Refinishing hardwood flooring could make previous, worn surfaces look new once more. In some circumstances, it's the one approach to restore broken flooring to its unique glory. However sanding and refinishing flooring is expensive, messy and time-consuming, and also you wish to ensure it's the proper answer earlier than you commit.
For hardwood flooring which might be in pretty first rate form, you may be capable of get away with a sooner, cheaper possibility as an alternative: screening and recoating. With this technique, you buff the flooring and apply a contemporary coat of polyurethane, a shiny end that protects the wooden.
Regularly requested questions
Refinishing includes sanding flooring to disclose contemporary naked wooden, staining (if desired), and eventually sealing with polyurethane.
Hiring knowledgeable to refinish hardwood flooring runs wherever from $3 to $8 per sq. foot, which generally interprets to a remaining price ticket of just below $1,100 to about $2,500, in accordance with the house companies web site HomeAdvisor. However prices can generally run upward of $4,000, the positioning notes. This big value vary is due partly to the variations in particular person house sizes and layouts: Small options resembling closet interiors, alcoves or stairs enhance prices, and bigger open areas often translate to decrease prices per sq. foot.
Doing the job your self might cut back expense to someplace between $500 and $1,000 in instruments and supplies, in accordance with HomeAdvisor. Simply renting a sander prices about $50 to $80 day by day, the corporate notes, and chances are you’ll want greater than a single day to complete the work.
Sure. You’ll need to take away all furnishings, pry off molding and mop flooring earlier than even getting began. Then you definitely’ll sand the room’s perimeter and interior space. To keep away from significantly damaging flooring, it’s essential to maintain the sanding machine transferring always. The entire course of creates a great deal of mud, so that you’ll want a respirator masks and store vacuum — that’s, a high-powered machine designed to select up heavy particles. As soon as sanding is finished and dirt is eliminated, you’ll be prepared to use stain (if desired) after which apply a number of coats of a poly sealer. Plan to attend 72 hours to per week earlier than placing furnishings again in your flooring, and remember that the fumes from the poly sealer could also be overpowering sufficient to warrant an evening or two spent elsewhere.
For screening and recoating, you employ a buffing machine to abrade wooden flooring (to enhance sealant adherence), then apply a single contemporary coat of polyurethane. In case your flooring aren't closely worn, this answer is an efficient various to a full refinishing. The entire course of typically takes lower than a full day, though you’ll nonetheless have to attend a minimum of a couple of days earlier than placing furnishings again.
Hiring a licensed contractor to do that job ought to run between $1.50 to $2.25 per sq. foot, in accordance with the flooring information web site Residence Flooring Professionals. In the event you want to do the job your self, your complete value per sq. foot ought to be about $0.75 to $1.50, the positioning notes.
So how have you learnt in case your hardwood actually wants a complete refinishing or only a fast display screen and recoat? Look at your flooring fastidiously, and when you discover any of those six indicators, solely an entire refinishing will correctly restore your flooring.
» MORE: Estimate the price of your own home renovation
1. Main scratches and dents
It’s practically unattainable to keep away from getting some minor dings and scratches in hardwood flooring, particularly with children or pets. However when the injury turns into widespread and penetrates the poly coating into the wooden itself, solely a robust sanding goes deep sufficient to disclose an undamaged floor. This isn’t only a beauty subject; as soon as scratches enter the wooden, your flooring develop into weak to water injury.
2. Cupping
When floorboards bend downward from their edges in a concave form, it’s known as cupping. Not solely does cupping look unattractive, it’s proof of water injury. Such a injury doesn’t solely come from spills and drips; humidity may also be a wrongdoer. Sanding will efficiently resolve delicate cupping, but when any floorboards are sticking up or separating, you’ll want to exchange these particular person boards.
» MORE: 6 Methods to keep away from pricey house renovation errors
3. Splinters
If strolling in your hardwood flooring with out sneakers means risking painful splinters, this means that your sealant has worn away and the wooden beneath is broken. Sanding is the one approach to get below that injury to revive smoothness and security — and a contemporary layer of sealant ought to defend this new floor for a few years.
4. Grey floorboards
Typically mistaken for a captivating patina that provides character to older properties, floorboards which have turned grey point out water injury. After refinishing, these once-gray floorboards ought to look model new, however remember that any boards which have turned black are past assist and have to be changed.
5. Water stains
Stained floorboards are a positive signal of water injury. Whereas most water stains will be prevented by merely wiping up spills shortly, unaddressed plumbing leaks, air conditioner drips and pet accidents inevitably stain hardwood over time. As soon as these telltale stains seem, refinishing is required to disclose and defend the clear wooden beneath them.
6. Fading and discoloration
A sunny room feels wonderful, however over time an excessive amount of solar can fade and discolor hardwood flooring. In the event you’ve observed fading or colour adjustments on the ground close to glass doorways and home windows, refinishing will restore a uniform hue.
What's subsequent?
In case your hardwood flooring want refinishing, there are two fundamental methods you may get the job finished: Rent professionals or do it your self.
A DIY method might be answer in case you are bodily as much as the duty, have sufficient time to find out about refinishing strategies — for instance, by watching video tutorials — and really feel assured that you’ve the proper abilities, instruments and supplies to do a good job. In the event you're brief on time, aren't bodily in a position to do the job or wish to keep away from beginner errors that would go away the ground wanting lower than excellent, discovering a talented handyman or licensed contractor to do the work is effectively definitely worth the added value.
