Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Don't Throw out your Engineered Hardwood Floor.

It can be a lot cheaper to refinish it than to replace it, and it is not a difficult job. It is probably one of the easiest DIY jobs you can tackle about the house, and probably the job which will earn you the most praise and admiration

For some the aged and battered look of a wooden floor is what gives it is character and beauty.
While others love the shiny polished look of a new floor.

This is one of the great advantages of having either a real hardwood or engineered hardwood floor

It is quite an easy task to refinish a engineered hardwood floor and having it look as new as the day it was first installed.

The keys to refinishing a hardwood floor are dust containment and sanding.
Before you start, remove everything from the room that you'll be working in and hang plastic sheets in the doorways to help keep the entire rest of your home from getting dusty. Rent a sander from a home improvement center that is appropriate for the task at hand. Starting with courser grits of sandpaper, sand your flooring to remove the old finish and improve the appearance of the wood. Talk to an expert at your local home improvement facility about the particular grits of sandpaper that your floor will require for best results. Progress from course sandpaper down to a fine paper to ensure a smooth luxurious finish to your floor.
After your floor is sanded, vacuum up the dust with a shop vac; your regular household vacuum can become clogged by the fine dust created by the sanding process. Wipe down the floor with a tack cloth to remove all traces of dust before adding the finish to ensure that it goes on satin smooth. Apply your chosen finish as directed on the product.
Once the finish is dry, buff the floor smooth and then vacuum and wipe down the floor again so that you'll not just be sticking the dust to the floor with the next coat of finish. Some types of finish require two or three coats for best results.
Most types of finish will require you to let them cure for a few days before you start to use the area again; make sure that you let the finish have at least this long to harden completely so that your hard word isn't ruined by furniture feet on the floor. A refinished hardwood floor can look beautiful for years to come if it's treated properly and can be a great selling point to prospective buyers as well.