A hardwood floor adds comfort and natural color to any area of your home or business.. When newly installed, a hardwood floor reflects the light and provides an even sheen across the floor. However, with age and foot traffic, the finish on your hardwood floor may start to dull and wear away. Refinishing a hardwood floor is a major job. Sometimes you can repair surface problems with minor touch ups, using wood furniture marker that is the same color as the wood stain. But in some cases, you will need to remove the old finish and apply a new finish.
A full refinishing includes sanding away the old wood finish and the top layer of stain. In order to refinish your floors effectively and bring back the original shine, consider hiring a professional hardwood floor refinishing company that is Diamond Certified in order to get the best results.
If your hardwood floor has faded or if the sheen is rubbed off, you will need to refinish the floor to bring back its original look. Other issues that will require a new finish to fix are bubbles, cracks, or peeling away from the wood.
Before hiring a hardwood floor refinishing company in San Mateo County, including the larger cities of Daly City, San Mateo, Redwood City, South San Francisco, and San Bruno, you will want to decide whether or not your floor needs a total refinishing job. Think about these questions:
- Does a drop of water bead or soak in slowly? If so, you may just need to give your floors a good cleaning and polishing.
- Does a drop of water soak in immediately? If so, the wood fibers of your flooring may already be exposed. If this is the case, your floor needs refinishing.
- Is the floor warped, deeply stained, squeaky, or damaged in other ways? If so, then it is time to refinish.
If you choose to refinish your floors, keep these tips in mind:
- The sanding process may remove a lot of surface. In order to withstand the sanding process, be sure that your floor is a minimum of -ae" thick.
- Some newer floors are very thin and can't be refinished. If your floor is as thin as -o", you may have to consider other alternatives.
- If your floor is thinner than -ae" thickness, you will need to seek professional advice.
- If your hardwood floor is underneath another floor covering, the old floor will have to be removed.
- A tongue and groove floor can't be sanded as many times as a plank floor.
Learning About Steps in Order Refinishing Your Floors
Here are a few steps to take when you are going to have your floors refinished.
- All furniture must be removed from the room. If the room opens to another room or area of the house, you will want to put up large plastic tarps in order to keep the dust contained.
- Take your pets to a friend's home if you are unable to keep them locked in an area of the house that is away from where the floors are being refinished. A pet can cause damage to a newly refinished floor simply by walking on it. Also, materials used to refinish the hardwood floors may be deadly if consumed by your pet. Furthermore, your pets' hearing can be damaged from the loud noise from the floor sanders.
- If you choose to remove carpet or tile from the floor yourself, be careful that you don't damage the wood. If you make knife marks in the surface of the hardwood floor, they might be impossible to sand out. Older tile may contain asbestos and should be removed by a professional.
- Main a warm temperature in the room that will be refinished in the winter and a cool temperature in the summer. Do not turn off your heating or air conditioning systems.
More About Hiring Licensed Hardwood Refinishing Companies to Refinish Wood Floors
When a hardwood floor refinishing company is refinishing your floors, dust will be a problem. In order to remedy this, some professionals have dust extraction systems. Others have a bag attached to their sanding equipment. The dust extraction system will take care of a large amount of the dust and older finish materials that would otherwise linger in your home long after the floor contractor leaves.
If your hardwood refinishing company does not have a dust extraction system, insist that the refinisher tape off rooms and cover drapes. You may want to call in a cleaning crew once the work is completed. Poor dust control can affect the final appearance as well as have negative effects on your health.
Once your floor has been refinished, it will need some time to cure. Water based finishes take the least amount of time. However, conditions vary and can largely depend on humidity within the home or conditions outside. A professional floor finisher can accurately evaluate when it is safe to move the furniture back into the room. You may also want to inquire about area rugs and when it is safe to put them back on the wood floor.
Usually a room that has been finished with a water based finish will take approximately two days to cure. Wood floors that are finished with an oil based finish can take up to three days or more to cure.
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