As tough as wood floors are, they don’t last forever. But the good news is, they don’t always need replacing. Most wood floors can be refinished. That involves sanding away a paper-thing layer off the top and mopping on three coats of clear polyurethane finish. You’re looking at about $3-$7 per square foot according to money.com. Popular colors these days are grey, white, and chocolate brown. The website also gives these five ways to get the best job for the money.
Carefully Choose the Contractor
You don’t want a beginner working on your floor. You could end up with too many layers being removed from the wood floor, creating an uneven surface. This also can weaken the floor and reduce the number of times the surface can be refinished. So it’s best to get referrals from friends and tradesmen, check references, and go see previous work. You can also look for a contractor with the NWFA Certified Sand and Finisher designation, which requires passing a hands-on test and at least two years of experience.
Find Out If You Need a Partial or Full Refinishing
You might be able to save some money by partially refinishing your wood floor. If your floor doesn’t have deep gouges and the finish isn’t worn through anywhere, you might not need a full refinishing job. Instead, you might be able to get by with lightly sanding the existing finish and then apply the new finish over the top. This is sometimes called a “screen and poly” job, or sometimes a “maintenance coat,” and it could save you about 50%. Plus, there’s no limit to how many times it can be done to a floor since it doesn’t remove any wood.
Color is Important
If your floors have a deep, rich color, chances are, it’s probably not the natural color of the wood. Most likely, a stain was applied. If you’re doing a full refinishing, the stain will be removed during the process. So your floor will be a much lighter color after the job is done—unless you ask to have it stained to match the original color. Or you can choose a new color. Adding stain will increase your project costs by about 50%.
Plan on Moving Out During the Refinishing Process
Sanding only takes a day or two but if you use a stain, each of the three coats of finish will need to dry before the next coat can go on. Depending on the product and weather conditions, each coat could take hours or days to dry. Basically, plan on being out of your house a week.
Be Careful of the Baseboard
Most likely, you’re going to need to touch up the paint after the floors are done. It’s tough not to ding the baseboard. You can either hire it done — maybe for a few hundred bucks if you’re lucky. Or you can do it yourself.
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