How to Refinish Hardwood Floors

A beautiful home definitely deserves beautiful floor and there can be nothing better than hardwood floors. Such floors add to the beauty of your home. Wooden products need proper care and hardwood floors are no exception to this rule. They look elegant only when are looked after properly. Refinishing the floor thus becomes important. The floors will lose their shine and luster if they are not refinished from time to time. You must take some time out of your busy schedule for your floors. The refinishing will ensure that the floors look great and are free from scratches.

The process of refinishing

Two steps are involved in refinishing hardwood floors. The first is known sanding. This process removes the old wood and dirt from the surface of the floor. Thus the surface looks new and fit for working. The second process used in refinishing is called staining. It is used for polishing the floor's surface.

The floors do not need refinishing very often. So how will you decide whether the floors require refinishing or not? For this, you need to perform a simple test. With the help of the test you can assess the condition of your floors. Put few drops of water on the hardwood floor. Your floor doesn't need refinishing if the water is not absorbed or absorbed rather slowly. Refinishing is required when the water is absorbed quickly by the floor.

All kinds of damages need to be repaired before you begin with the process of refinishing. Check the floor carefully and look for any damages that need to be fixed. Badly stained wood often needs repairing and so do the squeaky floor boards. Permanent damages also need to be repaired.

Getting started with the refinishing

You can start refinishing the floor once you have repaired all the damages on it. Start with the process of sanding. This process takes some time. All the doorways, windows, vents in the room should be covered properly. This is to prevent them from dust. All the other things in the room like furniture etc. should be moved to separate rooms. The room should be absolutely clear.

To start sanding, you need a drum sander. The drum sander should keep on moving continuously. This is for preventing all sorts of injuries. Lots of wood is lost if the sander stays at one place. The floor thus becomes irregular. You should not rush into things. Sanding should be done gradually and carefully. An edge sander can be used for getting into the corners and other such spots. You can get this drum sander easily from a retail store.

Once sanding is done, clear all the dust from the floor. The next step is to stain the hardwood floor. A huge variety of stains are available in the market. Oil based and water based stains are quite popular. The stain should go with the type of floor you have' so you need to choose accordingly. Follow all the instructions given with the stain. You must know the number of coats that are required for that stain. The time in which the stain dries up should also be known to you.

You are done with refinishing once the stain dries up. Refinishing takes time, it requires lots of patience from your side. Because it is time consuming, many people go for professional help. You must try to do it on your own because refinishing may take time, but the end result will make you happy and satisfied and it will be worth all the efforts.