# How do you refinish hardwood floors



## gbu11 (Sep 16, 2005)

I just bought a older (1920's) building and both levels have hard wood floors. They are all in bad shape. Lots of cracks and very dirty.

Is it possible to restore it. Sand it all down and refinish? Or can you not do that for some reason. I know nothing about it.


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## fauxer (Sep 19, 2005)

Sand it all down then restain it it can be a mess so you may want to get a estimate on pricing before tackling this one on your own Dust will go EVERYWHERE!!!


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## bondo (Sep 19, 2005)

IM me for information on how to refinish wood floors. I've done 25+ of them over the years.  I typed in a very long one and the system just barfed on it and tossed it out.  A lot depends on the type of traffic you expect.


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## Bill (Sep 24, 2005)

sanding will not remove the cracks!!! the first step is a good cleaning with wax sovlvent.  usually wax build build up is the ugly color and can be removed by cleaning. you may have to refinnish the wood.  you can probably add stain if desired.  it is easier to go darker.  finnish with a varnish or other finnish product.

if you decide to sand you will find it is difficult to sand next to the wall.  tool rental companies have floor sanders... be carefull because you can gouge the wood with the sander.


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## Milo (Sep 24, 2005)

Wondering if you thought of painting them Saw it on a home show and they did a nice pattern you could have that rustic effect with the cracks like a country feel to it


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## the savage sage (Sep 27, 2005)

There are some products available that can spruce up your floors w/o sanding and refinishing.  make sure you call around before you start in on the refinish.


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## msvalentine (Sep 27, 2005)

My sister painted her wood floors.  She used a really good paint and primer, but the paint wore off and left her floors looking really bad.  I'm wondering if it's something you would want to do in a rental property or on any floor that has high traffic.  Just something to consider.


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## beverly (Oct 9, 2005)

my ex and I tried to refinish our hardwood floors.  DId everything by the book, rented the huge industrial size sander, used the right varnishes or whatever their called (this was a while ago) and in the end, after spending all that money, they still looked like crap.  we could have hired someone for what we paid in sweat, rentals, and materials and at least if it didn't come out right we could've had someone to blame it on and fix or get our money back.  still kicking myself in the butt for that decision.  (plus, it's a lot of MESSY work, you'll have dust everywhere, and Imean everywhere!)


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## Outlander28 (Apr 2, 2008)

I refinished my hardwood floors, that had been refinished before I bought the place in June.  They had a bad stain job that left streaks and splotches.  My solution was to rent a sander and sand as much of the varnish off as I could.  Then I stenciled it, using black paint, in certain areas for a nice effect.  I then stained it a dark, almost black stain, then put on a couple coats of polyurethane.  It turned out great, the woodgrain can still be seen, but the imperfections are barely noticeable and the stencil job adds a unique touch, subtle yet effective.


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## guyod (Apr 4, 2008)

You might want to get an estimate because they will tell you if the floors are salvagable or not. If there is pet  stains on the floor they will never sand out and stain will never cover it. with the price of hard wood floors becoming so cheap alot of the time its only about a little more to have new floor put in thats with a professional staining. plus you can walk on the floors this way and there is no mess.


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