How To Refinish Hardwood Floors?

Installing hardwood flooring in your home is a great investment. Yet, they might lose their lustre after time and use. The good news is that you may bring your hardwood floors back to life by following these instructions.

It's important to know why your hardwood floors need refinishing

Refinishing wood laminate is done to bring back the floor's natural sheen and condition.

This could be because you are getting ready to sell your house and want to make a good impression on potential buyers, or because your hardwood floors have just reached the stage where they require some maintenance.

A couple of telltale indicators that indicate it's time to refinish your wooden floors. Some signs that it's time to refinish your floor include excessive scratching, boards that are beginning to grey or loose their colour, or water leaks of some kind.

Old hardwood flooring can be found under carpet, vinyl, or even newly placed wood flooring, which is another reason why new buyers of a period home may decide to engage in a refinishing service.

Instead of spending the time and money to have completely fresh hardwood flooring laid, a bit of effort can make the flooring look as good as new.

Refinishing hardwood floors is not something that should be done too frequently, and in fact, shouldn't be done at all if the floors are cared for properly.

As a thin layer of the wood's surface is removed throughout each refinishing process, the wood's structural integrity will be damaged following repeated refinishing.

The number of times you might refinish your wooden floors depends on several factors, including whether the floor is made of engineered wood vs solid wood.

Solid 20mm hardwood floors, for instance, are one of the most durable flooring options since they can be refinished multiple times before they need to be replaced.

Hardwood floors often only need to be cleaned every 7-10 years; doing the math, you can see that solid hardwood furniture can last at least 70 years from the day of installation, which is longer than the lifetime of a homeowner.

The steps to take before refinishing your hardwood flooring

Certain measures are necessary to prepare your floors during refinishing whether you do it all yourself or hire a professional.

Preparation takes up the most of the work, and it may take an entire day to get your carpets ready for refinishing. It would be easier to inspect the feet if you first cleaned the hardwood flooring, removing any dust, filth, or stains that might be there.

After a thorough examination, the flooring's fissures, damaged boards, and protruding nails or other defects should be repaired or replaced as necessary.

The equipment was using to refinish the flooring won't be damaged in any way if this is done. As the next step, sanding the flooring is often seen as best left to the pros because to the complexity involved and the need for heavy equipment.

It's important to seal off the area being refinished to contain any dust or particles and prevent it from spreading to other rooms.

Using a belt sander with progressively finer grit sandpaper, you can go over the floor as many as five times. A word of caution, though: you shouldn't keep it there for too long. If you don't do this, the floor will become unlevel. Use an edge abrasive or sandpaper to get into tight, narrow, or otherwise inconveniently located spaces.

Once you're done sanding, sweep and sweep the floor to get rid of the dust. When the top coat has been stripped off, any water that gets on the boards might leave permanent stains if left there.

Buffing the floor afterwards cleans it and loosens the wood fibres, making them more receptive to the finishing coat of polyurethane or oil.

Methods for Wood Floor Refinishing

Do a complete cleaning of the area.

A thorough cleaning is often all that's needed to restore the shine to a dull wood floor.As a general rule, it's best to clean a wooden floor when the room is vacant.

It's important to remember to raise and not drag furniture when you empty a room to prevent scratching the floor and making it look even older than it already does. Before you even think of picking up a mop, give the entire room a good vacuuming, and then spritz a mop with some warm water to get it damp.

Using a cleaning agent on your floor is an option if it is particularly dirty, yet in most cases, only water will do the trick.

Must-Know Advice

Floors might be damaged by steam cleaning if the seal at the bottom isn't in excellent shape.

Improve Your Last Coat.

If the floor's finish is worn down from constant use, you can give it a new lease on life by applying a new coat.

Lacquer and wax are the two most common forms of wood floor finishes. On general, those who prefer coated wood floors versus the more matte oil finish also tend to favour a higher gloss. An oil finish is easier to touch up than a gloss finish when it comes to rejuvenating your floor, but that doesn't mean you can't obtain a decent outcome with either one.

