Hardwood flooring in your home often lasts a generation. They are a great asset in the home. And like everything else in your house, the hardwood floor also needs maintenance. It’s natural to observe minor stress and strain marks upon these oh-so-beautiful wooden floorboards over time. But when you refinish hardwood floors, they appear just like new.
You wouldn’t have to replace your hardwood floors just because they have a few scuffs and dings! Your hardwood floors are most likely only in need of refinishing. This blog explains in detail the process used to refinish hardwood floors professionally.
Steps Undertaken To Refinish Hardwood Floors
↣ Prepare The Floor
To prepare the flooring for the refinishing process, undertake the following steps;
- Remove any carpets or mats from the area and transfer the home furnishings.
- Nails that protrude should be hammered down. Slide the edge of a craft knife throughout the floor to find projecting nails.
- Inspect for creaks and use finishing nails to fasten loose flooring.
- Using a vacuum cleaner or a sweep, eliminate any debris from the floor.
- Powder from sanding can seep into your ducting if you don’t close the air vent covers. To prevent dust out of the remainder of the place, use a plastic covering to close doors.
A water droplet examination can immediately indicate the state of your floor. If you spray water droplets on the surface and they seep up right away, the hardwood fibers are uncovered, and you need to refinish hardwood floors. If the droplet adheres to the surface, it may merely require cleaning and polishing.
Along with this, you would need to take away the shoe base molding, if any. Lift all shoe base molding across the wall wherever the flooring joins the wall before sanding the floor. Taking a pry bar and a spare plank of wood to preserve the baseboards, pry up the molding. As you dismantle every piece, mark or else name it to keep it simple to reassemble after the floor has been refinished.
↣ Clean The Floors Using A Hardwood Floor Cleaner
- Clear all of the objects from the room and wipe the surface with a hardwood floor cleaning solution or a homemade solution of 10 parts of water to 1 part of white vinegar.
- Sweep the surface carefully with a soft cloth cleaner or a mop brush covered in a rag.
- To prevent dust isolated in the area you’re sanding, shut the doors and windows.
An initial mopping of the floor with a specialized cleaning solution for hardwood floors will help to eliminate surface dust. This step will reduce the amount of dust generated throughout the procedures for hardwood floor refinishing.
↣ Sand The Entire Floor
Once the wood epoxy has dried, it’s a good thing to offer your flooring a rough sanding. The ideal tool for the job is a drum sander.
Ensure the drum sander’s gritty belt is replaced every 250 sq ft. Start by sanding with a belt of 36-40 coarse sandpaper. Slowly progress to a 60 grit, next to an 80 grit, and finally a 100 grit sandpaper. To get the greatest results, begin with rough sandpaper and gradually build up to finer sandpaper.
This method can assist you in removing dents and blemishes. Also, sanding a hardwood floor helps to smoothen the surface and eliminate any irregularities over the surface. This makes the hardwood floor refinishing process easier.
↣ Vacuum Up All The Dust
- Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the dust to rest in the area.
- Replace the vacuum bag and tidy the floor with a padded accessory.
- Sweep through the floor panels in parallel with the floor lines to remove any dust that has accumulated among the planks.
- Lastly, use a soft cloth to sweep the floors to remove any remaining dust particles.
It is essential to vacuum up all the dust that has been generated while sanding. This is because when the wet finish is applied, it would stick to the dust. These moist dust particles can adhere to each other and trap more dust, making the area dustier than before. Thus, for a professional refinishing of hardwood floors, cleaning up after sanding is important.
↣ Apply The Finish
Consider the following variables when selecting a preventative layer of wood finish.
- Water-based urethane wooden treatments or varnishes evaporate rapidly, making administration difficult.
- Oil-based urethane hardwood polish dries slower, giving you more time to create a uniform layer, but the vapors might need you to wear a respirator while applying it.
When administering the varnish, observe these instructions.
- Spread the polish in straight, uniform lines using a lamb’s wool roller, minimizing spills.
- Three layers of oil-based varnish or four applications of water-based finish are recommended.
- Sand the flooring gently with 220-grit sandpaper after each coat has dried. Several treatments require hours or days to dry completely.
How often do hardwood floors need to be refinished?
The frequency with which you refinish hardwood floors is determined by their depth and condition. When making a selection, make sure to read the owner’s manual. During the lifetime of a genuine hardwood plank that is at least 3/4 inch in diameter, it will most probably have to be polished 4 – 6 times. It’s widely known that you should refurbish your wood each seven to ten years.
The most essential thing to remember from this 5-step method is to spend your hours such that the wooden floors last for years. Rest, take a pause, get little clean air, and enjoy your beautifully refinish hardwood floors after the job is over.
For more information to Refinish hardwood floors and how it is done hire professional hardwood floor refinishing services for that contact American Maids.
