should I or shouldn't I? refinish my old floors

15 years ago

Hi everyone, I'd like to ask anyone's opinion who has refinished old hardwood flooring. I have a 1940's house whose first floor is hardwood. I don't know what kind(how can you tell?) We covered the living room and hallway with carpet but I would really like to reveal the old hardwood floors in the bedrooms at least. As I said I don't know the type of wood, but all wood in house including moldings were left unpainted. the color is a dark amber, though I guess that is probably stain. The floors have stains and the finish is uneven. There are scratches in some areas, so cleaning alone will not be enough. One of the rooms had carpet at one time as I can see some small nail holes at the edges, the other never carpeted. There is a bit of water damage in the room with the nail holes by one window in the form of darkened wood (no buckling). Both rooms are small, 12x12 and 12x10. I know the floors have the potential to be beautiful, the linen closet floor is unblemished and just gorgeous. This would be a DIY project, I have to do it on the cheap, but want to do a great job. I have patience and am handy. But some people say it is not a good DIY project. Some stains are pet urine, I think previous owner kept pets in the smaller room! do stains come out with sanding? What do you think?

Comments (3)

hardwoodfloorman
15 years ago
Sounds like your floors would be worth refinishing.The stains will probably show through some.If it shows through it's not a stain,it's character.Some would say to bleach the stains with a wood conditioner.All that does is make the stain look really weird,and weakens the surface area of the wood that is applied.As for attempting the DIY,good luck.Rental equipment(the drum/belt sander) are a smaller machine than what professionals use.The rentals take more time and are alot lighter weight.They will leave a lil' more chatter across the floor which will not be too noticeable in smaller rooms.Just so you know,no matter if you go with a dark stain the stains in the floor will still come through darker,but we refinish them all the time with stains in them.The main key to makin' the floor look good is puttin' a nice clean coat of finish.That's what makes the difference.If you need more info. reklawyeroc@yahoo.com
cateyanne
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, the stains were a worry. I had heard about bleaching but had not heard very positive results with it. In researching, I came across a product called "Basic Coatings Emulsions". Apparently with this product you do not need to sand in between top coats if it is applied within 24 hours. Anyone ever hear of or use this product?
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synrgystyk
15 years ago
cateyanne,

Check out the "U-Sand" floor sander and "Waterlox" floor finish. I just sanded and refinished my "new" master bedroom floor (antique heart pine original to the house) and had great results with the U-Sand and Waterlox Original.

The U-Sand uses four 6" random orbit disks and comes with its own vacuum system; there was some dust, but not much. It also gets right up to the edge of the floor -- you probably won't need to rent an edger. Yes, it's probably lighter than a "pro" machine and it'll take you longer to do the sanding, but as a first time DIYer I found that to be an asset. (I don't mind a little extra time if it means I'm less likely to damage the floor.)

Waterlox is a penetrating finish that is very easy to apply and, since each coat "melts" into the previous coats, you don't have to sand between each coat. (Next time I'll probably screen before the final coat because in an old house dust particles seem to generate spontaneously.) I'm very happy with the product and final finish.

I don't have any floor-specific pics online, but (provided I can do this correctly) here's a "before" finishing (mid-woodwork strip and refinish) pic: [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd195/Synrgystyk/Bedroom%20Renovation/baseboard.jpg[/IMG]
and an "after": [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd195/Synrgystyk/Bedroom%20Renovation/P1020089.jpg[/IMG]

The lower right corner of the "after" pic shows the same area of flooring as in the "before" pic. HTH

Lorree