The historic house was one of the loveliest I had ever listed, but it was on the market for over a year and, while it had many showings, it hadn’t yet gotten a single offer. When it came time to relist it, the owners and I considered what else we might do to make the home more attractive to a broader reach of buyers. Noting that their hardwood floors were somewhat dull and faded, I suggested that they might consider the investment of having them refinished.
I had heard of a floor refinisher named Debbie Gartner, aka “The Flooring Girl,” who had established a reputation in the Hudson Valley region for excellent work at reasonable prices and suggested her to the owners (visit her at www.TheFlooringGirl.com). As Home Guru readers would know, I’m always intrigued when I find a woman supplier who takes on jobs traditionally associated with men.
Shortly after I made the recommendation, I was told that the estimate for refinishing the entire first floor came in reasonably and the project was accepted. When I revisited the house after the job was done, it was a revelation. Bottom line: when the house was relisted, it received an offer in three days. I can’t attest to how much influence beautifully refinished floors had on that rapid a sale, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt. One thing is certain: the experience got me thinking about having the flooring in two rooms and my central hallway in my own home redone.
My main concern however, was the time and effort involved with clearing the deck, literally, for such an all-out job. I had a lot of questions about the process. “Those are exactly the questions all my customers ask me,” Debbie said, and she came well prepared with the answers. Here they are:
Q: How long does it take to refinish hardwood floors from start to finish? That depends on what type of polyurethane is used, oil-based or water-based. Oil tends to take longer, from three to four days plus drying time, and water based tends to dry faster in two days.
Q: Is there a lot of dust when sanding floors? Yes, but the dust goes into a vacuum bag. While no process is 100 percent dustless, it does take care of 90 to 95 percent of the dust.
Q. Can you change the color of the hardwood? Yes, you can go from light to dark, or dark to light or anywhere in between.
Q. What if we have pet stains on the floor? If there are areas that have pet stains or water damage that have turned black, the best thing to do may be to replace those hardwood boards and weave them in.
To read the rest of this column, click here. Bill Primavera is a Realtor® associated with William Raveis Real Estate and Founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com), specializing in lifestyles, real estate and development. His real estate site is: www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com and his blog is: www.TheHomeGuru.com. To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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