1. Are your floors made of real hardwood?

What may appears to the naked eye as hardwood might not be quite so, as there are plastic, composite or laminated materials with synthetic wooden grains and patterns printed on them made to resemble hardwood. Furthermore, it's important to consult with a flooring expert to ensure that your wood floor can be refinished to avoid any mishaps since not all wood floors can be successfully refinished.

2. There are 3 types of finishes

Remember the tremendous efforts, amount of time and money you poured into installing your hardwood floors? Wooderra understands that you want to protect your investment, and we provide you useful information on how best to approach refinishing your hardwood floor.

Depending on the type of wood, there are 3 finish types in general:

• Penetrating sealer: made of low viscosity oil. When applied to the wood, it only penetrates the surface and coats the wood with a thin film. Homeowners who are fond of the wood's natural grain and want to enhance it, choose to refinish hardwood floors with this natural-looking finish. Penetrating sealer offers a solid protection when waxed, though it may also get darkened over time. It is reported to be not as durable as the next two finishes, however it compensates by being the easiest to repair.
• Varnish: a clear and colorless substance produced by dissolving resinous product in alcohol, oil, or equivalent volatile liquids. A variety of varnishes in different degrees of lusters are available. The higher the gloss, the more durable the varnish. Thus, the contractor can refinish hardwood floors with the degree of glossy and durable based on your request. Varnish protects hardwood floors with its hard and glossy film. It is also susceptible to darkening with age but can be easily repaired.
• Polyurethane: a synthetic varnish, hence its plastic-looking presentation. This finish is usually oil or water based and also comes in varying degrees of lusters. Polyurethane can also get darkened over time. Many contractors often refinish hardwood floors with this varnish because it is exceptionally hard, moisture-resistant, and wear-assistant. It is suitable for humid and/or heavy foot-traffic areas. However, if nicked or gouged, it can be the trickiest to spot repair compared to the aforementioned finishes.

3. Why you should consider hiring an expert?

Caution: This is not a DIY project for everyone. While many of us have heard of somebody sanding and refinishing their own hardwood floors, it is an irrefutable fact that to do it yourself is to sign up for an extremely challenging and labor-intensive job. If you have little or no experience, it is very likely that you will face many blunders along the way and even upon the slightest one, you may have to start all over, which can also be genuinely pricey.

For instance, if you use a grade drum sander, but you fail to constantly move it at the right pace, you will end up sanding away too much of your floor's surface, resulting in reducing the number of times of possible refinishes and a weakened floor surface.

Therefore, make sure you take into account all your options before making a decision to refinish hardwood floors yourself: time, skillsets needed, and budgets. On the other hand, if you want to hire a professional, it is advisable that you acquire enough knowledge yourself to properly evaluate the works of your contractor from the beginning to end of the project. And no, there is no need for you to become an expert on refinishing hardwood floors. Then again, it will only work for your benefits if you have an eye for well-maintained hardwood floors.

4. How to hire a professional hardwood floor refinisher

There are two options: a specialist in refinishing or hardwood floor installer. Both are trained to do refinishing.

Here are the to-do list upon the quest of finding the right handyman:

• Interview a minimum number of three candidates.
• Do not hesitate to ask for testimonials of previous works and contact references. Ask follow-up questions about the most satisfying elements of their past projects and what can be improved. This might help give you more ideas about your own refinishing project.
• Only hire a contractor with business license. Check the validity of the business license online.
• Hire someone you can talk to and is capable of doing proper planning.
• Ask to see a detailed price quote and do not sign anything before all important matters are specified on this document.
• Ask about your responsibility for the project. For instance, whether all you should take down all window treatments, take out all the furniture, or if the contractor will do that. The more works for the contractor, the more likely you will have to pay so clarify these matters beforehand to avoid headaches at a later time.

5. Find out if you need a full refinishing

Refinishing hardwood floors does not need to be on a full-scale level. For instance, if some proportions of the finish on the wood still remain and the floor is without deep gouges, there are only a simple steps the contractor will take instead of a full refinishing job.

First, the existing finish will be lightly sanded and then a new finish will be applied on the top (polyurethane, varnish or penetrating sealer). A coating maintenance technique like such only costs half of what a full refinishing does.

6. Think about the colors of your hardwood floors

There are hardwood floors that carry themselves in color that is darker than cardboard. They obtain this color after being stained when it was first installed or on the most recent occasion of being finished.

Planning to do a full refinishing means that the stain will be wiped out as the project carries on. You have three options after the stain removal:

• Leave the floor with a much lighter color
• Have the contractor stain it to match the original color.
• Choose a new shade of stain. Grays, creams, white or chocolate brown are trendy these days. Go for a neutral shade that will go well with your interior.

7. Cost range

There are a number of factors taken account into the final bill:

• Your region
• Your property's accessibility (parking difficulty, no elevator in the apartment building where you live, how easy it is to get from one room to another, etc.)
• How much flooring is to be worked with (e.g. Square foot)
• The scope of work to be done and how long the project will take to complete (e.g. damaged and worn spots, dark stains require more prepping time)
• Your personal specifications, along with the contractor's requirements.

8. When is the ideal time to start the refinishing?

Anytime that fits your schedule is the best time. However, because of their porous nature, refrain from refinishing hardwood floors during rainy, humid weather. As soon as the old finish is wiped out, the flooring boards will likely absorb moisture, which will result in warping and buckling. What's more, to dry the new stains, windows need to be opened for ventilation. As wood and water do not usually go well together, that is not a good idea during a rainy day.

Besides, if you plan to migrate all the furniture outside during the project, doing so in dry, sunny weather sounds more ideal.

9. Plans to move out during refinishing project

At least 24 hours is needed for the refinishing to be done before you can use your floors again. Access to the area should be restricted, which translates into short-term inconvenience, but you will be rewarded with a fresh, beautiful-looking refinished hardwood floor.

Inevitably, there will be a lot of fine dust which will be annoying, and may be downright intolerable. It is highly recommended that the elderly, children, and pets remain away from the treated area, no matter how well it is sealed off.

Unpleasant odors from certain stains and finishes will linger for several days.

For all these reasons, you may want to consider staying somewhere else until your stains and finishes set in.

10. What to expect when you have nowhere to go and decide to stay

• Only when the room is completely cleared can the work begin.
• Refinishing equipment will be noisy.
• Strong odor from stain might upset you.
• If the project will be done in the whole house, expect to move from one room to another until refinishing in all areas are completed.

11. What to do when the refinisher is done with the project

• Examine closely the entire refinished area
• Note down any issue or potential ones for further inquiries for the contractor
• Make sure everything is done according to the price quote or contract signed by both parties.

12. Considerations

Typically, refinishing hardwood floors can help fix problems such as scratches, stains or similar blemishes. If your home has super old hardwood floors with warps and buckles everywhere, you might want to consider replace it with a new one.

In their lifetime, most hardwoods can be refinished 6 to 8 times. Keep in mind that a floor needs to be at least 1/32 of an inch thick to be sanded and refinished. So, have the contractor do the measurement before purchasing any tools and materials for the project.

Recap on key points of refinishing hardwood floors checklist:

• Check if your hardwood floors are real
• Know the type of hardwood finishes being used
• Consider hiring an expert in refinishing hardwood floors
• Follow steps to hire a legitimate refinishing professional
• Check if you need full refinishing
• Think of the colors you want (lighter, original, or new)
• Calculate the total cost
• The best time for the project
• Decide whether to stay in the house or move out temporarily during the project and plan accordingly.
• Thorough inspection of the work after it is done