If a few stains have left your floor looking worn, you can quickly remove them and refinish it by scrubbing the affected areas with fine steel wool and thereafter brushing on some of the original finish.

Essential Suggestion

Any surplus of finish must be removed before it dries. After the coating has dried, you can buff it with a clean, soft cloth.

Polish it to a shine.

A floor can be given new life by buffing it rather than re-sanding, saving you time and money.Simply said, a buff is a piece of machinery equipped with a large revolving pad that is used to restore the original sheen to worn wood floors.

If your home does not have a substantial amount of wood flooring, you should probably hire a buffer instead than buy one.

Buffers can be rented at most tool rental places, even the small ones. But first, make sure the floor is spotless; otherwise, your attempts will merely serve wash trap the filth that's already on your foot.

After that, select the polish that best complements your desired outcome. Your flooring retailer can advise you on the ideal polish for your job, whether you want a shiny appearance or a matte finish. Apply the polish on to the floor, a small quantity at a time, and buff it in small, circular motions until the entire floor is uniformly shiny.

A complete sanding and refinishing is worth the cost.

A full sand plus refinish is not a task for the faint of heart or the impatient, but it will make any worn floor seem like new in no time.

Be sure the solid wood top layer, known as the lamella, of your engineered wood flooring is still thick enough to withstand sanding before you schedule this project. Other than that, it's as easy as renting a sander and going through the steps one at a time

Hardwood flooring can be installed by a do-it-yourselfer for less than $500 every 275 square feet. Usually, you may expect to pay anything from $1,000 to $2,400.

The price tag covers everything from the rental of sanding tools to the purchase of sandpaper, wood stain, paintbrushes, and a final coat of finish.

There is a high likelihood that refinishing hardwood floors will save you money over replacement. In the second case, you would have to pay for both the new wood and the manpower required to remove the old wood and haul it away.

Use a Professionally Installed Cleaner to get the floor spotless.

• To clean hardwood floors, move all furniture to one side and use a hardwood floor cleaner or a solution of 10 parts water and 1 part white vinegar.
• To avoid scratching the floor, use a terrycloth mop or a burp cloth around over a mop head.
• Keep dust from spreading by closing off all entrances and exits to the room.

Prep The Perimeter

• Sand the room's edges and any crevices the buffer missed by hand using 180-grit sandpaper.
• You need to rub with the grain for about 4 to 6 inches above the baseboard on each board until the finish becomes dull and a powder formed.

Pro-Tip

Sanding blocks shouldn't be used for refinishing hardwood floors since they can cause unevenness.

Scuff-sand The Floor Finishing

• Put on a dust mask and a maroon buffing pad, and start polishing.
• With the grain, drag the pillow from one side to the other across the floor, overlapping each pass by about 6 inches.
• As you work, the old finish will be reduced to a powder that will show where you have already applied the new coat.
• Always keep the buffer going, but stop every five min to vacuum the pad.

Space-Age Vacuum and Adhesive Adhesives

• Keep the door closed for about 15 minutes so the powder can finish falling to the floor.
• Sweep the floor with a felt-bottomed attachment and a clear filter in the vacuum.
• Start sweeping parallel to the floor's strips, and then crosswise to remove dust from in-between the planks.
• At the end, use a microfiber towel pushed with both the grain to dry tack the floor.

Trim the Corners

• Put on the booties and a respirator with organic vapour cartridges to protect your feet and face.
• Pour part of the finished product into a small plastic container after straining it through a cone filters into a clean plastic drinking can that has been stripped of its spray head.
• Mark your escape route by painting a 3-inch-wide stripe along the floorboards, far from the door.
• If the line's edge starts to dry after 10 minutes, you will have lap marks and need to move on to the next step.

