Refinishing Floors » Hardwood flooring refinishing

When It Comes To Wood Floors Thicker Is Better

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:25:07 +0000

There are plenty of variables when it comes to hardwood flooring. As the flooring industry becomes more and more advanced it seems like manufacturers are adding even more bells and whistles to their products. Like, this flooring has special built in Dispell-a-Shield Technology or this one was produced entirely from re-purposed driftwood. Well, maybe not exactly like that, but you get my point. While many of these features may seem negligible there are some which should be carefully scrutinized in order to get the most out of your flooring purchase. In this post I’ll just briefly cover the thickness most hardwood floors are available in (sorry if anyone has trouble with fractions.) The thickness of hardwood flooring is one of the most often glossed over hardwood flooring attributes and it really shouldn’t be.

The width of hardwood flooring directly correlates with how long it will last. There are hardwood floors installed hundreds of years ago that are still in relatively good condition. That’s because hardwood flooring can be repeatedly refinished. When hardwood flooring becomes damaged or just starts to look old, it can be sanded down to the fresher wood beneath. Then this wood is finished and coated to look like new. The number of times a floor can be refinished directly relates to its thickness. But if you had 1/2 inch hardwood floors how many times could you have them refinished? Since each time a floor is refinished about 1/32 of an inch is removed from the flooring, which means if you had 1/2 inch hardwood floors, with a wear layer of about ¼” that means you could have them refinished between 5-7 times. Which is a lot because you shouldn’t have to refinish your flooring again for at least five more years. Now, there are different things to take into account. In some instances it may easier to just replace any damaged boards by themselves. And also, if you have a sizable dent/scratch/what have you, in one board and you want to refinish all of your flooring, then all of them will have to be sanded down past the point of this damage. So whenever you’re shopping for hardwood flooring pay careful attention to the different thicknesses. And if you want your floor to stick around for a while then, thicker is better.

American Cherry Overview

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:32:03 +0000

American Cherry hardwood flooring is one of the most prized flooring types in North America. The tree it comes from, the Prunus Serotina, grows to be about eighty feet tall–with a trunk width of 2-4 feet. These trees are prized for many of its featured, but chiefly for its beautiful, reddish heartwood. The heartwood is the the innermost part of the tree and in most cases it will display a darker color than the sapwood (the outermost part of the tree, just beneath the bark.) It is also very photosensitive, which means once American Cherry Hardwood floors are installed they will drastically change when exposed to light. The reddish hue of the heartwood will actually turn to an even deeper, richer red.

American Cherry is very popular for use in furniture and other decorative items because of how easy it is to work with. The American Cherry is universally good for woodworking, exhibiting good sanding, machining, and holding ability, with a high bending strength. This is why you’ll see it used for turnery, cabinetry and even musical instruments.

Appalachian Flooring and You

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:18:52 +0000

Appalachian Hardwood Flooring makes some of the highest quality prefinished hardwood flooring available. They got their start in 2001 when they opened their flooring plant in Cowansville, Quebec. They produce their lines of solid and engineered flooring in a wide selection of domestic and exotic species, colors and grades. Because of their extended selection it may be difficult to find the right product for your home. That’s why FloorMall developed the Floor Navigator. Now, whenever you search for flooring on their sites you can tailor make it to only show the results that are most pertinent to you. This helps save you a lot of time and prevents “product overload” which can exasperate a search. It also helps when a flooring manufacturer offers a large selection of different types of flooring. Want to only look at Appalachian’s Engineered Flooring products? Well it’s easier with The Floor Navigator.

Now, whenever you search for flooring on FloorMall.com you can tailor your search to display only the results which are most important to you. This will help save a lot of time and can prevent you from being overloaded by the sheer amount of products available. Best of all, the Floor navigator covers all of the brands FloorMall carries, including Appalachian Hardwood Flooring.

Knowing when to refinish your floors

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:42:02 +0000

How often should you refinish your hardwood floors? This is a difficult question to answer, mainly due to the fact that it is a decision based largely on personal preference. Most refinishing is not done on a specific time table. Instead it’s done depending on the appearance of the floor. This is where the personal taste comes in. A lot of different homeowners like the changes that occur in hardwood flooring over time. It develops a type of patina and character with its imperfections and damage to the wood. Some people like this look so much that they will buy distressed flooring or even have their own floors distressed in order to give their hardwood floors that organic and rustic feel. But, then of course, some people purchase hardwood flooring because of its ability to hold a high, glossy sheen. For homeowners who want this out of their hardwood floors they’ll have to refinish them more often.

Most flooring experts say that floors should be refinished every five to seven years. This time can be shortened or elongated by how well the floors are cared for. Refinishing will be needed less for floors that are properly cleaned, protected from sunlight and guarded from wear. One of the main reasons for refinishing is due to outstanding wear in high traffic areas. This forces most homeowners to refinish their floors due to the uneven look. The high traffic areas look worn while the rest of the floor is in presentable shape.

Hardwood flooring can get so worn that it must be refinished right away. One obvious sign that a floor needs refinishing is if any place on the floor gets badly cracked and splintered to the point where it poses a threat to anyone walking on it. Another sign is when even small spills that are quickly attended to become stains and spots on the floor. If the flooring isn’t refinished soon enough it can become irreparably damaged and the homeowner will be forced to remove it.

