to preserve an original feature but sometimes it just doesn't work anymore so it's time to update. If it was a mistake to use such a dark floor in a dark hall you shouldn't have to live with that mistake just because it's old. Option 1. Remove it and use it elsewhere in the house. Some of it can be used to make furniture or a wall feature. Replace with light floor of your choice. Option 2. Leave it as an original feature but cover over it with a new floor. Laminate / carpet etc. It's always there in case you want to bring it up again at a later date. Option 3. Use stain on it as required and accept that it's a dark floor. Use light paint on the wall and a large runner down the middle to cover enough of it so it doesn't have as much impact. Think of other ways to brighten up the hall e.g. increase the glazing in the front door or the door into the kitchen, remove the small wall next to the kitchen door and replace that with a glass panel, use mirrors, add artificial lighting etc.