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Hardwood Floor Refinishing - For The Faint Of Heart
By Eileen Church, Fri Dec 9th
Are your beautiful hardwood floors not so beautiful anymore?Maybe they just need a refinishing job. It can be a dauntingtask, but here are some ideas to make it a little easier. If your hardwood floors are in dire need of refinishing, get afew estimates from professionals. You may be surprised at thefigures. You'll want to sit down when they tell you it will costyou $1200 to have your living room redone. You could carpet overit for less, but doesn't carpeting over beautiful hardwoodfloors seem, well, wrong? Contrary to what you may have heard, the finish doesn't takedays and days to dry. It’s quite simple actually. Go to yourfavorite local home improvement store, Lowe’s, Menard’s, HomeDepot or other. Rent a sander. You'll need a drum sander, a beltsander or both. They will explain to you how to use the machineand tell you what kind of sand paper to purchase. They will alsotell you what kind of stain and finish to get. Make sure youalso pick up some dust masks because you will have saw dusteverywhere. The sanders are very easy to use. They're a bit on the loudside. The key is to keep it moving at all times. Do not stop oryou will get a divot in your wood. Think of it like a clothesiron. You need to keep it moving or you will burn your clothes.Same deal with the sander. It creates a lot of heat and you willburn or dent your floors if you hesitate in one place too long. You will feel like a Zamboni driver smoothing out your surface.Word of caution, you do need to maintain control of the machineat all times.
It is self propelled, like a lawn mower or abasset hound on a leash. When you power it up, hold on to themachine tightly. Don't be afraid of it and after a few passes,you'll start to even have fun.First you need to remove the old finish, base coat, color, andtop coat. You may opt to forgo the color (stain) and just usethe nature color of the wood. You will still need to apply afinish to it. There are basically two types of floor finishes: one isoil-based and the other is water-based polyurethane. Oil-basedis available in a satin, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Satin workswell on floors because it hides small flaws and lets the naturalbeauty of the wood show without a bright shine. Oil-based alsoproduces a warm amber look that gives you the traditional glowof wood floors. Water-based polyurethane dries clear and resistsyellowing. Water-based also dries quicker. Make sure you let each coat thoroughly dry before applying thenext; same as you would nail polish. Give your floor at least24-36 hours before moving furniture back on it. It will continueto harden in the first couple of weeks. Don't be overwhelmed. Instead of looking at refinishing yourhardwood floors as a humungous job, look at it as giving yourroom a manicure, one step at a time. You'll also save yourselfas much as $1,000 by doing it yourself.
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