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You are here: Home / At Home / To DIY or Not To DIY? Refinishing Hardwood Floors

To DIY or Not To DIY? Refinishing Hardwood Floors

June 30, 2020 By Kari 3 Comments

You know you want to spruce up those rough-looking hardwood floors but are you up for the DIY? Here’s some advice to help you weigh the pros and cons of DIY vs. hiring a professional for refinishing hardwood floors.

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

I had a great conversation on Instagram with many of you offering advice about refinishing the main level original hardwood in our 1913 home. Now, I want to pass along the tips passed along to me! Ultimately, we decided to hire a professional but I’m including all the details of doing it DIY-style if that’s the route you choose to go. We’re so happy with how our floors turned out (we should have totally done this years ago)!

refinishing hardwood floors-1After receiving many recommendations of local flooring companies, we went with Edmonton Hardwood Design and Carpentry. Bruce and his crew were friendly, fast, and respectful in our home. They charge between $3.50 and $4 a square foot but contact them directly for a precise quote.

Ryan and I cleared all the furniture out and put it under tarps on our back deck. The guys came in on a Wednesday and, including a front porch tiling project, and were all finished by Friday. They did a fabulous job! We’re so happy with the turnout. Here are a few before and after pictures.

Beforerefinishing hardwood floors-2

Afterrefinishing hardwood floors-3

After-Care

The floors had to sit with nothing on them for 24-48 hours. After that, it’s recommended to take it easy on them for a couple of weeks. So, our two pups Moses and Monroe had to take all of their intense play sessions to the backyard. They were thrilled. LOL!

DIY

With some elbow grease, extra time, and rented equipment you can absolutely tackle this project on your own for roughly about half the cost. Local designer, Holly Baker chimed in on the Instagram chat with some awesome DIY advice.

(Holly and one of her pups)

There are two kinds of sanders you can rent. One is a belt sander that takes off ALL THE FINISH and about 1/16 of an inch of the wood, or a screen sander which is basically just a giant palm sander that roughs up the top coat so you can re-seal the finish. Because our floors were so old and actually had cigarette burns from previous owners and lots of scratches from a dog, I did the belt sander. You have to rent the sander and buy all the sand paper and I think I spent about $200 for renting it 2 days. It took me 3 passes, one at 25 grit, one at 80 and one at 100.

(Holly’s Place)

More From Holly

Then I palm sanded all around the baseboards since it can only get about 5 inches from the wall (we didn’t want to remove the old baseboards which would make sanding easier but are a pain to reinstall). The most important thing with old floors are that if they’ve been refinished before you may not have enough thickness left to use the belt sander since it’s so aggressive. If you went too deep you’d end up exposing the nails and the floor would probably deteriorate pretty fast. To check the depth left take off a heat vent cover and you should see how much thickness is there

Once I was all sanded down I chose to stain the floor, but that’s totally optional. It was honestly the hardest step since I was attempting to match other wood in the house and it was labour-intensive to brush it on and wipe it off quickly to get just the right coat. Once the stain was dry we sealed it up with 3 coats of clear coat.

There is oil-based or water-based sealer and oil-based is best for more durability BUT it yellows quickly and gets more yellow over time so it’s best for dark wood floors. We have small dogs and our large dog has very very short, raised nails so we felt comfortable with doing the waterbased. There are some great YouTube videos on the technique for getting the clear coat bubble-free and smooth, it does require some light sanding between coats to get everything nice and smooth.

 

Thanks, Holly! You can check out her website here and follow her on Instagram here.

 

Pin this to your New Floors and Home Projects boards. For more home decor ideas, follow me on Pinterest here.

Other Posts You’ll Love:

Wyatt’s Space Room Reveal

Outdoor Oasis Inspiration

Tips For Savvy New Gardeners

xx

Related

Filed Under: At Home, DIY Projects, Home Style

Comments

  1. Bruce Belik says

    July 6, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    Thanks so much for the kind review. I appreciate your comments.
    Best Regards,
    Bruce Belik
    Owner/Operator Hardwood Design and Carpenty

    Reply
  2. Alicia Hursley says

    July 22, 2020 at 10:45 am

    The age old battle of DIY or hiring a pro. It really is all about comfort level and budget. I know for me, I didn’t feel comfortable trying to refinish my hardwood floor before selling my house on my own. I used Fabulous Floors Orange County and they really hit out of the park. They kept me under budget and it was way better than anything I could have done on my own. Plus my house sold super fast after. I might have tried a DIY option if I had the time and wasn’t as worried about a quick resell though.

