Refinishing Hardwood Floors On A Budget
If your hardwood floors are in dire need of refinishing, get a
few estimates from professionals. You may be surprised at the
figures. You’ll want to sit down when they tell you it will cost
you $1200 to have your living room redone. You could carpet over
it for less, but doesn’t carpeting over beautiful hardwood floors
seem, well, wrong?
Contrary to what you may have heard, the finish doesn’t take days
and days to dry. It’s quite simple actually. Go to your
favorite local home improvement store, Lowe’s, Menard’s, Home
Depot or other. Rent a sander. You’ll need a drum sander, a belt
sander or both. They will explain to you how to use the machine
and tell you what kind of sand paper to purchase. They will also
tell you what kind of stain and finish to get. Make sure you
also pick up some dust masks because you will have saw dust
everywhere.
The sanders are very easy to use. They’re a bit on the loud
side. The key is to keep it moving at all times. Do not stop or
you will get a divot in your wood. Think of it like a clothes
iron. You need to keep it moving or you will burn your clothes.
Same deal with the sander. It creates a lot of heat and you
will burn or dent your floors if you hesitate in one place too
long.
You will feel like a Zamboni driver smoothing out your surface.
Word of caution, you do need to maintain control of the machine
at all times. It is self propelled, like a lawn mower or a
basset hound on a leash. When you power it up, hold on to the
machine tightly. Don’t be afraid of it and after a few passes,
you’ll start to even have fun.
Redoing your floors is like redoing your fingernails. First you
need to remove the old finish, basecoat, color, and top coat.
You may opt to forgo the color (stain) and just use the nature
color of the wood. You will still need to apply a finish to it.
There are basically two types of floor finishes: one is oil-based
and the other is water-based polyurethane. Oil-based is available
in a satin, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Satin works well on
floors because it hides small flaws and lets the natural beauty
of the wood show without a bright shine. Oil-based also produces
a warm amber look that gives you the traditional glow of wood
floors. Water-based polyurethane dries clear and resists
yellowing. Water-based also dries quicker.
Make sure you let each coat thoroughly dry before applying the
next; same as you would nail polish. Give your floor at least
24-36 hours before moving furniture back on it. It will continue
to harden in the first couple of weeks.
Don’t be overwhelmed. Instead of looking at refinishing your
hardwood floors as a humungous job, look at it as giving your
room a manicure, one step at a time. You’ll also save yourself
as much as $1,000 by doing it yourself.
Author
George Whitecraft
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posted by George @ 6:35 PM
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