Roll Out The Poly

• Spread only as much finish as you can in 10 minutes along the grain in a stripe one inch wide.
• Apply the finish by rolling it out with the grain and then across it just use a long-handled roller with a 1/4-inch nap cover.
• You need to double back on each pass and move fast to maintain a wet edge.
• Ten minutes later, brush on more border finish before repeating the pour and roll process. You should keep going until the whole floor is coated.
• Furniture should be left out for a week and recoating should wait three hours.

Tips for Refinishing Hardwood Flooring

Three Types Of Finish

There are three different floor finishes available to you

Polyurethane

Water- or oil-based. Polyurethane can take on a glossy or matte plastic sheen. With time, it can cause the wood to get darker or yellow, but certain modern coatings are less likely to do so.

Nevertheless, if it is gouged or nicked, it can be difficult to repair invisibly, therefore it's best used in low-moisture or low-traffic areas.

Varnish

Semi-shiny, matte surface. High-gloss varnish is the most long-lasting of the several sheens available. Although it ages darker than polyurethane, it can be easily restored in small areas.

Sealant that Penetrates

Unprocessed aesthetic that emphasises the wood's inherent character. Penetrating sealer, like paint, will darken with time, but it offers excellent protection, especially if waxed. This type of coating is the least long-lasting but also the most repairable.

Get Help From An Expert

Hardwood floor refinishing is a complex and time-consuming process, so doing it yourself seemed like the better financial option.

The smallest mistake might destroy the final product, therefore experience is crucial. Buffing too hard might thin the flooring or buff unevenly; improper sanding will show through the surface; and using too much finish can lead to pooling and discoloration.

You don't have to employ a professional if you want to do it home, but you should consider your options, time, and skill level before making a final decision.

Hire Some Gear

Neither a sander nor a duster is necessary. It's a one-and-done deal for you. You can save money by renting the tools and supplies you need from a hardware shop or home improvement centre. But first, get yourself a face mask and some goggles. These are items that will always be useful.

The Typical Floor's Lifetime

Hardwood has a timeless elegance that lasts as long like its lifespan. A decent wood floor, for instance, can last a lifetime, or at least ten refinishings. Unfortunately, laminates can only be refinished once.

Sanding May Not Be Necessary

Saving time and money can be accomplished by simply scuff-sanding with a cushion and applying another coat or two of finish if the damage to the wood finish is superficial and does not extend into the wood itself.

Scheduling in the Next 48 Hours

To prevent the wood from absorbing moisture after sanding, sealing should be done as soon as possible. Estimate a day to finish your project, taking into account drying time between coats. Once the seal has dried, which should take about 24 hours, you can put everything back in the room.

Oil Is The Enemy

A room which was previously scrubbed or waxed using oil-based soap cannot be buffed. Instead, you should remove it with an urea and water solution or an industrial cleaner.

Sand a small area and apply a light coat of finish to check for oil. Assuming it hardens, you're good to go!

Sawdust Please

Save a bag of sawdust before sanding in case your floor has gouges or protruding nails that you have hammered back in. This can be used to create a putty for patching the damage; once dry, it will blend in with the rest of the floor.

Apply with a Sheepskin

Using a brush will leave streaks, and a roller will leave pools. Use a lanolin applicator to get the greatest possible result for your flooring.

Polish In-Between Coats

In contrast to paint, hardwood floors cannot be refinished. Instead, polish the floor carefully after each coat has dried to remove dust and dirt. Dust should be picked up, ideally using oil-infused cheesecloth, to prevent damage to the finish.

Conclusion

Hardwood flooring is a smart investment, but it can lose its shine with time and foot use. Wood laminate floors can be refinished to restore their original gloss and condition. Extensive scratching, boards that have begun to grey or lose their colour, and water leaks are all indications that it is time to refinish. Whether your flooring are constructed of engineered or solid wood will affect how often you will need to refinish them. Wooden flooring often only need to be cleaned once every seven to ten years, and if cared for properly, a solid wood dining room set should survive for at least seventy years from the date of installation.

