How to Professionally Refinish Hardwood Flooring

May 31, 2022 | customhardwood | Floor Care, Hardwood Floors, Refinishing

How do you refinish hardwood floors? What are the steps taken to resurface wood flooring? What kind of flooring can be refinished? What does it takes to refinish hardwood floors?

These are but some of the questions a homeowner might ask when wanting to tackle some home improvement projects.

One feature of wood flooring is the ability for it to be refinished and restored. Depending on the thickness of the wood floors wear layer, it usually can be sanded and allow the unexposed grains of the wood to be resurfaced.

Here are the steps Custom Hardwood Flooring LA takes to refinish hardwood floors.

Work Area Preparation

Before starting a hardwood floor refinishing project, the work area needs to be prepped. Refinishing wood floors involves sanding the top surface of the wood floor and can create dust.

Though there are dustless sanding available, there is no guarantee that it would be 100% dust free sanding. Hence, the work area needs to be prepped by clearing it with all furniture and personal artifacts. Walls and immovable items are then covered with plastic.

Usually refinishing hardwood floors require preparation such as an another room or place for the client to temporarily stay while the hardwood refinishing work is being done.

It is also best practice that any painting job be done prior to doing and refinishing of hardwood floors so to eliminate the possibility of having to redo the entire work. Last thing we need is having to refinish the floors again when a can of paint accidentally got spilled over it.

Sanding Hardwood Floor

To refinish hardwood floors it entails sanding hardwood floors. Sanding is removing the top layer of the wood flooring with the use of a sander that has sanding paper attachments with varying grit.

It can remove the floorings current stain color, deep scratches, gauges, stains and other imperfections that are deeply seeded in the wood.

The higher the number of grit the finer the sanding will be. Usually sanding starts with a very rough sanding paper and move its way up to a finer sand paper to make the wood flooring surface smooth and ready to be stained and or refinished.

An experience hardwood floor refinisher uses professional grade sanding machines and knows how to evenly sand the floor without taking out too much from the wear layer. Usually the quality of the stain and finish application is determined by how well the floor is prepped and sanded.

After the sanding is complete, the entire work area is vacuumed throughly to make sure that its free of dust as much as possible.

Custom Staining

One can definitely be creative with their hardwood floors as it allows putting any stain color your heart desires. The ultimate outcome of the hardwood floor’s color and shades can be affected by the kind of wood specie the flooring is made from.

For example a Brazilian Cherry hardwood floor has a pinkish/ reddish color tone naturally. Staining this kind of wood, especially with a reddish stain can produce a darker red color compared when you are staining a white oak flooring.

This needs to be considered greatly especially if one is going for a natural or colorless floor finish. A flooring that has a natural reddish tone needs to be bleached first if one would like to get a very light, white and fresh natural look for the floor.

Apply Polyurethane Finish

After the wood flooring is sanded and stained, it is now time to apply coats of finish. The finish needs to be dried first before the next coats are applied. First coat usually is the sealer followed by the polyurethane finish.

There are different types of base for wood flooring finishes. Some have oil base while others have water base. In the Los Angeles county water base polyurethane finish is whats allowed and recommended.

Some of the things that needs to be considered when choosing the right hardwood flooring finish is the ease of application, warranty, VOC – (Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, according to www.lung.org VOCs are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes.

Some are harmful by themselves, including some that cause cancer. In addition, they can react with other gases and form other air pollutants after they are in the air.

They are usually found in finishes, paint, paint thinners or flooring.), and product quality. We personally prefer to use Bona products as we have already tried and tested it over the years.

It is highly recommended that no one walks on the floor until the polyurethane finish completely dries. Also, it is best to refrain from walking on the floor wearing shoes especially high heels until the finish is fully cured and hardened.

It is recommended to regularly clip pets claws / nails, so that the maintenance and the beauty of the newly refinished flooring is prolonged.

Schedule A Free Hardwood Flooring Estimate

Ready to transform your hardwood floors? Custom Hardwood Flooring LA offers professional refinishing services to bring new life to your wood flooring. Our experienced team will handle everything from preparation to the final finish, ensuring a stunning result. Contact us today to schedule a free on-site estimate and let us take care of your hardwood flooring needs. Don’t wait—revitalize your home with beautifully refinished floors!