Refininshing Hardwood Floors

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

Everyone loves hardwood floors because they are cheaper in the long run than carpeted floors and they look great. Carpets last about ten years before they start to fade, show worn areas, or are so stained they must be replaced. If your hardwood floor starts to look worn or stained you can refinish them at a fraction of the cost of replacing carpets and they will look like new again. Refinishing your hardwood floors is a great do it yourself home improvement project. The task sounds like such a big and expensive one that the idea of doing it yourself just scars people. They know it will cost a small fortune to contract it out and they think that it’s a job to big to do it themselves. So what do they do? They cover up those beautiful hardwood floors with wall to wall carpeting as an easy way out. This is not necessary if you have the rudimentary carpenter skills as most homeowners do, you can do it yourself. In fact, you probably can do one room or more in three or four days if you have cooperative weather.

The biggest task is removing the baseboard and door trim. Don’t try to save it as it will self-destruct in the removal process. You probably want to change it anyway as it gets beaten up over time and even a fresh coat of paint won’t hide the dents and scratches. This is a good time to install a trim upgrade rather than reinstalling the standard 2 ½ inch colonial or clam shell style trims that most contractors install. Go for the wider and more decorative trim. It cost a little more but is well worth it.

The entire job takes four steps:

Removing the trim

Sanding the floor

Applying the finish

Installing the baseboard and door / doorway trim

Removing the trim:

Using a flat pry bar remove all the baseboard and door / doorway trim and discard it. There will be a lot of nails that will pull through the trim boards that will have to be removed using a claw hammer. Be careful that you don’t beat up the sheetrock above the baseboard or along the sides of the doors / doorways. If you damage the sheet rock repair it with spackle and touch up paint before reinstalling the new trim.

Sanding the floor:

By now you should have located a rental place to rent your floor sanders. Two orbital sanders are required, a large one to do the main floor and a hand held orbital sander to do the edges and corners. The Varathane ezV floor sander available at Lowe’s is a great sander for this task. Some Home Depot stores also rent these sanders.

Tip: close off the room that you are refinishing from the rest of the house and open the windows to vent out sand dust. A fan set up in an open window will help immensely.

Use a 36 grit sandpaper for the initial sanding. This is a coarse and aggressive sandpaper so take care as to not create dips in the floor.

After sanding the entire floor with the 36 grit paper, vacuum up any residual material and sand again using a 50 grit sandpaper.

 Repeat the clean up process and sand again using 80 or 100 grit paper.

Sand the corners by hand as the orbital sander will not get into the deepest part of the corners.

 Once the floor is completely sanded insure that it is thoroughly cleaned by sweeping and vacuuming.

Check the floor for any spots that may need additional sanding.

Applying the finish:

Tips: When applying the finish use a lamb’s wool applicator and apply the finish with the grain on a continuous pattern. A respirator should be worn when applying the finish to avoid breathing of the fumes.

You have a choice here to use a fast drying finish or slow drying finish. I recommend that you use the fast drying finish for the first coat and the slow drying finish for subsequent coats.

You also have a choice to stain your floor before applying the Varathane clear finish or just finish it in a clear finish.

Apply the first coat of finish using a lamb’s wool applicator. Varathane Oil-Based Satin is one of, if not the best finish to put on your hardwood floor. It is extremely durable and is resistant to scratches. When applying do about a five foot section and back stroke the section with the lamb’s wool applicator. Continue the process until the entire floor has the first coat of finish.

Let dry thoroughly and scuff sand with 120 or 150 grit sandpaper. Clean thoroughly with a cloth dampen with alcohol.

Apply the second coat of finish in the same manner as the first coat and let dry.

Apply the third coat using a four inch finish brush. Apply the finish coat in even strokes with grain.

Let dry for 48 hours before walking on the floor. Use floor mats or drop cloths to protect the floor while installing the trim.

Installing the trim:

Tip: Pre-paint the finish trim before installation with two coats of finish paint. After installation you will have to fill the nail hole and do a touch-up coat of paint.

Install the door trim first and then the baseboard. Take care that you do not damage the newly finished floor.

Cock the top edges of the baseboard and the outside edge of the door trim.

Apply a coat of touch-up paint as necessary.

That was much easier than you thought and you saved a bundle of money by doing-it-yourself. Repeat this process on your next room and / or hallway. To protect the high traffic areas such an entry ways and hallways you should consider using area carpets.