Several older homes have hardwood floors.  Most of which have been covered with carpet as the trends changed or the luster of the floor disappeared.  When remodeling a house, the “old” floors are resurfaced and homeowners are trying to restore them.

It takes lots of hard work and time to refinish hardwood floors.  If you don’t know what you are doing you can make the situation worse.  Depending on the floor size, and your knowledge, it could take eight (8) to twelve (12) hours to do a good sanding job.

The steps to refinishing old floors are:

¨         Remove all of the furniture from the room.

¨         Remove all floor coverings.

¨         Remove baseboards and remember to mark them so you know where to return them to.

¨         Inspect the floor for any carpet staples and remove them.  Any nails should be below the surface and holes should be filled.

¨         Repair any cracks and secure loose boards.

¨         Clean the floor and inspect again thoroughly.
 

¨         Sand using different grit sandpaper each time you go over the floor starting with a coarse grit and getting finer.  Sand at least three (3) times.

¨         Clean floors again and clean all furnishings and walls in the room so dust won’t fall into the finish.

¨         Apply your finish to the floor.

Beware of problems that could be encountered:

¨         Each piece of flooring sands differently which could cause a problem for getting a flat surface.

¨         Some dust will fall onto the freshly applied top finish since you can’t guarantee a “dust free” environment.

¨         Wood is a natural product which varies from piece to piece.  This means that your floor will have grain and color variations.

¨         Even though your floor is considered “hardwood” your oak flooring can indent under high heel traffic.  The finish that is applied will not prevent the dents.

¨         Wood naturally contracts and expands with change in temperature and moisture.  Within time your wood floor will crack between some of the pieces.  Some stain colors, such as white, will show this process more than others.

Remember that furniture, cabinetry, doors, etc., are fabricated in a factory under ideal conditions and that they only contain 1-10 different pieces of wood.  Hardwood floors are fabricated in your own home and is made up of three hundred to a thousand individual pieces.  A hardwood floor is an original piece of work every time it is laid.

Return to Top

ARTICLES