A lot of people don't know that hardwood floors can be refinished. So when you're thinking about putting in new flooring, think again! Hardwood floors are beautiful, and they add character to your home. With a little bit of money and effort, you'll have gorgeous new hardwood floors for the same amount as it would cost to put down carpet or vinyl tile.
Refinishing hardwood floors is a lot easier than it sounds. There are many steps to refinishing hardwood floors, but you can do it if you're careful. I'm here to tell you how with these six simple steps!
If you're considering refinishing your hardwood floors, but are hesitant because of the cost and time commitment, here's how to get a professional-looking finish on your own.
- Bucket
- Dust mask
- Knee pads
- Paintbrush
- Putty knife
- Rags
- Roller tray
- Shop vacuum
- Liquid floor cleaner
- Mineral spirits
- Painter's tape
- Polyurethane floor finish
- Sanding screen (for drywall)
- Synthetic steel wool pads
- Drum Sander
6 Steps for Refinishing Hardwood Floors
Step-1: Preparation of the Perimeter
Prep your floors for sanding! Evacuate all rug tacks, nails, stripped screw or different items from the floor. I would likewise suggest evacuating all baseboards-this progression isn't essential. However, it makes the venture a lot simpler. We'll be including new trim all through the home, so it completely seemed well and good to junk the current baseboards preceding the flooring venture.
Prepare the perimeter. Utilize 180-coarseness sandpaper, hand-sand the border of the room, and any niches that the support can't reach.
Rub with the grain 4 to 6 crawls out from the baseboard, working over each board until the completion dulls and a powder structure.
Try not to utilize a sanding obstruct for revamping hardwood - it may miss uneven spots in the floor.
Step-2: Test for Adhesion
Pick at any rate two test territories on the level. One out of a bottleneck zone, other with a divider, or in a storage room. Clean every region with a wooden floor cleaner and maltreat the area with a sanding screen. At that point, mop or rub the sanding buildup, veil on every side of the test zone, and put a layer of polyurethane.
Following 24 hours, investigate the polyurethane. Besides a couple of modest "bristles" brought about by grime, ought to be smooth. At that point, scratch the polyurethane with a piece of metal. Thumb down.
Immovably, yet not very tough, even a sound completion may scratch off on the off chance that you press as hard as possible.
On the off chance that the polyurethane is soft and doesn't scratch off with average weight so now you can re-coat the floor.
If you see the polyurethane drops off when you scratch, or the outer side has a snapped or orange-strip surface, there's a thing on the old wrap up the new completion from following appropriately. That "A THING" can be furniture clean, buildup from glass cleaner, or a thousand different things. Yet, whatever it is, there's just a single arrangement: You need to sand down to uncovered wood and start revamping hardwood floors.
Step-3: Clean the Floor
A dull clay blade is convenient for scraping up frozen biting gum and other gunk. For deep imprints, utilize a scouring cushion hosed with mineral spirits. If that falls flat, take a stab at the sanding screen. As you clean, use bits of concealing tape to check any deep scratches, edges, or regions where the completion has eroded.
As you're cleaning for your hardwood floor completing the task, you may discover deep scratches that experience the fulfillment and into the wood. You generally can't cause these scratches to vanish totally, yet you can make them significantly less perceptible. If that your floor is light in shading, first wet the scratch with mineral spirits. A wet layer of mineral spirits delivers around a similar look as a layer of polyurethane. Furthermore, on a light-shaded floor, it may obscure the scratch sufficiently only to conceal it.
Step-4: Sanding a Hardwood Floor
Floor drum sander usually comes to mind when floor sanding is required. A stroll behind the sander has a huge pivoting drum that equitably expels the completion. There are three evaluations of sandpaper you required for existing floor resurfacing: coarse, medium, and elegant. For security, wear a residue veil and eye and ear protection. After you've finished all the sanding, you should expel all the residue from the floor, embellishment, and dividers. Wipe down the dividers and moldings once to get the residue onto the floor, and afterward utilize a wet cloth on the castings to expel any buildup. You don't need any waste falling onto the story later when the new completion is drying. Allow the residue to settle, and afterward, vacuum. A standard shop vacuum with a residue channel will work.
After you vacuum, wipe the whole floor surface with a tack fabric, a wax-impregnated bit of cheesecloth intended to get and hold dust buildup. Plan to utilize a few tack materials — don't overextend the fabrics' residue holding limit.
In addition to floor drum sanders, hardwood floors can also be sanded with random orbital sanders. If you want to enrich knowledge you can read the article about hardwood floor sanding with random orbital sanders.
Step 5: Buff the Floor
Buff the floor is beginning at one divider and going in reverse over the room. Gradually swing the cradle left and right as you go. Disregard every zone just a single time or twice, so you don't slice through the completion. To make the cushioned swing on your right side, delicately lift the handle. Make it swing left, by bringing down the stem. To control dust, use fans in open windows, close pipes, close the work territory and wear a residue veil.
Tidy up the room thoroughly, starting with windowsills, moldings, and some other surface where residue may accumulate. Vacuum the floor and then wipe it with a cloth hosed with mineral spirits. The fabric should be build up free and don't wash with a cleanser, which can meddle with the Polyurethane's grip.