How to prepare for refinishing painted wood floors

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:22:09 +0000

Refinishing painted wood floors is a large project and it will take a lot of work just to get it started. The work you put in beforehand is work and problems you won’t have to deal with further down the road so it’s important to be thorough. First things first—you should remove all furniture, fixtures, rugs and other items from the room. Then you should go on to remove any shoe molds or other molding that you have down at the floor level. You should carefully remove these with a hammer and a pry bar. Be careful so you can reinstall them when you’re done.

One of the most important ways to prepare is to gather all of the tools needed. You’ll need some paint stripper, a putty knife or paint scraper, a floor sander, sandpaper, a mask and paint brushes. Then of course you’ll need a few things that will protect you while you work, like a respiratory mask, rubber gloves and safety glasses. This is one of the more unfriendly DIY projects in terms of air quality. There are an assortment of different items that give off VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. So it’s important to have ventilation of some kind. Also immediately stop if you’re feeling light headed or dizzy. There are a larger selection of paint stripping and floor finishing products available now—ones that are better for your body and the environment. Investing in these may cost more but will have a higher upside than cheaper kinds.

From here it is a good idea to get acquainted with your tools, in particular the sander. Be sure to learn the manufacturer’s instructions and use it only as directed. Also figure out what grit of sandpaper you’ll need. This will depend on the thickness and damage your floor has sustained. In the process of refinishing hardwood floors you want to move from coarse sandpaper to fine sandpaper. The coarser the sandpaper the faster the layers of the floor will be removed. The more damage the floor has sustained–the coarser sandpaper you should use.

Tools for floor sanding & refinishing

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:10:50 +0000

Sanding and refinishing hardwood flooring is quite an undertaking. Doing so is completely worth it since it rejuvenates the floor and when done well, it essentially sets the clock all the way back to zero. But like any great undertaking there are a lot of things that go into the process. Possibly, the most important part would be the assortment of tools needed for the job.

One of the reasons why refinishing hardwood flooring is so difficult is because of all the steps involved and all the tools needed to complete them. There is the potential to cause serious damage to your floor either by sanding too deeply or applying too much finish afterward. If this is a project you’re looking to undertake then you should do as much research as possible. Here I’m just going to go over a few of the tools you’ll need. In no way is this list comprehensive but I think it can serve as a good start for someone.

Floor Sander: There are several different types of floor sanders. High powered ones for bigger jobs and then smaller ones for smaller jobs. It’s a good idea to have one larger sander for the majority of the job and then an edger for the sides of the room and then even maybe a hand held one to get into all the places the edger can’t reach.

Lamp Wool Applicator: These are popular tools used to apply the finishes and the seals to hardwood flooring.

Hammer, pry bar: You would need these to remove shoe molding or any other types of molds from the walls surrounding your working area.

Vacuum: A vacuum will most likely never be as crucial to the well being of your hardwood floors as they are during refinishing. Using a vacuum is a great way to eliminate much of the dust caused by refinishing. They even make specialized flooring vacuums just for this purpose. Eliminating dust is important because a build up of dust can cause finishes not to adhere properly and can cause unsightly blemishes and irregularities in the floor.

Sandpaper: The coarseness of the sandpaper that you need will likely be determined by the type of floor you’re refinishing and the amount of damage it has sustained. But in the process of refinishing you want to have a coarse sandpaper to remove the finish and imperfections in the wood and then move on to progressively finer grades of sandpaper to eliminate the scratches caused from the coarser sandpaper.

These are just a few of the tools you’ll need for your refinishing project. You should consult a hardware specialist for more information.

Refinishing hardwood floors

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:55 +0000

One of the many benefits of natural hardwood flooring is its outstanding endurance. Many natural hardwood floors can last much longer than twenty five years when properly cared for. But despite the strictest adherence to basic hardwood flooring upkeep, overtime, your hardwood flooring will still show damage. Whether this will be in the form of stains, scratching or just general wear–there is something that you can do about it.

One of the most effective methods of extending the life of your hardwood flooring is by having it refinished. During floor sanding and refinishing, the top plastic-like layer of the flooring is sanded away along with some of the surface of the hardwood flooring itself. And depending on how thick the installed wood is, refinishing can be done multiple times throughout the life of the flooring. This is best reserved for hardwood floors that have seen a large amount of damage—like deep scratches, severe stains or other damage associated with heavy traffic areas. Each time the floor is refinished it will be rejuvenated and if done correctly, it will appear good as new. It will give the floor a nice sheen and a full bodied color.

Floor refinishing is a very in-depth process and not one that I would suggest every homeowner undertake themselves. There can be quite a few of industrial tools involved, large floor sanders and buffers and so on. There will also be a lot of dust generated that the refinisher has to be careful to protect themselves and the floor they’re working on from. But for homeowners who enjoy DIY projects and for floors that aren’t too badly worn there is another option available to them called liquid refinishing.

Liquid refinishing is basically the process of restoring the clear, plastic-like coating that protects hardwood flooring before its completely worn away and before the underlying floor has sustained significant damage. This is a dustless way of improving the look of your floors and once done most methods will allow you to walk on the floor that same day. One of the pioneers of this form of hardwood floor refinishing is NHance and you can visit their site here.