Hardwood floor refinishing?

[peppy]

I searched here and several members have DIY. Any tips advise or horror stories?

What I want it to look like.



What it looks like now.


I am thinking of buying a U Sand floor sander.


I know that this kind of sander is slow, but I do not feel comfortable with a drum sander.

[Scott R]

I didn't do my own, had a company do it six weeks ago. So I'll add that I'm still cleaning up the dust from it, at this rate I don't think I'll ever get it all. And honestly I should have added three nights in a hotel to the project budget. The entire family would have been more comfortable in a hotel vs. the absolute mess we lived in during the process.

I don't know if you're doing one room, or like us about 5k sq feet, but I can't imagine it changes things much.

[LWJ]

Peppy,
I am a DIY person. I have installed two floors and sanded / refinished several more. I ABSOLUTELY agree with the vibratory sander vs the drum. Drums scare the crap out of me. I have some small divots in my floor right now because it takes serious skill to run these. I was extremely careful and still have some marks.

I am confused with your picutres? You want the floor to look like the furniture? If so, you will need to put some type of stain on the oak to make it darker.

A floor is nothing other than a great big piece of wood. The idea is the same whether it is a small project or floor. Sand smooth, finish. Fix the imperfections and give a final finish.

I took a class locally through a community college. It was a great confidence booster. If you saw my floor you would not know I put it in. Other than the divots (which other folks don't see) it looks fantastic.

Good luck. It is fun and cheap with huge reward!

Larry

[Evans, Marv]

I'm posting a couple of pics of my floor after it was installed. Neither one shows the true color. One is darker and one looks lighter. FYI the stain was Duraseal Colonial Maple. The finish is satin Polyurethane. I thought of doing mine (stupid idea) and am glad I sprung for the money to have it installed, sanded, sealed, stained, and finished. I had no idea what I would have gotten into. I talked to several installers until I first had an idea of the range of costs and second found an installer I wanted. My advise is that I wouldn't waste time on buying a sander and DIYing it. My sub sanded, sealed, stained, and finished it for $2.75/sf just to give you an idea to compare with doing yours (mine was a little less than 2K sf). First you have to consider the cost of the sander, sealer, stain and polyurethane. Then, if you haven't done it before, there are a lot of tricks and things you don't know. For instance when applying the finish (polyurethane) by spreading it with a squeegee, you have to develope the finesse to prevent showing the places where you put the squeegee down and picked it up. If you can't do that, you will have to have it redone by someone who has that skill. If it were me, and I DIY a lot of things, I would talk to a BUNCH of flooring contactors and choose one to do it. By the way, my flooring looks similar to yours. It's inch & a half by three quarters t&g.

[peppy]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I am confused with your picutres? You want the floor to look like the furniture? If so, you will need to put some type of stain on the oak to make it darker.

Larry I just want the floor to look like the picture not the furniture.

Marv, those floors are beautiful.

[Evans, Marv]

Ha! There is a bit of a story behind it. A childhood friend of mine built a house around 1977. He was going to put this in as the flooring, but he had two little boys at the time and they lived in a deserty area. He decided to put in carpet instead and asked if I wanted to buy it for $1,600 delivered for around 2K sf. (around .80/sf). I initially said no, but after he bugged me for awhile, I bought it, saying I would put it in a house I would build someday. Well, years & years went by. People would ask what I was going to do with that big pile of oak flooring, and I would tell them I was going to use if in a house someday. After a while, they would say, "Oh yeah"? Anyway, I stored it in my garages until I built my house & moved in around 2 years ago. I've since learned the flooring is no longer available except by special order (it's mostly quarter sawn - what ever that is, plus it's inch & a half plank), and costs in the range of $9/sf. I'm told there will come a time when I'll prpbably have to have a repair done because of a water leak or something. I'm now dreading that because of the cost now. If yours is an old floor with similar planking, a future repair might be costly to you too.

[azasadny]

We had a professional redo our 70+ year old Oak floors and I am glad we did. I would not recommend it as a DIY project, there are many little "gotchas" that can mess up the job quickly and eliminate any "cost savings" by doing it yourself...

[1990C4S]

I have done my own, several times. Both with a 4"x24 belt sander and with a three head random orbit power sander. By the time you pick and return the rented big machine you could have dome the job with a belt sander.

It's hard work, but the hardest part is getting the finish old finish off close to the walls. I use a 4" random orbit. It's slow going.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Ha! There is a bit of a story behind it. A childhood friend of mine built a house around 1977. He was going to put this in as the flooring, but he had two little boys at the time and they lived in a deserty area. He decided to put in carpet instead and asked if I wanted to buy it for $1,600 delivered for around 2K sf. (around .80/sf). I initially said no, but after he bugged me for awhile, I bought it, saying I would put it in a house I would build someday. Well, years & years went by. People would ask what I was going to do with that big pile of oak flooring, and I would tell them I was going to use if in a house someday. After a while, they would say, "Oh yeah"? Anyway, I stored it in my garages until I built my house & moved in around 2 years ago. I've since learned the flooring is no longer available except by special order (it's mostly quarter sawn - what ever that is, plus it's inch & a half plank), and costs in the range of $9/sf. I'm told there will come a time when I'll prpbably have to have a repair done because of a water leak or something. I'm now dreading that because of the cost now. If yours is an old floor with similar planking, a future repair might be costly to you too.

You can still get your floor, all day long. I just finish a room to match the rest of the house about two weeks ago for a client.

