subject: Refinishing a Hardwood Floor - Do it Yourself Options [print this page] Refinishing a Hardwood Floor - Do it Yourself Options
Do you have a hardwood floor in your house? You must always remember while choosing a particular type of floor that it is very important to maintain the floor and keep it clean. After a certain point of time the floors tend to lose the polish and the shine.
Dust and dirt get trapped into the floor and the surface faces a lot of wear and tear. At this point of time it is important to go for a refinishing. Refinishing a hardwood floor can be easy if you choose the right option.
You might have heard about the do it yourself programs. If you are interested in them then you can take up this job for your house. But you must also remember that do it yourself project might not be suitable for everyone.
It usually requires a lot of patience as well as skill. It can also be time consuming and can sometimes even be messy. If you want to know how to refinish hardwood floors then you will have to follow three steps.
First of all you need to prepare the floor, after this you must clean the floor and finally you need to apply the finish. Take a nice look at the old floors. Find out the gouges as well as the cracks that need to be filled up.
Other than this, it is also important to remove the old finish as well as the stains and the damages created by water. This kind of problems can be solved with the help of sanding. You can bring some powder sander to solve the problem.
Sanding will help you deal with most of these issues but for filling up the gouges and the scratches you will require wood fillers. To get rid of the old finish you can even try commercial paint stripper or a putty knife.
This will help you scrap off the finish that is already present. This is the first step to refinishing a hardwood floor. The next step is to clean. This step is actually very much time consuming. You must get the floor ready so that you can apply the new finish.
It is important to get rid of all the dust and dirt along with the sawdust. Sweeping alone will not do. You need to mop the floor with a wet towel. Before you start applying the finish you need to make sure the floor is completely dry.
The final step is refinishing a hardwood floor. In this step you need to apply the finish. You must be very careful while applying the coat. The coat must be even. Try to follow the instructions mentioned on the can.
It is better to apply at least three coats but you can even do with two. After you finish applying the coast make sure you do not use the room for at least a few days. The cost to refinish hardwood floors yourself is lesser than the amount that the professionals usually charge.
