|
Home Improvement InformationHardwood Floor Refinishing - For The Faint Of Heart
by:
Eileen Church
Are your beautiful wood
floors not so beautiful anymore? Mayhap they simply need a refinishing job. It can be a discouraging
task, but here are several ideas to do it a little easier.
If your wood
floors are in dire need of refinishing, get a few estimates from professionals. You may be astonied at the figures. You'll want to sit down once
they tell you it wish cost you $1200 to have your living room redone. You could carpet over it for less, but doesn't carpet over beautiful wood
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 house improvement store, Lowe’s, Menard’s, House Depot or other. Rent a sander. You'll need a drum sander, a belt electric sander or both. They wish explain to you how to use the machine and tell you what kind of sand paper to purchase. They wish as well tell you what kind of stain and finish to get. Do sure you as well pick up several dust masks because you wish have saw dust everywhere.
The sanders are really easy to use. They're a bit on the loud side. The key is to support it moving at all times. Do not finish or you wish get a divot in your wood. Think of it like a article of clothing iron. You need to support it moving or you wish burn your clothes. Same deal with the sander. It creates a lot of heat and you wish burn or dent your floors if you hesitate in one place too long.
You wish feel like a Machine
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 field
garden tool or a basset hound on a leash. Once
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 as have fun.
First you need to move out the old finish, base coat, color, and top coat. You may opt to forgo the color (stain) and simply use the nature color of the wood. You wish still need to apply a finish to it.
There are au fond two types of floor finishes: one is oil-based and the different is water-based polyurethane. Oil-based is accessible in a satin, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Cloth works well on floors because it hides small flaws and lets the natural beauty of the wood show without a bright shine. Oil-based as well produces a warm amber look that gives you the traditional glow of wood floors. Water-based polymer
dries clean and resists yellowing. Water-based as well dries quicker.
Make sure you let each coat thoroughly dry before applying the next; same as you would-be nail polish. Give your floor at least 24-36 hours before moving article of furniture back on it. It wish continue to harden in the 1st couple of weeks.
Don't be overwhelmed. Instead of looking at refinishing your wood
floors as a humungous job, look at it as giving your room a manicure, one step at a time. You'll as well save yourself as more as $1,000 by doing it yourself.
Just about the author:
Eileen Church loves to activity with wood. She is the webmaster of http://www.funwoodworks.comwhich is the premier woodwork and craft site on the internet. Please visit http://www.funwoodworks.comfor several fantabulous craft resources.
Circulated by Article Emporium
| |
