My Article Database: Free Articles for Teaching and Studying English as a Foreign Language in China - by Paul Sparks




 Homepage
 About Me
 Teachers
 Students
 Lessons
 Photographs
 Links
 World News
 ICQ Chat
 Contact Me
 Articles
 
My Article Database:

 

Accounting
Acne
Adsense
Advertising
Aerobics
Affiliate
Alternative
Articles
Attraction
Auctions
Audio Streaming
Auto Care
Auto Parts
Auto Responder
Aviation
Babies Toddler
Baby
Bankruptcy
Bathroom
Beauty
Bedroom
Blogging
Body Building
Book Marketing
Book Review
Branding
Breast Cancer
Broadband Internet
Business
Business Loan
Business Plan
Cancer
Car Buying
Career
Car Insurance
Car Loan
Car Maintenance
Cars
Casino
Cell Phone
Chat
Christmas
Claims
Coaching
Coffee
College University
Computer Tips
Cooking
Cooking Tips
Copywriting
Cosmetics
Craft
Creative Writing
Credit
Credit Cards
Credit Repair
Currency Trading
Data Recovery
Dating
Debt Relief
Diabetics
Diet
Digital Camera
Diving
Divorce
Domain
Driving Tips
Ebay
Ebook
Ecommerce
Email Marketing
E Marketing
Essay
Ezine
Fashion
Finance
Fishing
Fitness
Flu
Furniture
Gambling
Golf
Google
GPS
Hair
Hair Loss
HDTV
Health Insurance
Heart Disease
Hobbies
Holiday
Home Business
Home Improvement
Home Organization
Interior Design
Internet Tips
Investment
Jewelry
Kitchen
Ladies Accessories
Lawyer
LCD / PLASMA
Legal
Life Insurance

Click Here to Return to the Home Improvement Articles Index

 

Hardwood Floor Refinishing - For The Faint Of Heart

by: Eileen Church
Are your beautiful hardwood floors not so beautiful anymore? Maybe they just need a refinishing job. It can be a daunting task, but here are some ideas to make it a little easier.

If your hardwood floors are in dire need of refinishing, get a few estimates from professionals. You may be surprised at the figures. You'll want to sit down when they tell you it will cost you $1200 to have your living room redone. You could carpet over it for less, but doesn't carpeting over beautiful hardwood floors seem, well, wrong?

Contrary to what you may have heard, the finish doesn't take days and days to dry. It’s quite simple actually. Go to your favorite local home improvement store, Lowe’s, Menard’s, Home Depot or other. Rent a sander. You'll need a drum sander, a belt sander or both. 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 sanders are very easy to use. They're a bit on the loud side. The key is to keep it moving at all times. Do not stop or you will get a divot in your wood. Think of it like a clothes iron. You need to keep it moving or you will burn your clothes. Same deal with the sander. It creates a lot of heat and you will burn or dent your floors if you hesitate in one place too long.

You will feel like a Zamboni driver smoothing out your surface. Word of caution, you do need to maintain control of the machine at all times. It is self propelled, like a lawn mower or a basset hound on a leash. When you power it up, hold on to the machine tightly. Don't be afraid of it and after a few passes, you'll start to even have fun.

First you need to remove the old finish, base coat, color, and top coat. You may opt to forgo the color (stain) and just use the nature color of the wood. You will still need to apply a finish to it.

There are basically two types of floor finishes: one is oil-based and the other is water-based polyurethane. Oil-based is available in a satin, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Satin works well on floors because it hides small flaws and lets the natural beauty of the wood show without a bright shine. Oil-based also produces a warm amber look that gives you the traditional glow of wood floors. Water-based polyurethane dries clear and resists yellowing. Water-based also dries quicker.

Make sure you let each coat thoroughly dry before applying the next; same as you would nail polish. Give your floor at least 24-36 hours before moving furniture back on it. It will continue to harden in the first couple of weeks.

Don't be overwhelmed. Instead of looking at refinishing your hardwood floors as a humungous job, look at it as giving your room a manicure, one step at a time. You'll also save yourself as much as $1,000 by doing it yourself.

About the author:
Eileen Church loves to work with wood. She is the webmaster of http://www.funwoodworks.comwhich is the premier woodwork and woodworking site on the internet. Please visit http://www.funwoodworks.comfor some excellent woodworking resources.


Circulated by Article Emporium

 

New! Watch Online Articles with YouTube for Free:

 

 

 

 

Click Here to Return to Top of Page