QA

Question: How To Refinish Wood Floors

Prep the Room. Remove all furniture, window treatments and rugs. Patch and Repair. Check the floor for larger holes or cracks and repair using wood filler and a spackle knife. Sand the Floor. Buff the Floor. Prep for Sealer or Stain. Apply Stain (Optional) Seal the Floor.

How much does it cost to sand and refinish a hardwood floor?

If your hardwood floors are dull, scratched, and looking old, it’s probably time to refinish them. According to HomeAdvisor, the typical price range to refinish hardwood floors is between $1,074 and $2,485, with the national average at $1,757. This comes out to $3 to $8 per square foot, including materials and labor.

How much does it cost to refinish hardwood floors on your own?

Refinishing your floors yourself can cost between $500 and $1,000 depending on square footage. You can expect to pay a professional $3 to $4 per square foot to complete the same project.

Can I sand and refinish my hardwood floors myself?

If the scratches don’t go all the way through to the wood, you can scuff-sand your floors with a buffer and apply a fresh coat or two of finish. The hardwood floor refinishing process is easier and less expensive than sanding down to bare wood and takes less time. In a few hours, your floors will look as good as new.

What is the cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors?

Applying a revitalizer gloss is the simplest and cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors. This approach works best on floors that only have surface-level scratches and other minor wear and tear issues. You can get the job done without the need for equipment rentals or hard-to-find materials.

Can you refinish floors yourself?

If you only have some minor scratches and dings or a dull finish, you might be able to simply buff and add a new coat of varnish. But, even if your floors need a complete makeover, refinishing hardwood is a very manageable and rewarding do-it-yourself job that can save a lot of money.

Can I sand my floors myself?

Sanding wood floors is a time consuming but relatively easy procedure. Sanding wood floors & refinishing yourself will definitely save money, and even an inexperienced homeowner can likely do a better job than the lowest bidding handyperson who quotes on it.

Can you refinish floors one room at a time?

If your wood floors continue into other rooms of the home, you cannot sand, stain and refinish the one area. The only way to refinish one room is to install a transition piece (or if there’s one in place already).

What is the difference between refinishing and resurfacing wood floors?

What’s the Difference? Refinishing involves sanding down the uppermost layer of the floor and applying fresh stain and lacquer over the existing wood. Resurfacing your floor involves more than just putting a layer of polish on top.

Is it worth refinishing hardwood floors?

Is It Worth It To Refinish Your Hardwood Floors? Yes, it’s worth refinishing hardwood floors instead of replacing them. Refinishing is cost-effective, it’s quicker, and it’s a lot easier because it requires less labor.

What is the best time of year to refinish hardwood floors?

If I had to pick an ideal time, I would say spring or fall when the indoor temperature is most consistent with outdoor temperature and it’s often easy to open the windows (after the work is complete) to help air out the smell faster. But, really, sanding and refinishing hardwood can take place any time of year.

Can you sand floors with a hand sander?

The process for sanding a floor by hand would be, as a general rule, to start on a 40 grit sandpaper and work your way up to 100 or 120 grit paper to leave a fine finish. It is important to keep any sander moving so it does not dig into or burn the floor. Get yourself a floor sander, or better still hire a pro.

What grit sandpaper do you use to refinish hardwood floors?

Start with 36-grit sandpaper for a floor that hasn’t been sanded in a long time or that has a lot of heavy finish on it. Floors that have been painted may even require you to go tougher and use 24 or 16-grit paper. Maple floors are so hard that they often require 36-grit sandpaper as well.

Can you refinish a wood floor without sanding?

The best way to refinish wood floors without sanding is to use a technique called screen and recoat. This involves scuffing up the finish with a floor buffer and applying a refresher coat of finish. The former is a proven floor restoration method, while the latter is the “Hail Mary” pass of floor care.

How can I refinish my hardwood floors without sanding?

3 Approaches to Refinishing Hardwood Floors Without Sanding Use a store-bought chemical abrasion kit. Buff and recoat floors with polyurethane. Use a revitalizer.

How do you refinish hardwood floors yourself?

Prepare the Floor for Refinishing. Take the following steps before wood floor refinishing. Pull Up the Shoe Base Moulding. Rough-Sand the Floor. Sand the Edges and Corners. Screen Sand the Floor. Remove All Dust. Apply the Wood Stain. Apply the Finish.

How much wood is removed when sanding hardwood floors?

When sanding any floor, the amount of wood you remove depends on the coarseness of the paper you use. Flooring professionals can sand away as much as 1/16 inches of wood with the coarsest paper.

How difficult is it to sand wood floors?

There’s really no getting around it – sanding your floors is hard work and physically tiring. When you first start sanding you’ll almost instantly see a huge difference in your floor but once you’ve removed most of the varnish and dirt progress will seem so much slower.

What kind of sander should I use on hardwood floors?

Unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime, your best choice of floor sander is the random orbital sander from one maker in particular. Unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime, the best choice for do-it-yourself floor refinishing is the random orbital sander.

How much does a floor sander cost?

Floor sander prices vary a bit from place to place, but you can expect to pay around $60 per day. However, it’s easy to ruin a floor without the right experience or training. If you must DIY, consider hiring out for this step. Commercial drum floor sanders cost $50-$80 per day.

How much does it cost to refinish $1000 square feet of hardwood floors?

Cost per square foot to refinish hardwood floors: Flooring square footage Average cost 751 – 1000 sq. ft. $2,100 1001 – 1500 sq. ft. $2,350 1501 – 2000 sq. ft. $3,500 2001 – 3000 sq. ft. $5,000.