Things to Know Before You Refinish Your Wood Floors
Hardwood flooring brings timeless sleek looks to any premises – both commercial and residential. If it is properly maintained it can serve you for decades without even bother. However, usually every family member wears out the finish with drops, spills, furniture dragging and not to forget that our beloved pets also contribute to the wear of the floor because of their claws. Fortunately, the damages usually are not permanent. In most cases you just need to refinish the floor. Some flooring solutions may be refinished by sanding the top layer and then applying three fresh coats of clear polyurethane finish. This procedure of course comes with its price but we promise you that every penny is worth it when you want to enjoy the good looks of your wood floor for the years to come. Let`s outline 5 of the things you should have in mind once you decide to refinish your flooring – read on.
Choose your flooring professional carefully – a reputable flooring contractor pointed out that you definitely don`t want a team learning how to do the job on your floors. The machinery used in the process is very powerful so if not used at the right pace it can result in removing too much material. This will lead to creating an uneven surface. Did you know that this will actually decrease the number of times your floor can be refinished in the future? Before entrusting your project to some random crew, better seek some referrals from friends and colleagues. You are recommended to check some referrals and see some of their previous projects.
Your floor may not need a full refinishing – if the finish hasn`t worn completely and the flooring doesn`t have deep scratches and scrapes, it might not need the full job. If this is your case, ask your flooring professional to carry out screening. This is the process of lightly sanding the existing finish. Then polyurethane finish must be applied. Something you should totally want to know is that this can cost you almost half of the price for the whole project. You will be able to revive your hardwood flooring without the expenses of full refinishing. The good news is that as in the process no wood is removed you can do this process numerous times before you actually need the full job.
Consider the baseboard – this wood trim at where the floor meets the wall is usually slightly flawed during the process. It is absolutely normal as the sanders will meet the baseboard and result in small dents. It will also get polyurethane and a little stain on it too. What we are trying to tell you is that you will need touch up the paint. If you want to hire a professional painter to do the job for you, he is more likely to charge you a lot as this job is annoying despite being little. Our recommendation is to combine the procedure – if you walls need a little touch up or if you are planning to do them before you refinish the floor, just agree with the painter to come back to carry out the job once you are done with the flooring project.
Choose the right colour – if your flooring has a rich, deep colour, this is more likely not to be the natural colour of the wood. In such cases, probably a stain was applied when the flooring was originally installed. If your flooring professional will perform screening, it won`t affect the stain yet if a full refinishing is needed, it will be removed during the procedure. Don`t stress out when your floor turns out to be much lighter when the process is done. You can ask to stain it so it matches the original colour or choose a different colour if you are ready for a change in the home décor. Chocolate brown and gray are popular customers` choices. However, have in mind that this will increase the price of the project by near 50%.
You may need to move out for a couple of days - you will probably have to leave your property especially if you are performing the process in all of the rooms. You can`t walk on the finish while it is wet. Usually about three coats are applied and each of them should dry before the application of the next one. The drying time can take from a couple of hours to days depending on the current weather conditions and products used. Even if your floor needs just screening it can take about 2 days. The more complex the project is the more time it will take.
Now that you know what you should consider, you can safely start planning your refinishing project!