    Reply
  3. Painting Contractor says

    May 24, 2022 at 1:14 am

    Pretty! it is always best to use hardwood flooring. Its glossy appearance, durability, and dry cleaning process make it an attractive mode of flooring. Thank you for providing these details.

    Reply

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Kari Skelton | Motherhood Community
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📍These delicious chef-prepared Easter Dinner Boxes are totally customizable. Your main course  is mouth-watering, tender Mountain Park ham, with a delicious ham glaze, roasted garlic parmesan baby potatoes and honey dill carrots.

Customizable add-ons include:

- Granny’s Stuffing
- macaroni salad
- Alberta sourdough
- iconic sourdough hot cross buns
-choice of desserts like
coconut macaroon cookies, sourdough cinnamon buns, and sweet coconut cream pie!

➡️ Order online (link in my bio) from now until April 16 and pick up at your nearest Freson Bros. location. Save this idea and make sure to share with your friends!

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Disney photos! Having a blast! ❤️ Noah got to Disney photos! Having a blast! ❤️ Noah got to go on a lot of the rides too. 🤗 

What's your favourite food to get at Disney? A must-try. Share ⬇️
We surprised our seven-year-old with a trip to Dis We surprised our seven-year-old with a trip to Disneyland! I highly recommend surprising your kids with adventures - no matter how big or small. ❤️ This was so much fun! What he said at the end was the best. :) 

#disneyland #disneysurprise #disneyparks
Choose the one you can't live without. That cares Choose the one you can't live without. That cares enough to put in the work every day - especially when it 'aint so pretty. That fights for the life you've built together. The one that's willing to grow in new ways together and open their mind and heart to new possibilities.

You're the one I want to go through all the times with - the good and the tough, the happy and sad. Thank you for being the guy that folds all of our laundry and respects that I don't want you to wash mine. 😄 Thank you for changing the garbages - cause you know I hate it. Thank you for building us epic fires in the summer and making THE BEST popcorn ever. ❤️ Thanks for watching The Bachelor with me (and providing hilarious commentary throughout). Thanks for being a gentle parent with our kiddos. ❤️❤️❤️

To the love of my life, my partner in life, and greatest Daddy - Happy 14th!
@ryanjespersen
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kariskelton

your go-to mom friend 🙌
Here's what works best for me and my family. Share ⬇️ what works best for you + yours!
❤️ Wyatt, Noah, Moses🐾 Monroe🐾
❤️ Ry

Kari Skelton | Motherhood Community
Easiest Easter Dinner! ➡️ Give yourself a bre Easiest Easter Dinner!

➡️ Give yourself a break this year and just order your Easter dinner from @fresonbros!

📍These delicious chef-prepared Easter Dinner Boxes are totally customizable. Your main course  is mouth-watering, tender Mountain Park ham, with a delicious ham glaze, roasted garlic parmesan baby potatoes and honey dill carrots.

Customizable add-ons include:

- Granny’s Stuffing
- macaroni salad
- Alberta sourdough
- iconic sourdough hot cross buns
-choice of desserts like
coconut macaroon cookies, sourdough cinnamon buns, and sweet coconut cream pie!

➡️ Order online (link in my bio) from now until April 16 and pick up at your nearest Freson Bros. location. Save this idea and make sure to share with your friends!

{partner}

#cateredeasterdinner #easydinner #easyEasterdinner #yegfood #easterbox #ordereaster
Disney photos! Having a blast! ❤️ Noah got to Disney photos! Having a blast! ❤️ Noah got to go on a lot of the rides too. 🤗 

What's your favourite food to get at Disney? A must-try. Share ⬇️
We surprised our seven-year-old with a trip to Dis We surprised our seven-year-old with a trip to Disneyland! I highly recommend surprising your kids with adventures - no matter how big or small. ❤️ This was so much fun! What he said at the end was the best. :) 

#disneyland #disneysurprise #disneyparks
Choose the one you can't live without. That cares Choose the one you can't live without. That cares enough to put in the work every day - especially when it 'aint so pretty. That fights for the life you've built together. The one that's willing to grow in new ways together and open their mind and heart to new possibilities.

You're the one I want to go through all the times with - the good and the tough, the happy and sad. Thank you for being the guy that folds all of our laundry and respects that I don't want you to wash mine. 😄 Thank you for changing the garbages - cause you know I hate it. Thank you for building us epic fires in the summer and making THE BEST popcorn ever. ❤️ Thanks for watching The Bachelor with me (and providing hilarious commentary throughout). Thanks for being a gentle parent with our kiddos. ❤️❤️❤️

To the love of my life, my partner in life, and greatest Daddy - Happy 14th!
@ryanjespersen
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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