Sanding or just buffing hardwood

10 years ago

We're doing a remodel of a 1917 Foursquare. Drywall is done! Cabinets are in! And my floor refinisher is delaying 2 days, which holds us up yet another weekend from moving in. We've also gone waaaay over budget on this remodel.

I'm beginning to question whether or not it is necessary to spend the big bucks to do a complete refinish (sanding down every floor & sealing) of our original rift plank floors. This whole time I've had it in my head that it's just what we have to do. We're not planning on staining the floor, we just want to sand and seal. There are two rooms that are in worse condition than the rest of the house. One has lots of paint (which I could just a strip off), the other one needs some love in the form of sealer. There are a few dark spots from animals that we were thinking about bleaching out or replacing with extra boards left over from moving walls.

I just saw on TOHs website that you can just buff the floor and reseal, which goes a lot quicker. And we could do that ourselves to save money.

What do y'all think? Pay the floor guy big bucks to have newly refinished hardwoods or just fix te trouble spots?

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Comments (3)

GreenDesigns
10 years ago
Buffing and recoating only works if there is already a poly coating on the floor in fair condition that isn't worn through to bare wood.

In an older home, especially one with maybe shellac, maybe wax, maybe danish oil, and who knows what else, you have to remove all of the unknowns down to bare wood, and then get a good finish coat on it. There are pros and cons to the different finish coating products available, so be sure to study up on those so that you can be happy with how the floor looks, performs, and touches up.

Then, treat the floor right by putting down rugs at entries and in high traffic locations. Don't use any wax or silicone based products on it, nor any of anything that contains orange oil or extracts. Plain vaccuming and dried out damp mopping is all any wood floor needs to have done.
jmc01
10 years ago
You also have to be alert to how thick the existing wood is. If it's been sanded multiple times through the years, it might be too thin now to handle another sanding. Take off a piece of quarter round to see height differences.
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cfrizzle
Original Author
10 years ago
The floors are done & they are so beautiful. Check it out.