Hardwood floors have a really attractive beauty. They can easily add style and warmth to the room. It does not matter if the home is traditional or modern, if it is showcasing industrial design or rustic design. Hardwood flooring tends to just fit in, even in bathrooms and kitchens.
[AdSense-A]
While we cannot deny the fact that hardwood flooring is great, in time it does lose its beauty. If you want to restore wood floors, here are some things you absolutely need to remember.
Refinishing Or Recoating?
When the wood starts looking dull, it can be recoated or completely renewed. Maintenance coat involves cleaning the finish and then light sanding. When this is done, a new wood floor finish coat is added.
New coats have to be added every 3 to 5 years. Obviously, it can be more often based on present wear and tear.
The complete refinish and sanding are needed if you notice dents, deep scratches and basically serious floor damage. When bare wood is exposed and the finish is too worn away, refinishing is needed. Such a situation is quite common when buying fixer-upper homes.
Always Use The Correct Equipment
The first thing you do when you restore wood floors is sanding. You basically remove the finish and all surface-level scratches and scuffs. If you do this with regular home power tools, the floor ends up unevenly sanded. It is also possible that the wood will be severely damaged. This is why it is mandatory that you use a good drum sander.
Sanding Problems
Although you would use a good drum sander, mistakes can still happen if you are not extremely careful. When you under-sand, spots of the old finish or stains remain. These regions are not really suitable for subsequent finishing. Then, when you over-sand, scratches or divots appear. This is particularly bad since just professionals can fix them.
You should also know that drum sanders do not get as close as needed to baseboards and walls. Edgers are needed for such areas. Patience is absolutely necessary when you use the edger. Never rush areas since you will end up with a really noticeable texture and/or color difference.
The last thing that should be said is that when you sand, much wood dust remains. You have to be really careful when you finish or stain the wood floor. Floors have to be properly cleaned first. If this does not happen, wood particles end up embedded in the finish/stain.
Wood Floor Maintenance
Wood is organic so it does react to the environment. If humidity is high, wood will gain moisture and can easily swell. If the environment is dry, moisture is lost so shrinking can appear. When there are environment changes, wood floors also change.
Moisture causes wood floor cupping. This will cause some raised edges and a lowered center. When the floors lose moisture because of environmental changes, splitting happens or gaps appear.
When splits and gaps happen but then they disappear during normal seasonal changes, you do not need to be concerned. However, if gaps are large or do not end up closing during the humid months, the professional needs to be contacted.
In order to minimize humidity problems, try to keep the home at a temperature between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with a humidity that is between thirty and fifty. Do this for the entire year. A thermostat will surely be needed for this.
