Refinish A Hardwood Floor
Hardwood floor can be a beautiful addition to your house. Although, the maintenance for hardwood floor is complicated, they still can be easily damaged if you do not follow the proper cleaning method. It\’s a big mistake to use a bucket of water and a mop on a laminate hardwood floors as the process can result in warping the floor. Warping is the usual problem that occurs to hardwood flooring if you leave water sitting on top of the laminate wood floor for a long period without proper drying. If your hardwood floor is old, then refinishing it might be the best idea.
In order to refinish a hardwood floor, it definitely takes a lot of time. More so, one needs patience. More important, the proper tools and techniques are needed. You have to do the refinishing of the floor because whenever hardwood floor starts to look worn out, it just needs a little refinishing which provides it with a more shining look. Although, there is a lot of work to be done, it is well worth the effort and investment taken to complete this task.
What you need:
- Wide brooms
- Heavy and light sandpaper
- Gloves
- Rollers with long handle
- Floor wax or polyurethane finish
- Brushes
- Dust masks
- Wood stain
- A dozen or so rags
- Floor sanders and edger
- Shop vacuums
Method:
- Before sanding the floor, you need to remove all the rugs and furniture from the room. You must check the floor for any nails, carpet staples or tacks because all of these materials could rip your sandpaper and ruining the sheet.
- Use the newer orbital sanders designed for floor refinishing which is much easier to control. Purchase a piece of good sandpaper ranging from 36, 60, 80 or 100 grits and clip it into the sander.
- When doing the sanding, you need to run it according to the direction of the wood grain. Try to keep the machine in motion and use several long strokes to even it out.
- Once finished, go over the floor again using much a much lighter piece of grain sandpaper to get more beautiful smooth floors and use sequentially grits starting from 36 to 60 to 80 to 100.
- Use a broom or vacuum to clear off any dirt or dust from the floor before you start to apply stain on the floor.
- You can apply a first coat of stain onto the floor by using a brush especially for heavier or darker coats. For a lighter stain, you can use rags to work in the staining process. Leave it to dry thoroughly before you start to apply the finish.
- Next, apply polyurethane with a brush or roller and in order to avoid marks in the finish, use smooth and even strokes along with the grain. Leave the finish to dry off for at least 3 hours.
- Finally, add its second coat and allow it to dry overnight or up to 3 days before you can start moving back all the furniture or rugs back on to the floor.
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Additional Reading:
Hardwood Floor Refinishing Company
