Best Hardwood Floors

Finishing your floors yourself is a great way to save money on a remodel. Learn about Do It Yourself Hardwood Floor Refinishing just like the professionals.

It can cost a bundle to hire a professional to refinish your floors for you, but if you have the time, you can do it yourself.

Before attempting Do It Yourself Hardwood Floor Refinishing consult several professionals as to how much it would cost to refinish. You’ll get quite a shock at the amount that is charged. The price to have just one room refinished can be in excess of $1000. It would be much less to carpet the area, but carpet isn’t quite as nice as hardwood, now is it?

Sanding a floor and adding a new finish is not as hard as one might think. You can get the supplies for sanding at your neighborhood home improvement store. You’ll need a drum sander and a belt sander. They will explain to you how to use the machine and tell you what kind of sand paper to purchase. They will also tell you what kind of stain and finish to get. Make sure you also pick up some dust masks because you will have saw dust everywhere.

The first step in learning about Do It Yourself Hardwood Floor Refinishing is learning how to get the sander working smoothly. Most people are afraid of the sander and how it might ruin your floor. This will only happen if you stop the motion of the sander too long in 1 area. Just remember to keep it moving at all times and you will find that operating this equipment is fairly easy. Moving the sander in a constant motion will reduce the risk of gouging your floor. The sander gets very hot and if you stop in one spot for any length of time, you run the risk of burning or denting your floor.

You do need to be careful with the sander as it is self propelled. When you first start it up, make sure you hold on firmly. Don’t be afraid of the machine but make sure you maintain complete control. Relax, after a few spins, it may even start to seem like fun.

After the old finish is removed, you need to apply the stain and new finish. Think of this as the same as doing your nails – first you remove the old finish, then basecoat, color and topcoat. Sometimes you don’t want color on your nails so you skip that part. In your floor you might also skip that part (the stain) but you still want to use a finish to protect the floor.

For finishes you can choose from oil based or water based. Furthermore, oil is broken down into a semi-gloss, gloss or satin. Satin works well on a hardwood floor because it will bring out the natural glow of the wood without too much of a shine as well as help hide any flaws. An oil based finish will give your floor a warm amber glow. A water based finish will dry quicker and keep from yellowing.

Whether you pick oil or polyurethane, make sure you let each coat dry per the manufacturers instructions before moving on to the next coat. Your floor will continue to harden for a couple of weeks, but you can move your furniture back in after about 36 hours or per manufacturers instructions.

As you can see, the task of refinishing your floors need not be overwhelming. Think of it as giving your room a manicure. Take it one step at a time and use care in the process and you can have a great looking floor and save yourself about $1000 to boot! Once you have learned about Do It Yourself Hardwood Floor Refinishing, you’ll see how easy it is to get a good looking floor for a fraction of the cost!

<h2>Buying wood flooring online</h2>
Online wouldn’t be the first place most people would go to look for wood flooring, but now it’s essential to look online. Why? Simply because online prices are so competitive.

Think about it. An online store doesn’t need to position itself where it attracts local traffic, so it can house itself and store it’s products in low cost locations, thereby keeping costs down. That’s why online stores are so competitive. But make sure you look for a large reputable store.

<a href=”http://besthardwoodfloors.org/go/LumberLiquidators/” target=”_blank”>LumberLiquidators.com</a> is the biggest online flooring store. If you’re looking online for flooring you’ve got to check them out!
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There are two ways to obtain antique flooring – you may be lucky enough to have ‘inherited’ it, or you may choose to have it installed. In either case, antique floors are truly a work of art and will add much to the ambiance of your home.

Perhaps you are lucky enough to have inherited an aged wood floor. It may even have been hiding out under carpet – or other flooring such as linoleum – for generations. Even if the floor is in rough shape, it is well worth the trouble and expense of fixing it up. The floor may need to be stripped and refinished with a stain or surface finish. There are several different kinds of floor finishes available.

If you did not inherit an old wood floor, there are still ways of obtaining this antique look. You can have aged wood installed in your newer home. Some flooring companies recycle wood from old barns. This wood is 100 to 200 years old, and makes a wonderful plank or wide plank floor. Some types of old wood that have been reclaimed include chestnut, oak, pine and hemlock. Each type of floor has its own distinct charm.

Do not assume that an antique floor is out of your reach. The cost is often very reasonable, and your flooring will give you many years of satisfaction. These floors usually last as long as the house is standing; you will never need another floor.