Hardwood Refinishing Tips You Can Use

By Kristen Waller


House owners would truly want their houses to look as great as possible. For this reason, they make sure they do all the necessary maintenance techniques. If your floors are made of hardwoods such as ash, cherry and elm, you need to do hardwood refinishing every now and then to make sure the appearance remains flawless and lustrous.

Although wood can cost a lot to maintain, many house owners still opt for it. Perhaps, this is due to the ability of wood to resist dirt and dust more compared to tiles or concrete. Wood is also more aesthetically appealing, providing a more elegant aura for the home than other alternatives. They are also long lasting just like the others too.

You need to watch out for certain signs to determine whether your floor already requires refinishing. These would include deep staining, warping and highly obvious damages that may even demand replacements already. Before starting with the task though, you need to clear the room from furniture to promote ease.

Secure all the light fixtures and seal any openings such as outlets near the floor. If you have shoe moulding, you may have to remove them as well. Nails and screws on the floor should also be removed, while holes should be filled up with wood putty. Have the floor vacuumed after you have prepared all the necessary materials.

Of course, you need to be sure that you have all the materials needed for the task. Prepare your vacuum cleaners and your brooms for the cleaning. Get sandpapers of an appropriate thickness, your drum sander, your stains, and your polyurethane for final coating. Rollers and rugs will also be necessary. Be careful not to sand wood that is 1/4 inch thick only and below.

If the planks used are only 1/4 inch thick, you may reconsider getting a professional to do the refinishing. Sanding these planks too much may get you down to the subfloor already. Remember to follow the grain of the wood when sanding too in order to make things easier. Since your drum sander cannot reach the edges, you will have to sand them by hand.

Following the sanding process, dusts will surely be produced. You need to have it removed by vacuuming so you can apply your stain appropriately. Be sure to choose a stain color that will match the entire atmosphere as well as aesthetics of your house. Be sure to warn all the occupants of the house about the potentially toxic smell of the stain too.

It is a must that you consider proper ventilation to let air with the fumes out of the house. This is also relevant for the application of polyurethane. The latter is needed to further protect your surface from any impacts. Use an appropriate roller or rug during stain and polyurethane application. Allow each application to dry for six hours. You may do second coating for polyurethane after the first one initially dried up.

If you decide to do hardwood refinishing yourself, you should be pretty meticulous. But then, that is not an easy thing to do. That is why some households just prefer to get a flooring contractor to assist them. You will have to do comparisons to get the best results though. Always work for the most experienced, cost efficient and customer oriented contractor on your list.




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