Hardwood Floor Refinishing Information
Surprise! Surprise! If your house is more than a few years old, you may be pleasantly surprised to find beautiful hardwood flooring underneath the shag carpeting that you’ve never liked anyway. That wood may not look that great though after years of hiding beneath the carpet. So, what all is involved with making it pretty again?
Assuming you don't want to install a whole new hardwood floor (it's more eco-friendly to work with what you've got, and it'll be less expensive too), you will probably opt for refinishing the existing flooring.
Don't worry if the boards are not in perfect condition. Damaged boards can be cut out and replaced and gaps can be filled. Even if you employ a specialists to handle this, refinishing your existing hardwood floor is still a very economical way to achieve a striking floor. Sanding and sealing or even decorating an old floor is a great way to turn your rooms into something special.
If you install unfinished wood planks or have sanded down an existing wood floor, you will need to apply a new finish. Sanding fixes a lot of the imperfections. You can change or enhance the appearance of the wood by staining, bleaching, painting or using colored varnish.
If you want to stain, paint or varnish a pre-finished wood you must remove the existing coat by sanding it until it is smooth. This has to be done very carefully so that you don’t remove too much or even gouge the floor. A wood floor can only be refinished so many times because the sanding takes off more wood each time. Renovating an existing floor does not require great skill but it is hard physical work. You will have to factor in removing all of the pre-existing floor covering, locating squeaking or damaged boards and filling holes before you get into sanding and refinishing.
Sanded wood must be sealed to make it waterproof, to protect the floor, and to enhance the color. There are a number of sealing products available in varying strength and colors. The most popular is a polyurethane varnish that comes in gloss, satin, or a matte finish.
On the other hand, natural finishes like wax and oil can be easily applied and are more environmentally friendly than varnish. Wax and oil give wood a beautiful sheen. Oil based stains are easy to apply and they look nice and are generally considered the best choice. Water based stains are improving but not as tried and true. Both can be applied by hand or by using an electric floor polisher.
When it comes to refinishing those floors, do your research before you get started. Talk to a professional about the products to use to obtain the results that you have in mind. If you are interested in other interesting effects you can look into bleaching or adding additional color. Whatever choice you make, as with each other step, follow the directions carefully and do a patch test before staining and finishing the whole floor. Refinishing a hardwood floor is a labor of love. If you are handy and really enjoy doing this kind of work it can be very satisfying. Most of the equipment is available at rental centers and the work is pretty straight forward.
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