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Refinishing Hardwood Floors On A Budget
If your hardwood floors are in dire
need of refinishing, get a few estimates from professionals.
You may be surprised at the figures. You’ll want
to sit down when they tell you it will cost you $1200
to have your living room redone. You could carpet over
it for less, but doesn’t carpeting over beautiful
hardwood floors seem, well, wrong?
Contrary to what you may have heard,
the finish doesn’t take days and days to dry. It’s
quite simple actually. Go to your favorite local home
improvement store, Lowe’s, Menard’s, Home
Depot or other. Rent a sander. You’ll need a drum
sander, a belt sander or both. They will explain to
you how to use the machine and tell you what kind of
sand paper to purchase. They will also tell you what
kind of stain and finish to get. Make sure you also
pick up some dust masks because you will have saw dust
everywhere.
The sanders are very easy to use. They’re
a bit on the loud side. The key is to keep it moving
at all times. Do not stop or you will get a divot in
your wood. Think of it like a clothes iron. You need
to keep it moving or you will burn your clothes. Same
deal with the sander. It creates a lot of heat and you
will burn or dent your floors if you hesitate in one
place too long.
You will feel like a Zamboni driver
smoothing out your surface. Word of caution, you do
need to maintain control of the machine at all times.
It is self propelled, like a lawn mower or a basset
hound on a leash. When you power it up, hold on to the
machine tightly. Don’t be afraid of it and after
a few passes, you’ll start to even have fun.
Redoing your floors is like redoing
your fingernails. First you need to remove the old finish,
basecoat, color, and top coat. You may opt to forgo
the color (stain) and just use the nature color of the
wood. You will still need to apply a finish to it.
There are basically two types of floor
finishes: one is oil-based and the other is water-based
polyurethane. Oil-based is available in a satin, semi-gloss
or gloss finish. Satin works well on floors because
it hides small flaws and lets the natural beauty of
the wood show without a bright shine. Oil-based also
produces a warm amber look that gives you the traditional
glow of wood floors. Water-based polyurethane dries
clear and resists yellowing. Water-based also dries
quicker.
Make sure you let each coat thoroughly
dry before applying the next; same as you would nail
polish. Give your floor at least 24-36 hours before
moving furniture back on it. It will continue to harden
in the first couple of weeks.
Don’t be overwhelmed. Instead of
looking at refinishing your hardwood floors as a humungous
job, look at it as giving your room a manicure, one
step at a time. You’ll also save yourself as much
as $1,000 by doing it yourself.
1howto.com
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