Learning About Home Remodels

Are your home's hardwood floors beginning to look a little rough? Over the years, it's inevitable that your hardwood floors will experience some wear and tear, especially if you have animals in the house. Fortunately, you don't necessarily need to replace your floors to get them looking like new. Instead, you can refinish them! Before you decide to try refinishing your hardwood floors, however, there are some things you should know. 

You Might Not Need Total Refinishing

First and foremost, check to find out whether or not your floors actually need total refinishing (sanding down to the bare wood and re-staining). If the scratches and damage to your floors are small enough, you may very well be able to patch them with a stainable wood filler. This process is much easier, quicker, and less expensive than total refinishing. However, if you want to change the stain on your existing floors, you'll have no choice but to go with a total refinish.

Make Sure to Close Interior Doors

If you decide to take on hardwood floor refinishing yourself, make sure you take the time to close all interior doors while you work. Sanding down floors leads to a lot of sawdust and debris, so you'll want to minimize the amount that ends up drifting into other areas of your home as much as possible. You might also want to consider placing plastic covers over your furniture to make cleanup easier.

Consider Applying a Sealant

While many hardwood floor stains have a sealant built into them these days, it never hurts to apply an actual coat of sealant to your floors once you're done staining for extra protection. It will take more time and effort on your part and it'll cost a little more, but you'll likely find that it's more than worth it when you don't have to refinish your floors again in a few years.   

Know What to Look for in a Pro

Finally, should you decide that taking this project on yourself is too much and want to hire a professional (such as one from Front Range Interiors) to refinish your floors, know what to look for in a company. Specifically, be sure to look for a company that provides dustless sanding services, which involves the use of a special sanding tool attachment that sucks up the dust as it works. This will save you a lot of time and hassle on cleanup when all is said and done.