Resurfacing hardwood floors is often best left to the professionals for a number of reasons which we will go into in this post about this particular topic. All consumers want to try to save some money. Some have the time to do the work themselves. However many just do not have the time, the skills or the patience to do the work. If you are planning to try resurfacing hardwood floors yourself, the first thing you need to do is to talk to the experts. Learn a few tricks of the trade. Then you need to have the time and patience to do the job . Also a supporting family who can put up with the mess for a few weeks. Unless you plan to take vacation to complete this project within a few days.
Finish the Resurfacing Job Quickly
Hiring a professional usually means that the job can be finished in three or four days. Of course this depends on the size of the job. Sure your home is a mess during this time. But then the job is done. You can put your furniture back and relax to enjoy your brand new floor. This is usually what most people aim for and you really cannot blame them. Who wants to do all of that work and have a mess too that lasts for several weeks?
It Takes a lot More Time to Do It Your Self
The writer has done a lot of these kinds of jobs on his own. I have saved a great deal of money doing it as well. The problem that we had is that it took a long time to get the job done. Only being able to work on resurfacing the hardwood flooring for a few hours at night before the kids went to bed. Also on the weekends really extends the project completion date. In addition my family had to put up with all of the dust in the house. Of course the furniture totally rearranged so that the work could be done. It took me a couple of weeks to complete the job. But I saved several thousand dollars by doing the job myself.
Rent the Right Equipment
Always sand with the grain of the wood and never across the grain. Always rent a machine that will do the sanding for you and has a vacuum attached to such as much of the dust as possible into a bag or entirely outside. This can significantly reduce the amount of dust inside the home and make a huge difference in the clean up afterword.
You will have to do some hand sanding to get into corners and areas that the power sander cannot get to. In addition, removing the corner round and then sanding right up to the wall can reduce the amount of hand sanding that needs to be done.
Sand with progressively finer sand paper to leave a very smooth finish and then vacuum and clean the wood before applying the stain or protective coats to the wood. You may want to wash the walls first to remove all sawdust that has attached to the wall. Clean the floor last with a tack cloth to remove any sawdust that could mar the finish on your floor. When you are finished you will have a floor that looks brand new and add thousands in value to the price of your home.
When consumers are buying a home, they will not take on the job of sanding a floor. Unless they can really get a low price for the home. It has to be low enough that they can afford to pay for the refinishing job. Most sellers would prefer to have the work done and live in the home for a while. For more information about hardwood floor refinishing, click here.