Step 6: Choose a Finish
The best floor finish for a DIY is polyurethane. Another floor completes either less severe or substantially more hard to work. You'll discover two kinds of polyurethane:
The oil-based polyurethanes are simpler to apply because they dry gradually, giving you more opportunity to spread and smooth the completion. They have a yellowish shade and bit by bit obscure with time, which might be fortunate or unfortunate for recoloring hardwood floors relying upon the look you need as you're revamping hardwood floors. The massive downside to oil-based items is the terrible fume they radiate. You should open windows and wear a respirator.
Water-based polyurethanes are commonly more solid than oil-based forms. They have a smooth shading when wet, yet they dry obvious and stay clear. The soft shading makes them simple to see, so you're less inclined to miss spots while resurfacing hardwood floors. In any case, water-based items are more diligently to apply because they dry quickly.
If you want to learn more about refinishing hardwood floors, check out the video below:
Sanding Sealer vs Polyurethane
Polyurethane, an excellent and hard-restoring conclude. It commits well to its own, mainly if each layer sanded a brief time after it dried alright. It makes fine abrade, that upgrades the holding of the following segment.
It's a smart thought to workout this fine sanding in the middle of layers in any case to expel dust nibs.
In any case, polyurethane doesn't provide security so good over completions advertised as sealers, particularly over sanding sealer. It is a useful sealer for use on non-polyurethane lacquer since ordinary alkyd varnishes get messed up sandpaper. For speeding up the creation, a sanding sealer can get utilized for the prime coat. Sanding topcoat not just expels dirt nibs. Likewise, it expels the unpleasantness brought about by expanding the wooden filaments.
Shellac can also utilize to emblem the wood with Polyurethane. In any case, there's no motivation to make it use to oppose the Polyurethane for its own, using the first layer, except if there's an issue on the wood, you will need to close off. Effects incorporate pine hitches, grease from furniture clean, and scents from smoke harm or creature pee. For this kind of case, apply the first layer of shellac, for the most part, closes off the issue.
How Much to Refinish Hardwood Floors?
Broadly, the average expense for revamping a hardwood floor is $1,684, inside a typical scope of $1,074 to $2,400. Be that as it may, all there's odds your story is definitely not regular, and your actual expenses can shift contingent upon numerous components, particularly the accessibility and cost of work in your general vicinity. On a for every square-foot-premise, average values run about $3.25 to $5.00 per square foot. Yet, these expenses can change contingent upon the intricacy of the work and the absolute size of the region you need to have resurfaced. Per-square-foot costs might be less in case you're having a temporary worker come in to revamp a whole house, while expenses can be more if they are restoring only a single room.
The cost for complete stairs at midpoints is about $40 to $75 per stair track. The significant expense is because these are little surfaces that require gifted, tedious detail work.
5 Advantages of Refinishing Hardwood Floors
1. A new and Beautiful Floor
Having your hardwood floor resurfaced implies that every one of those scratches, gouges, and abrasive surfaces will vanish. In its place will be the excellent hardwood flooring you recall. Your floors will look practically new once more.
2. Save Money
A harmed hardwood floor requires tremendous support to slow the movement of harm. If you decide to have your hardwood floors supplanted as opposed to restoring them, you will confront a fundamentally more prominent expense. Proficient resurfacing is more affordable than replacing it with another level and diminishes the support required too.
3. More Home Value
The floor of your home establishes a connection each time somebody takes a gander at it. Regardless of whether you are engaging visitors or you are before long going to put your house available, restoring your hardwood floors builds the magnificence of your home. Hardwood floors are speaking to potential purchasers, and recently resurfaced floors can majorly affect the estimation of your home when it comes time to sell.
4. Increases Safety
A harmed wood floor not just looks terrible; it can likewise be hurtful to the individuals who need to live with it. A hardwood floor that is chipping, for instance, could prompt somebody's foot to be truly harmed. Fixing and restoring the harmed deck will address any potential wellbeing perils before they can cause issues.
5. Wards off Pests
The cavities and hole that a harmed hardwood floor procures can make an invite situation for nuisances of different kinds. From termites to ants and other undesirable problems, pockets of rot inside your hardwood floors are an open greeting for them to move directly in. Resurfacing your deck will shield it from obtrusive irritations.
Editor's Tips
Is It Easy to Refinish Hardwood Floors?
The hardwood floor resurfacing process is more straightforward and more affordable than sanding down to uncovered wood and takes less time. In some hours, your floors will look all-around great. The activity requires utilizing a cushion and a vacuum to suck up dust.
How Much Does It Cost to Refinishing Hardwood Floors Yourself?
This by and large expenses somewhere in the range of $300 and $400. Furthermore, you'll have to purchase your stain, finish, and brushes or sprayers to apply these items to your floor. Wood recolor isn't costly it by and large expenses under $10 per quart. What's more, every quart can cover around 275 square feet.
Final Words
Under old, stained, filthy rug might be a delightful wood floor shouting to reintroduce to your home. Covering your stories with a perfect, new completion is about at least somewhat fulfilling. A little difficult work, and you could have the hardwood floor you've always needed.