Sometimes, a perfectly good floor needs a facelift. Maybe the rains came before you could protect your porch or you had a big moving in party before you properly sealed your living room floor. Perhaps you inherited your flooring from someone who failed to take proper care of the hardwood floor and it is looking dull and scratched.
Frequently all you need is a good polishing and the wood will look good as new. A simple test with a few drops water will let you know whether advanced measures are warranted. If a drop of water beads and rolls, your surface is still in good condition. If it beads before soaking in slowly, you can get away with a good cleaning and polishing.
On the other hand, if the floor absorbs the water immediately, the wood fibers are exposed to the elements, putting your floor at risk for warping and further damage. In this case you are in need of a refinishing or replacement.
Refinishing your floor is cheaper and more ecologically friendly than replacing it. The main thing you need is a lot of patience and a heavy sanding tool. Always wear proper protection: goggles, gloves and kneepads.
If you decide to refinish your wood floors, you must first be sure that the planks are at least half an inch thick, as the sanding process may remove some of the plank’s thickness, depending on how damaged it is. The sanding should remove light stains and even slight warping effects. Remove everything from the surface to be sanded before you begin.
Electric sanders will move forward on their own, you are mostly guiding it forward and ensuring that it doesn’t stay in the same spot for too long, or that area will be sanded down too far. Sand the entire floor until it is smooth and even. Continue to sand until you are able see the grains of the wood clearly.
Clean the floor after each sanding so that you are not scratching it. It is a good idea to lightly sand the entire floor one additional time after you think you are done to allow yourself to notice any spots you may have missed.
Once your floor is once again level and smooth it is time to stain and coat it with your favorite sealant. See? That wasn’t so hard. Of course, your friends will compliment your fresh new wooden floor and wonder how you pulled it off so quickly…it might be better to let them wonder where you acquired your super powers.