Three Tips For Refinishing Your Hardwood Floors To Improve Their Appearance And Longevity

No matter how well you maintain your hardwood floors, they are bound to deteriorate in appearance and performance over time. Luckily, hardwood floors only require refinishing to restore their beautiful appearance. Refinishing is the process of sanding wooden floors to remove scratches, dents, stains, and visible wear and tear. You then apply a fresh coat of stain to the wood to restore its luster. Below are three tips to consider when refinishing your residential hardwood floors.  

Inspect the Damage on Your Floors

Before commencing a refinishing project, you should inspect the damage on your floors. Refinishing fixes a variety of flooring issues, including large scratches and marks, stains that won't come off with cleaning, and sun discoloration.

Although refinishing can address cosmetic issues on your floors, it cannot address structural damage. If you refinish structurally damaged hardwood floors, the fresh coat of stain will only hide the flaws. Therefore, look out for the following forms of structural damage on the floors. 

• Warped or bent floorboards
• Water-damaged or rotted hardwood floors
• Cracks, holes, or missing pieces in the floorboards
• Missing nails
• Discoloration that doesn't go away after sanding the floors 

If your floors are exhibiting these signs, you need to resurface them. Hardwood resurfacing is the process of removing old, damaged floorboards and replacing them with new ones. Luckily, you can replace only the affected boards and refinish the floors afterward.

Consider Changing the Color

When refinishing hardwood floors, you can either retain the old color or change it. If you have always thought about sprucing up your floor with a different color, now is the time to do it. A color change can rejuvenate the room and improve the harmony between the floors and the decor in the home. You can make your floors darker, lighter, or redder. However, every hardwood is different. Therefore, patch-test the new stain color on a sample board to ensure it looks the way you would like.

Choose the Right Time for the Project

You can refinish your hardwood floors at any time of the year. However, indoor humidity and temperature can affect the performance of the stain. If it's too humid or the temperature is inconsistent, the stain will take longer to dry. Maintain relative humidity and consistent indoor temperatures during the project to achieve optimal results. Although refinished hardwood floors take a few hours to dry, you must wait several days before bringing in your furniture. Therefore, plan accordingly for furniture storage to avoid last-minute inconveniences.

You can take up hardwood refinishing as a DIY project. However, if you aren't experienced with handling floors, you may get undesirable results. For a perfect refinishing job, hire a professional flooring contractor.

Contact a local hardwood refinishing service to learn more.