What is the best way to refinish hard-wood oak floors?
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Answers:
Hire a professional. It should cost you around $3.50 per sq foot.
get one of those big noisy floor sanders that collects the dust and go over the floor. Then put 3 coats of floor varnish on the newly sanded floor. It helps to remove all furniture and rugs completely. The dust from a dustless sander will go everywhere.
call a professional! It wont cost that much and you'll have the peace of mind of beautiful floors instead of damaged or ruined ones!!!!! Dont take the cheapest bid either!!!! Get reccomendations from as many people as you can ask in a week or two's time -- get the one who has the best and most references !!!!!!!
If you can scrape up the money hire it done. If you can`t purchase or borrow a book on refinishing floors, don``t read it study it long and hard.
Then go get your self a part time job to pay for hireing some one else to do the job.
If you are still going todo it your self, to save money, then set aside some to purchase floor covering after you get thru.
Very few people ever do a passable job the first time.
Sand the area first...down to bare wood. Then apply an interior clear coat uv protectant on the floors, making sure that the product is for floors. Appy as per directions on the bottle. Depending on the product you may only have to apply one coat. Check out Sikkens.they have great products.
DIY
IF the floor has major wear, use a rougher grid sand paper to start and finish off with a fine grain sand paper. IMPORTANT, you must pick up the dust, a damp, clean mop will do at first. If staining, test it on an area out of the way. The longer you leave a stain the darker it will be. If no stain, go right for the urethane. Do this in 3 stages letting each coat dry and use tack clothe (dust/lint free towel) to pick up dust inbetween coats. Make sure to have ventilation as the smell can be overwhelming if you are in a confined area.
The absolute best way is to hire a professional floor refinisher recomended by people you know. Hint always ask for several current references
The next best is to go to a rental center or home store tool rental and get the heaviest machines (one belt sander, one disc sander--for corners & edges) carefully with continuous motion (stopping can cause burn marks) sand the entire floor. Be sure to protect the rest of the dwelling from dust (plastic & tape) use dust masks & goggles. clean carefully before applying any stain or finish (I recomend a water based polyeurathane finish.
Its a dirty, hard job which is why I suggest you have the pros do it.
unless your really good at do it yourselfing, hire a professional, there not too high, get a few bids don't just pick the first one. You'll be glad you did.
All the advice you have got before this is good.
i.e. get a professional to do it.
but if you are determined to do it yourself study the techniques really well and practice on something that doesn't matter too much.
Something else....make sure that the wood is solid and thick enough before you start, if it's a laminate you've got problems.new flooring!
Finally, when you consider all the mess, risk, hassle, etc etc... is it worth the effort? I'd buy rugs and cover the bad spots.
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