help refinishing old hardwood floors!!

**cyflier** · 10-12-2010, 03:51 PM

I am getting ready to refinish some hardwood floors that are about 80 years old. Has anyone done this before and do you have any advice? The floors are in pretty good shape, however there are a few sloped areas to due to settling over the years. Thanks for the help.

**Kyle** · 10-12-2010, 05:05 PM

I just spent most of my weekend doing this. I have yet to apply the polyurethane.

We rented a large sander for like $35 that made things move a lot faster. I would recommend doing that. You can't get very close to the walls though, so you will want a good power sander (e.g. random-orbit) for that. I found I could make it look pretty good with enough work.

My wife discovered that a very light colored furniture marker made the wood filler blend in much better with the rest of the floor (which we stained).

Once you have sanded, vacuum and then dust everything from the top of the room working down. From what I've read (as compared to experience) dust is the enemy.

I've also read that staining first and then using clear polyurethane is much superior to a stain and polyurethane in one. That's just what I read though, and is the way I decided to do it.

**HerkyKiller** · 10-12-2010, 05:08 PM

For dust use a tack cloth after vaccuming and dusting. It might take a while though depending on how big your floors are.

**iowa_wildcat** · 10-12-2010, 08:27 PM

Make sure and get one of the special filters for your shop vac for sheet rock. It will pick up dust instead of blowing it out of the top of the vac. Put your poly on with a sponge.

**Cyclonepride** · 10-12-2010, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by cyflier

I am getting ready to refinish some hardwood floors that are about 80 years old. Has anyone done this before and do you have any advice? The floors are in pretty good shape, however there are a few sloped areas to due to settling over the years. Thanks for the help.

Are you sanding it down to raw wood, or just re-coating? If you're just re-coating, do a test spot first to make sure the floor hasn't be waxed, or cleaned with something not compatible with urethane. Otherwise, it will just peel, chip and flake off and look worse than if you hadn't touched it.

If you are sanding, I would recommend a large belt sander (walk behind), not the goofy buffer style sanders that some places rent out.

PM me if you need more specifics, as I do this for a living.

**cyflier** · 10-13-2010, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by Cyclonepride

Are you sanding it down to raw wood, or just re-coating? If you're just re-coating, do a test spot first to make sure the floor hasn't be waxed, or cleaned with something not compatible with urethane. Otherwise, it will just peel, chip and flake off and look worse than if you hadn't touched it.

If you are sanding, I would recommend a large belt sander (walk behind), not the goofy buffer style sanders that some places rent out.

PM me if you need more specifics, as I do this for a living.

Yeah, I am sanding it down to raw wood. I will PM you. Thanks for the help.

**CycloneYoda** · 10-13-2010, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by Cyclonepride

Are you sanding it down to raw wood, or just re-coating? If you're just re-coating, do a test spot first to make sure the floor hasn't be waxed, or cleaned with something not compatible with urethane. Otherwise, it will just peel, chip and flake off and look worse than if you hadn't touched it.

If you are sanding, I would recommend a large belt sander (walk behind), not the goofy buffer style sanders that some places rent out.

PM me if you need more specifics, as I do this for a living.

I recommend hiring this guy to do it. I have seen friends absolutely destroy their floors with rented sanders. To do it well takes a certain skill, and this guy sounds like he has the gift.

**Cyclonepride** · 10-13-2010, 09:09 AM

I actually knew a guy who was moving into a new house, and was doing his floors on his own. He made the decision that he was going to go pheasant hunting and put off sanding until the weekend before they moved in. After he got a coat on the floor, he realized that the old finish was still on the floor in several places, so it looked seriously splotchy, but they had to move in on it since they didn't have time to re-sand. He will probably hear about his pheasant hunting trip until the day he dies.

**dtclones** · 10-13-2010, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by CycloneYoda

I recommend hiring this guy to do it. I have seen friends absolutely destroy their floors with rented sanders. To do it well takes a certain skill, and this guy sounds like he has the gift.

Agree. I am scared ****-less to do anything myself unless I am 100% confident I can do it the right way. I wouldn't touch this one.

**cjb1978** · 10-13-2010, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by dtclones

Agree. I am scared ****-less to do anything myself unless I am 100% confident I can do it the right way. I wouldn't touch this one.

This the reason you still live with your parents and do not have a wife/girlfriend yet? :)

**c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s** · 10-13-2010, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by CycloneYoda

I recommend hiring this guy to do it. I have seen friends absolutely destroy their floors with rented sanders. To do it well takes a certain skill, and this guy sounds like he has the gift.

At the very least, start your sanding in a corner that you are certain will be covered with furniture so that you can get used to the drum sander. If you use a heavy girit sandpaper and pause in one spot for any length of time at all, you will dig a hole in your wood.

**dtclones** · 10-13-2010, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by cjb1978

This the reason you still live with your parents and do not have a wife/girlfriend yet? :)

Haha, for the record, both of those are inaccurate. I'm just not huge on taking on large home improvement projects without the proper know-how. Good one though.

**Psyclone Brian** · 10-13-2010, 11:05 AM

This is all I know about that subject.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__qOY9hcm64&feature=related]YouTube - Karate Kid Lesson 2 (Sand the Floor)[/ame]