When Kim Muse-Comtois moved into her first dwelling, an previous home in downtown Albany, one of many first issues on her to-do listing was to remodel the soiled hardwood flooring. She was satisfied it was a mission she might deal with with slightly steering.
“I am assured I could make it work with somebody strolling me by way of it,” Muse-Comtois stated.
Hardwood flooring have lengthy been favored by householders for his or her timeless magnificence and sturdiness. Wooden floors present a impartial backdrop to a wide range of design kinds and add worth to a house. A research by the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors discovered that 54 % of homebuyers are keen to pay as much as $2,080 extra for hardwood flooring. Nationwide Wooden Flooring Associations analysis exhibits that two-thirds of householders need hardwood flooring of their dream dwelling.
Actual wooden floors are sturdy, engaging and straightforward to scrub, stated Brett Miller, vp of technical requirements, coaching and certification for the Nationwide Wooden Flooring Affiliation. If you would like a really customized flooring in your house, actual wooden is the way in which to go because it presents limitless design prospects to fit your private type. “
There are a number of on-line tutorials that may information you thru the method of refinishing your hardwood flooring. Residence Depot presents step-by-step directions and an inventory of merchandise to hire and purchase. Contractor and residential painter Juan Torres presents detailed steering on his web site, 518Painters.com.
- Prime the ground to renovate: Take away furnishings and particles, pull up molding, and put down drop cloths. If there’s a heavy wax build-up, clear the flooring with denatured alcohol or mineral spirits.
- Put together the perimeter: Utilizing 180-grit sandpaper, hand-sand the perimeter of the room and any corners that the buffer can not attain.
- Sand the floor: You’ll be able to sand earlier than you scuff, Torres stated. Use a rotary or orbital sander with a maroon buffing pad and run the machine backwards and forwards alongside the ground within the route of the grain, overlapping every course by six inches.
- Take away all mud: When utilizing a vacuum attachment with felt or different tender bristle supplies, run it parallel to the flooring strips so mud does not get trapped between them, Torres recommends.
- Apply the stain: Use a foam applicator pad to use the stain within the route of the wooden grain. For lap marks that seem on account of poor brushing or inadequate drying time, minimize alongside the perimeters first to attenuate strains. Work on a small space at a time.
- Apply the end: Use a long-handled curler with a quarter-inch nap cowl and transfer shortly, Torres stated. You could want three coats of an oil-based end or 4 coats of a water-based end.
Nonetheless, over time picket surfaces can rub, fade, put on and warp. In case your hardwood flooring want a refresh you’ll be able to rent knowledgeable contractor or refinish them your self.
When correctly maintained, stable hardwood flooring can final a whole lot of years, making them an distinctive worth, Miller stated.
Hiring professionals
In line with the NWFA, wooden flooring is any product that accommodates actual wooden on the highest floor and contains stable and engineered wooden flooring and composite boards with actual wooden on wearable surfaces. Strong wooden flooring is constituted of one piece of wooden from high to backside. These strips might be sanded and refinished many instances. Engineered and composite wooden flooring options wooden on the floor, however different supplies beneath. These alternate options might be sanded and refinished, however not as usually as stable wooden flooring.
Thorough sanding and refinishing will not be crucial.
Over time, when wooden floors begin to look slightly boring, they are often refreshed by refinishing them, Miller stated.
Hiring professionals
This contains making use of a brand new coat of wooden flooring end, which the NWFA recommends doing each three to 5 years.
Particular person upkeep schedules differ relying on use, put on and tear, and life-style, Miller stated.
An intensive sanding and refinishing is beneficial when the wooden flooring is broken, similar to deep scratches, dents, or when the end has worn away and uncovered naked wooden. A typical timeline for sanding and refinishing is each few many years. Once more, schedules could differ relying on use, put on and tear, and life-style.
You’ll be able to anticipate to pay $2 to $7 per sq. foot to have knowledgeable end your hardwood flooring utterly, in line with information compiled by Realtor.com. The price of labor, sanding, and marking supplies can differ, however most householders can anticipate to pay $500 to $1,750 for a single 250-square-foot room.
In line with Miller, refinishing hardwood flooring is just not for the novice. It’s time-consuming and messy and labor-intensive. They advocate hiring an knowledgeable.
Making use of a brand new coat of end or doing a full sand and end is extra difficult than portray your partitions or changing the {hardware} in your kitchen cupboards, so it isn’t beneficial as a DIY mission, he stated. You desire a licensed wooden flooring skilled with the information and expertise to get the job accomplished proper. In the long term, you’ll save time and money through the use of knowledgeable.
DIY hardwood flooring refinishing
In case you’re frugal, useful and wish to sand the dents and dings out of your flooring your self, it is attainable, stated Juan Torres, contractor and proprietor of 518 Painters. Along with skilled residential portray, Torres engages and guides DIY-hopefuls by way of varied dwelling enchancment initiatives by way of his weblog, YouTube channel, and TikTok.
It requires a sure degree of ability and endurance, Torres stated. Every step of the method requires consideration to element and the usage of specialised tools. He stated you must have some familiarity with flooring sanding and stain utility. You should perceive the several types of timber and the way every species reacts to staining.
In case you’ve by no means refinished hardwood flooring earlier than or you do not have the mandatory expertise and information, I like to recommend hiring knowledgeable to do the job for you, Torres stated. Knowledgeable will be certain that your flooring are accomplished correctly and effectively with out damaging the wooden or leaving seen marks.
Need to give it a go? Sanding is essential to this mission, stated Joe Cobb, buyer coaching supervisor at The Residence Depot.
“Sand within the route of the grain of the wooden, then usually go together with contemporary sandpaper. You should definitely use the right grit of sandpaper. Word, whenever you begin this mission, use a coarser sandpaper,” Cobb stated.
In case you’re dedicated to DIYing it, confidence can be key, stated Muse-Comtois, who tag-teamed her mission together with her companion on the time. He sought recommendation from buddies, household and consultants at his native ironmongery shop.
We went to Residence Depot, we rented a machine and I could not let you know how a lot it was, however I do not suppose it was that a lot as a result of if it was actually costly I would not have accomplished it.
Muse-Comtois estimates the pair spent about $1,000 on merchandise and tools, together with a rented flooring sander, to refinish hardwood surfaces in 5 rooms. It took a few week to sand, stain and seal, however they have been rewarded with shiny, freshly refreshed hardwood flooring for a fraction of what it will have value to rent knowledgeable.
She stated that I’m proud to know that I’ve accomplished it myself. You might be placing a bit on one thing.
Together with confidence, you must be okay with potential imperfections, he stated.
You might be placing a bit of your self into one thing that’s now yours, stated Muse-Comtois. If one thing goes improper, it may be fastened. Both approach, you may have an awesome story to inform. Imperfections in your house result in reminiscences.
