Refinish 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 floors 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. To refinish hardwood
floors is a great do it yourself home improvement project.
The task sounds like such a big and expensive 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. Refinishing hardwood
floors is a better option 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 in refinishing hardwood floors 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:
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.
Tips: 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.
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.
3. 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.
4.
Installing the baseboard and door / doorway trim:
Tips: 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.
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