Wood floor refinishing is often a very big part of simply maintaining an older home. Your wood floors obviously take a great deal of abuse from years or even decades of constant foot traffic, dragging heavy furniture legs, scrapes from fallen wood, and just about everything that occurs in your home on a regular basis. In order to keep them looking their best, you need to make sure that they’re properly maintained. This means sweeping, mopping, sealing, and even repainting depending on the color of your wood.
One of the most common ways of doing floor refinishing would be sanding and refinishing. When you first get into the project you may not have a great deal of experience with either of these methods. It’s not uncommon for somebody who’s just getting started with their own do-it-yourself project to have problems grasping the concept of sanding and refinishing hardwood floors. If this is the case, it’s a good idea for you to invest in some solid woodworking training or at least get some tips from a friend or neighbor who has some experience with these things. Even if you’re not sure exactly what it means when you sand your floor it can mean different things to different people.
Sanding is the process of removing the existing finish and sanding the floor to remove the existing finish then restoring it to its original appearance. Once the floor has been sanded it should be inspected for damage. If there is obvious damage you can sand the floors again to refinish them but it’s usually best to wait until the area has completely dried before doing this. You can refinish damaged areas by applying the new finish and sanding them again to match the color of the rest of the room. You will also want to repair any damaged base boards by replacing them with brand new ones.
There are two basic types of refinishing: wet and dry. With wet refinished hardwood floors, the planks are still wet when they are finished but when you are done the planks will dry up and look almost as good as they did before you refinished. With dry refinishing the planks are actually dry when you are finished, but they will still need to be cleaned before they’re ready to be used. When you buy your hardwood floors from a retailer they should be able to give you some tips about cleaning them so that you can maintain the new look.
One of the most common ways to refinish hardwood floors is called sanding and finishing. This process consists of spraying a coat of urethane over the entire floor and then carefully sanding it. Once the siding is sanded thoroughly and you no longer see any sign of the resin it will need to be stained with a special stain marker made especially for sanding and refinishing. Once the stain has been applied the floor will need to be allowed to dry overnight and then buffed up before using.
Pet stains can be removed with one of the many products available for removing pet stains. If you prefer to do the refinishing yourself you can sand the floor down to the bare wood. Make sure to wear protective gloves when sanding and applying the sealer, e.g. wax.