Hardwood Flooring Company Refinishing Tips

Experts from a hardwood flooring company will be able to bring the beauty back to an ancient timber floor. That's one of the great things about products made from lumber – wood can be revitalized. This is different from carpet, which has to be removed and replaced when it becomes worn out and ragged looking. Furniture, floors, and household trim can always be refinished in order to regain its attractiveness. Older surfaces have lots of personality in them, too. Laminates might be easier to install and less expensive to purchase, but the old classic planks have staying power. If they are truly vintage, they will likely be cut from trees that offered harder wood densities. The inner portion of old trees is sometimes referred to as heartwood. If a home's planks need a shot of revitalization, here are some tips for achieving it:

- Screening: Screening is a possible option that is less invasive than full-scale sanding. The traditional sanding method requires a heavy-duty sander and a good deal of expertise. If it isn't done correctly, gauges and excess layers of wood will be unnecessarily removed. Screening merely removes the polyurethane top-coast so is a less costly proposition.

- Floor polisher: Rather than renting a sander, the screening technique requires a floor polisher of sixteen inches. Rough to smooth grits should be used to do this task.

- Drum sander: This piece of equipment is heavy and, in the hands of a novice, risky to use. If the condition of the flooring is too far gone to simply use a screening technique, it will have to be sanded down. With this heavy drum tool, it is easy to plane off too much of a surface and end up with a rippled mess. When in doubt, it's better to hire a pro for this part of the task.

- Tips: The DIYer needs to be careful to use the sanding tool slowly and carefully. Even motions are best. Setting the sander down gently will keep an accident from occurring. Strength is required for this task, but not too much. Steady handling is much better than pushing and tugging in order to end up with a smooth and even surface.

- Clean up: There will be substantial sawdust all over the floors and walls. Sweeping, bagging and wiping down will be required on each and every surface. 

- Staining: If another tint is desired, it will be necessary to stain the area. If the existing color is still pleasing to the eye, a homeowner can leave it as is.

- Polyurethane finish: Finishing with a high quality polyurethane product will seal in the beauty for many more years to come. This may be a water or oil based product. Oil based sealants are heavy duty but more difficult to clean up.

Your local hardwood flooring company will have experts on hand to answer any questions a DIYer might have. They will have supplies, booklets and professionals for hire if a homeowner decides to let the pros take over. Typical costs for professional refinishing by a hardwood flooring company can range from one to three dollars per square foot.