Hardwood floors look great but after some years of installation, they lose their luster, get scratched, and become discolored. And when this happens, it’s time to bring back the beauty of those grimy wood floors.
There’s absolutely no doubt that hardwood floors are extremely durable and with proper care, they can last up to 20 years and more. However, considering the fact that our floors are subject to rough use, the wood suffers wear and tear and becomes dull over time. As such, to restore the lustrous shine and elegant looks of your hardwood floor, you’ll need to get it refinished. But before you think about freshening up your hardwood floor, there are a few things you need to consider before renewing or refinishing old hardwood floors.
Refinishing your hardwood floors is not as simple as you might think. It can take a minimum of 3 days time for sanding, staining, and sealing- one day for each step and sometimes even more. As such, by knowing what to expect during a hardwood floor refinishing project, you can make the process as smooth as possible, as well as get the best results.
The Flooring Contractors
Refinishing hardwood floors is a not a DIY task which means you need to search for the best flooring contractor. Make sure you research about the process before finding the flooring contractor so that you know what services to expect. In order to hire the right hardwood floor refinisher, you should interview at least three contractors. The contractors you consider must be insured and licensed to perform this job. Moreover, the professional should provide you a written estimate of the job so that you know how much you’re going to pay for this project. This will help you in avoiding any kinds of unexpected costs that may crop up later. The best contractor will offer complete services such as removing your furniture, taking up all floor mounted heating vents, tape over electrical outlets and seal the house with plastic sheeting and vacuum all grit and dirt from the surface.
Reasons to Vacate the Premises
During refinishing your hardwood floor, all the furniture will be removed and the room will be rendered unusable for a few days. Moreover, there will be a lot of fine dust and a strong odor of stain and polyurethane. Also, the equipment used in refinishing floors creates noise. For these reasons, most homeowners prefer to vacate the premises and stay at another place while the hardwood restoration project is going on. Sometimes, sanding and refinishing may take about 7 days so that the stains and the coats can dry up completely. The time taken to finish the process depends on the number room involved and the extent of any damage to the old floor.
When You Need a Full Refinishing
If your floor has worn out and suffered wide gaps and deep scratches, these are beyond quick fixes. For extreme damages, you will need to get done sanding, patching, staining, and top coating to refinishing the floor back to life. However, not all floors need full refinishing. Sometimes, the problem can be fixed with lightly sanding the existing finish, followed by applying the new finish (polyurethane) on the top. This process will cost you less and can be performed a number of times.
Think About Color
Before starting this project you also need to know the type of sealer or paint that was originally applied on your floors. If the color of your floors is not that of natural wood, it means that a stain was applied at the time of installing the floors initially. Suppose your floors have a deep dark brown shade, it indicates that it was stained. In this case, a full refinishing will remove the stain and your floor will become lighter in color. So, if you want to have that original shade, you will need to get it stained again.