There are steps that must be taken before flooring can be refinished. The majority of the time spent on refinishing carpets is spent on preparation, which can take up to a full day. Any cracks, warped boards, or nails that are sticking out should be fixed or replaced after a thorough inspection of the flooring. Due to the complexity required and the requirement for heavy equipment, sanding the flooring is best left to the professionals. To avoid the spread of dust and particles from the area being refinished, it is essential to close off the area.

Buffing the floor after sanding not only cleans it and loosens the wood fibres, making them more responsive to the finishing layer of polyurethane or oil, but it also makes the floor look like new again. If it's very grimy, you can try steam cleaning it, but otherwise, water is your only option. There are two main types of wood floor finishes: lacquer and wax, with those who prefer coated wood floors typically preferring a higher gloss finish. To restore a floor's lustre, you should wipe up any excess finish before it dries, buff it with a clean, soft cloth, and polish it until it sparkles. Wood floors can be brought back to life with the use of a buff, which is a piece of machinery with a huge circular pad.

When renting a buffer, it's important to clean the floor well and choose a polish that will bring out the finest in the finish you're going for. Any old, worn floor may be made to look brand new with some sandpaper and some finish. For less than $500 every 275 square feet, a homeowner may install hardwood flooring himself. Cleaning hardwood floors can be done with a professionally installed cleaner or with a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part white vinegar. Sand the room's borders and cracks by hand with 180-grit sandpaper to get them ready.

Use a dust mask and a maroon buffing pad to scuff-sand the floor. Dry tack the finish with a microfiber towel pushed with the grain and against the grain. Lastly, use a transparent filter and a felt-bottomed attachment to vacuum the floor.
Refinishing a hardwood floor is a laborious and time-consuming operation that requires cutting and filing edges, rolling out the finish, painting a 3-inch-wide stripe along the floorboards, and sealing the floor. Recoating should be delayed for three hours, and furniture should be left out for a week, so it can dry. The least durable but also the easiest to fix floor treatments are polyurethane, varnish, and sealant that penetrates. To avoid making any mistakes, it is best to consult a professional first. If you want hardwood floors but don't want to hire a professional, you can do it yourself, but you should weigh your options, your available time, and your degree of expertise.

Equipment and materials can be rented from a hardware store or home improvement centre, and protective gear like a face mask and goggles can be purchased from a drugstore or supermarket. If the damage to the wood finish is only on the surface and does not extend into the wood itself, sanding may not be necessary. However, scuff-sanding with a cushion and putting another coat or two of finish can be done. Check for oil by applying a thin layer of finish after sanding a small area. If your floor has gouges or protruding nails that you've pounded back in, you'll want to keep the sawdust in case you need to fill them. When each coat has dried, polish gently to eliminate dust and grime.

Content Summary

• An excellent choice for any home is hardwood flooring.
• Knowing the root cause of your hardwood floor's deterioration is essential before restoring them.
• Wood laminate floors can be refinished to restore their original gloss and condition.
• Some warning signs that it's time to refinish your hardwood flooring.
• Sweep the floor thoroughly to remove the dust once you are through sanding.
• The floor's finish can be given a new lease on life by applying a new coat if it becomes worn down from heavy traffic.
• Use a small amount of polish at a time and buff the floor in small, circular motions until the entire floor is shining and uniform.
• In order to achieve a pristine floor, you should use a cleaner that has been professionally installed.
• Use a clear filter and the vacuum's felt-bottom attachment to sweep the floor clean.
• Simplify the Process Protect your feet and face by donning the booties and a respirator fitted with organic vapour cartridges.
• Paint a 3-inch-wide stripe along the floorboards, away from the door, to designate your escape path.
• Break a Leg! Put as much polyurethane in a one-inch-wide line along the grain as you can in 10 minutes.
• If you prefer to do things on your own, that's fine; you just need to weigh your options, your available time, and your degree of expertise before making a final call.
• Renting the equipment and materials you need from a hardware store or home improvement centre can help you save money.