[look 171]

First, It looks like an oak floor, and your furniture looks like Mahogany. An open grain wood is never going to look like that. You can get close with stain. Get a closer pic of the damages, like any deep gouges, and post it. 1990C4S is right, the most time spend will be dealing with the edges. You have to remove all of the finishing so the lumber can take the stain. If you are still thinking you can get away with that sander and get a coat of stain to match, it might be time to call in the pros. Around here sanding and finishing (clear, no stain) normally run about $2.5 per sq'. If its only 400 sq', then you can forget about the sq' price. It might be worth doing it yourself if its small.

[Evans, Marv]

look 171, PM me some sources where I can get some of my flooring if you get the chance. If I remember right, it's classed as prime red oak & looks to be 80%+ quarter sawn. There may be a time when I will need some. Also if you have any prices, I'd appreciate that too. ThanX.

[dipso]

Is it worn through to the old stain? If it had any to start with? If it is just the poly urethane/varnish on top that is damaged, why would you need to sand the whole thing down.
You might be able to just refinish it without sanding.

When you wipe the bad areas with a little water or wax, does the finish come back? if so you don't need to sand the whole thing down. Just refinish it.

After you do, what you are going to do. keep it waxed. You want to wear the wax, not the finish.
A floor is no different than a front door. You don't need to entirely strip a front door in order to give it another coat of varnish.

If you tint your varnish, you can darken the entire floor a little.

[look 171]

Marv,

How thick it is, 3/4"? It should normally be rift and quarter sawn White Oak, and not Red. Normally they should run you about 4-5$ per sq'. National Hardwood flooring, but they are retail. My floor man might be able to get a slightly better deal. Look me up when the time comes, I can try and help you get it wholesale , or give you my floor man's number so you can deal with him directly. He's a great guy and has been doing flooring for over 15 years.

[Evans, Marv]

Yes it is 3/4" thick by 1 1/2". Maybe it is white oak. I'm just going by my recollection from over 30 years ago. 4-5$/sf sounds good from what I hear. Let me know the info on your floor guy for future reference. Thanks a bunch.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by dipso

You might be able to just refinish it without sanding.

When you wipe the bad areas with a little water or wax, does the finish come back? if so you don't need to sand the whole thing down. Just refinish it.

After you do, what you are going to do. keep it waxed.

If you tint your varnish, you can darken the entire floor a little.

IMHO, that is a mistake. At the very least, screen it to get all the dirt off the surface for a better finish. We don't wax floors anymore. Around here, it all water base. How much water base do you use for your cabinets or woodwork?

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Yes it is 3/4" thick by 1 1/2". Maybe it is white oak. I'm just going by my recollection from over 30 years ago. 4-5$/sf sounds good from what I hear. Let me know the info on your floor guy for future reference. Thanks a bunch.

My pleasure, just be glad that I can be of any help. You are not in la county are you?

Jeff

[peppy]

Originally Posted by dipso

Is it worn through to the old stain? If it had any to start with? If it is just the poly urethane/varnish on top that is damaged, why would you need to sand the whole thing down.
You might be able to just refinish it without sanding.

When you wipe the bad areas with a little water or wax, does the finish come back? if so you don't need to sand the whole thing down. Just refinish it.

After you do, what you are going to do. keep it waxed. You want to wear the wax, not the finish.
A floor is no different than a front door. You don't need to entirely strip a front door in order to give it another coat of varnish.

If you tint your varnish, you can darken the entire floor a little.

I thought refinishing was sanding the old finish off and applying new finish.

[Robert Adams]

Just completed installing about 700 sq of 2.25" T&G 1/4 sawn white oak. Have about another 1500sq ft to go. Used the square orbiter pictured above for that; drum roller would be way over kill. I too, don't have a real comfort level with a drum roller and it's a very rare to find a flooring person that is too. Found out the hard way! Used a hand held orbiter to do the corners and to get tight in some of the edges. I pulled out all the existing 1/4 round molding prior to sanding and just replaced it.
Put 3 coats of water base finish and sanded, wiped and used a dampened cloth in between. The finish dries within about 2 hours so doing 3 coats in a day is a piece of cake. Looks great if I do say so myself!

We're sanding one day, finishing the other, or if you are really full of energy the 700 sq ft job I did could be done in one very long day with a helper.

We are doing the old flooring one room (two old bedrooms & living room) at a time and moving family members around for two days per room. Using the same square orbital sander. The old finish is so bad I could probably wipe it off with a scrubby sponge, but using the orbiter instead.
Using the same finish as we used on the new stuff so it matches up.

HD rents the sanders for around $80 a day and I already own a hand orbital sander. I went to a flooring supply place for the finish and other tools required in the finishing process. They know what you need and have been pretty helpful in educating me in the whole process.

Definitely can refinish the floors if you are handy. If not pay someone. Good floors are a real must and they show a good job or bad a whole bunch more than say, painting a wall. Walls are much more forgiving!
Good luck!

[dipso]

Originally Posted by look 171

IMHO, that is a mistake. At the very least, screen it to get all the dirt off the surface for a better finish. We don't wax floors anymore. Around here, it all water base. How much water base do you use for your cabinets or woodwork?

Of course you have to clean it. But I am saying use wax on top of the poly urethane or varnish.

I use all acrylic for painted woodwork, but use oil for exterior clear, finish wood.

[dipso]

Originally Posted by peppy

I thought refinishing was sanding the old finish off and applying new finish.

Well sure, if you want to restain and all that. If your existing finish hasn't worn through and your floor hasn't cupped. I don't see the reason to sand it down to wood and start over.
Your existing finish could be a good base. Just clean it real well and re varnish.