Refinishing Your Hardwood Floors: Can You Do It Yourself?

Hardwood floors can be a beautiful asset to your home. They lend a sense of elegance to any room. Just like anything else, however, your hardwood floors require maintenance, and there will come a time when you should consider refinishing hardwood floors. Luckily, hardwood floor refinishing is not impossibly difficult. With a bit of effort and patience, your floors will be good as new again.

Refinishing hardwood floors is a process that encompasses two steps. The first, sanding, removes the buildup of dirt and old wood from the floor's surface, making for a fresh wood surface suitable for working. The other, staining, gives the floor's surface a more polished look.

Before you attempt refinishing your hardwood floor, you should always do this simple test to make sure that it is necessary. All you need to do is place a drop of water on your floor. If it absorbs rather quickly, you need to refinish, but if it doesn't absorb, or it slow at absorbing, you do not need to refinish your hardwood floor at this time.

When you inspect the floor, make sure it doesn't need any repairs. Problems to inspect for include warped or squeaking floor boards, badly stained wood, and other permanent damage. If any of these issues are present, you should repair them before refinishing the floor.

After making sure your floor is in good repair, begin refinishing by preparing for the messy work of sanding. Start by clearing everything from the room. Cover all doorways, other openings, vents, and light fixtures in the empty room to protect them from all the dust.

You will need a drum sander for your first sanding. The drum sander is a powerful tool and damaging the wood while sanding is easy to do. To avoid this, keep the sander moving, never letting it stay in one place for more than a few seconds. However, don't rush. When encountering corners and other areas you cannot reach with the drum sander, use an edge sander.

After sanding the floor, clean up all debris and dust in the work space. Then, to begin staining, you will need to choose a floor stain. Decide whether water-based or oil-based stain will be best for your floor depending on the characteristics of your floor. Follow all the instructions, especially how many coats needed and how long it takes to dry.

Your stain is dry; your floor is done! Offer yourself some congratulations! Refinishing hardwood floors can be difficult, and some hire a professional, but you know how to refinish hardwood floors so you don't need to. This task takes a little time, but when you see your dull floor shining and gleaming again you will know it was all worth it.

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Cleaning your hardwood floors doesn't have to be difficult. Find out ideas on bruce hardwood floors and how to install laminated floors today.
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