Hardwood floors add elegance and beauty to your house. They are a popular flooring option and can enhance the demand and value of your property. However, despite their beautiful appearance and durability, hardwood floors will need refinishing due to the wear and tear they have to endure. This is specifically important for houses with kids and pets.
However, the good news is, with a little refinishing effort you can have them as good as new. However, before you consider refinishing your hardwood floors you need to consider a few essential factors. Let us discuss them in detail.
1. Hire a professional hardwood floor refinisher
If it isn’t kept moving at just the right pace and in just the right pattern, a powerful piece of equipment, such as an industrial-grade drum sander, can remove too much material. This can leave an uneven surface, reducing the number of times the surface can be refinished in the future, and possibly even weaken the floor. So, just like with any home improvement contractor, ask for recommendations from friends and neighbors you can trust, check out their references, and see their portfolios.
Additionally, you should look for a contractor that has a proven track record and a good reputation in the industry.
2. Vacate the premises
Because you cannot walk on the finish while it is wet, you will need to vacate the property for a few days while the process is being done.
Sanding should only take a day or two, but each of the three coats of finish and the stain (if you use one) must dry before the next application.
Each coat could take hours or days, depending on the material used and the weather at the time.
For “sand and poly” work, allocate at least two days, and for a complete refinishing operation, three to seven days, plus at least one day if you’re adding color.
3. Consider other options
You might be able to avoid complete refinishing work if your floor doesn’t have any large gouges and the finish is still intact.
Instead, the hardwood floors refinishers will apply the new finish (polyurethane) directly on top of the previous finish after lightly screening it.
This is frequently referred to as a “screen and poly” job or a “maintenance coat,” and it could help you avoid paying 50% as much for a complete restoration.
Additionally, there is no restriction on the number of times it can be done to a floor because no wood is removed.
These are a few things that you must consider before having your hardwood floors refurbished. Additionally, you will also need to do some aftercare post-refinishing. For example, you may have to consider touching up your paint depending on the condition of the baseboard. Hiring professional hardwood floor refinishers can reduce such risks while providing you with a beautiful-looking floor.
