It is that time of year yet again when you feel the need to take a deep look at your existing hardwood floor, if that’s your thing. If it has lost its sheen, it would turn it into a very unattractive and boring feature of an otherwise refreshing house. Get set and ready to get an insight into the refinishing guide. Home stuffs are more sensitive for anyone who owns it or living in it. SO i would suggest not to go for youtube 5 mins video or DIY Do it yourself video. Go to a professional. For more visit https://www.merrittsupply.com/product-category/polishes-pads/.
Assessment of your floors
If your hardwood floors need to be worked on, you need to evaluate and find out whether you can source it out to flooring professionals or can do it yourself. If you think it is economical or just want a hands-on experience, and want to do it by yourself, then you must go through the steps in this refinishing hardwood floors guide to a shiny new hardwood floor. I’ve heard about Epoxy Flooring, they are quite good at what they do. You might also want to look at them. Though search the market for a better solution first.
Groundwork
To get rolling with the refinishing work, go through the entire floor examining and assessing it for any hot spots such as protruding nails, squeaky boards or ones that have come off. Hammer such nails back in place. Then nail down the boards that tend to squeak or are out of their positions. While hammering, remember to always hit the nail at an angle to make sure that the board gets flattened and holds its position for long.
Make a list of all the necessary equipment as required in the refinishing hardwood floors guide and get them in place, as once you begin it will not be easy to run for it, especially if the rental place or the hardware store is not close by.
Make sure you close all vents, windows, and the doors by lining the corners and edges with paper, cloth, or rags so that the dust does not get all over the house. Look out for cracks and breaks in the hardwood floor and fill them up diligently with putty. But here you need to be judgmental and use discretion as some of the cracks develop to compensate for the expansion of wood due to cold or the hot climate; and others will just grow bigger in time.
Equipment for your project
Refinishing a hardwood floor calls for materials that can be found easily at any local hardware or nearby rental centers in your area. A refinishing project will require an edge sander, hand sander, drum sander, a buffer, scraper, a putty knife, dust masks, shop vacuum, safety goggles and much needed ear protection gear. The equipment is the vital ingredient or essential component for any refinishing hardwood floors guide.
If there is no chance or possibility of using the mentioned tools on any similar projects anytime soon, it would not make any sense to buy and keep them. There are lots of rental places where you can get these tools and it will make good sense.
Also, you can get instructions and guidance material for the proper use of these materials, devices or tools from the salesperson at these shops. Also ensure than you have papers for the sanders a little more than necessary, as any corrections you might need to make will see you use extra. Again, if the floor has been painted before, you will need a lot more of it.
Sanding
Before you begin the sanding of the hardwood floor, make sure to vacuum the whole room. As for the c, refinishing hardwood floors guide would want you to take necessary precautions.
As it is noisy and intensely dusty work, please make sure that you wear goggles and effective ear protection gear, dust mask. Be careful when using the drum sander as it can cause damage to your wood, making swift swirls which will necessitate extra work to set it right.
Do not place the drum sander in the same place for long, but move it along the surface of the hardwood floor in a line till you reach the end and walk back in the same manner covering the whole room. It will be difficult in the beginning as it will be quite a handful, though you will slowly get the hang of it.
Start using it in an easy and ‘safe’ place before you actually go full-on with it. It will be difficult to work the edges with the drum sander, so the refinishing hardwood floors guide stipulates and suggests the use of an able edge sander to bring it at even with the rest of the wooden surface.
Start by using the coarse grit, moving on to less coarser one before you finish with a smoother buffer.
Cleaning
Vacuum the whole place and wipe the whole hardwood floor clean of all sanded dust and shavings. Make sure you vacuum the edges where they meet the walls and the in between gaps in the hardwood floor.
Look for any new peeking, popping nails and get them hammered fast. Be sure not to use a wet cloth for the cleaning process as the dampness will cause the finish to bubble and it will tend to spoil the whole process.
Finishing
This is one of the crucial stages of the refinishing hardwood floors guide. Apply hardwood floor sealer all over to the cracks and cover splits. Remember to wait for it to dry. Use the buffer to tighten the grains of the wood and ensure that the stain finds a nice resting place. Vacuum again well to rid of any residual dust and debris.
Chose the right shade of the stain for your floor and you can make a good choice from a shade card that has plenty different options. Before you apply the stain, apply it on to a test region and make sure you have got it right as surface and the printing applications tend to differ.
While applying the stain, be sure to follow the instructions that come printed on the containers. Exercise necessary caution when handling the stains as they are volatile and can emit harmful vapors. See that ventilation is kept to optimal level while working on this section of the refinishing hardwood floors guide.
While applying the very first coat, ensure that you do not leave any drips or end up with a thick overlapping coat of it on the hardwood flooring. Coat the wood surface evenly and use even strokes and wipe it using a piece of cloth. Apply the stain beginning at the corners and work with the wood grain. Always remember to clean off excesses and change the cloth pieces frequently.
Wait for an hour or more before you apply a second coat and ensure the colour evens out across the floor, reworking on spots that differ with the stain and cloth, just when the stain is wet, till you get it up to your satisfaction. These simple and minute steps and precautions play an important role in any refinishing hardwood floors guide.
Notes
Different types of wood need differing kinds of treatment in refinishing, so be sure to know the task hand at the planning stage to save unnecessary exertion. Also, once refinished, be sure to take precautions and care to see that the floor is not unduly damaged in the process of daily placing, moving and cleaning of furniture. Discretion should be used on the application of cleaning solvents and chemicals as this could wear out the coats very easily.
The refinishing hardwood floors guide wishes you a successful project and a shiny new hardwood floor.
