Hardwood floor refinishing requires a significant investment in specialized equipment, planning, skill and above all, patience. Of all the household maintenance tasks that must be done periodically, floor refinishing in New York City is one which very few homeowners will attempt to do themselves. Refinishing floors takes a lot of time and know-how and the process can take weeks to do correctly with all the evaluation, preparation, sanding and sealing that must take place; any small misstep can prove disastrous.
Although it is possible to refinish wood floors yourself any expert will tell you that you will need help at certain stages of the project. The first thing to ascertain is whether the planks are good candidates for the process which is quite arduous. Look closely to see if any planks have been subjected to water, spills, pet urine, etc which can damage the floor. Lift a threshold at one of the doors and see how thick the floor planks are, they may be too thin to sand. Find out what the last finish was that was applied to the floor; was it varnish or polyurethane or simply wax and look to see if the floors are in reasonable condition, do they have deep gouges or extreme wear patterns?
If the boards are at least ¾ inch thick and the floor is in reasonable condition and the seal seems to be about the same on all surfaces you have overcome the first hurdle. From now on the floor preparation process takes place and this can take many days of painstaking work. All holes from nails or staples must be filled as well as any deep scrapes. If you find boards that need replacing try to find ones that match. Pull up the thresholds at all doors as well as the baseboards.
The next phase is most demanding, the actual sanding. You must rent a sander which is a heavy, awkward unfamiliar tool that looks very much like a lawnmower. This is called a drum sander and once it is running the noise is incredibly loud. A drum sander is heavy and unwieldy, if anything dissuades you from this project, this sanding process is it. The sander must make three passes to peel off the top layer of finish as well as a significant layer of wood to get the surface flat and sooth.
The final step in floor refinishing in New York City is the application of the stain and sealer. The floor must be cleaned of all sawdust. The application of wood stains is difficult to accomplish without streaking. Three or more coats of polyurethane should be applied, treating with steel wool between coats. By the time you are finished you may have spent three or more weeks on the project, all the more reason to have it done by professionals.
Floor finishing in New York City takes time and costly equipment to do it right. If your hardwood floors need refinishing you are invited to contact the professionals at New York wood Flooring.