How To Refinish Hardwood Floors This Old House

Here s a look at ways to determine whether you need a simple repair a full refinishing job or to simply start fresh with a new hardwood floor installation.

How to refinish hardwood floors this old house.

Hardwood floors are beautiful last a lifetime and are easy to install. Whether you ve been admiring your old wood floor for years or you just discovered it hidden under some old carpeting refinishing it can be a feast for. For a 2 000 square foot house that can mean a bill as high as 8 000. Be sure to vacuum between sandings.

For an oil or grease stain on a waxed floor. The job requires using a buffer which you can rent at a home center and a vacuum to suck up dust. Repairing and refinishing old hardwood floors can be a labor intensive and complex process. Hardwood flooring is solid wood cut from the tree.

To refinish an older floor there must be at least inch left between the top of the boards and the tongue. Before we get started with how to install hardwood floors let s cover a few basics. Try a hardwood floor cleaner or mineral spirits but you ll probably have to sand the floor. Ready to tackle the project.

In this video this old house general contractor tom silva applies new finish to an old floor. Pet strains are tough to remove from a hardwood floor especially if the stain is old. Follow these steps to refinish hardwood floors with a professional quality result. Try trisodium phosphate tsp.

Wipe sanding dust from the floor using a cotton cloth dampened with mineral spirits. Some stains are so deep you may have to replace the flooring. In a few hours your floors will look as good as new. The hardwood floor refinishing process is easier and less expensive than sanding down to bare wood and takes less time.

With no special tools you can go from subfloor to breathtaking in as little as a day. Check by sliding a piece of paper between two boards and marking the distance or by removing a floor vent to see a side profile of the floorboards. It is possible to complete an entire 2 000 square foot home in as little as four days for about 700. How to refinish a 100 year old wood floor.