There’s nothing quite like the glow of newly refinished hardwood flooring. Flooring is not only the foundation of a home or office interior, but also a grounding part of the whole look and feel of the space. Refinishing your hardwoods provides a fresh start, however you might be a little scared to mar that perfect finish. With proper after-care, your new flooring finish can last a good while.
Before You Refinish Your Hardwood Floors
It’s really important to create a plan with your flooring contractor so that everyone’s expectations can be managed.
Here are some of the steps you must take prior to the contractor arriving:
- Consider if this is a good time to repaint the baseboard and shoe base moulding (converse with your flooring contractor about this)
- Remove all of the furniture and rugs from the space.
- Have secondary living quarters for a minimum of 2 days, but preferably for 5 days due to off-gassing fumes.
- Have a plan for immediate after-care
- Have a plan for ongoing maintenance
- Purchase the floor cleaning solution and cleaning equipment you need for after care
- Have a post-refinish plan for large and/or rambunctious pets.
Here are some of things that your flooring contractor will be doing during the process:
- hammer down protruding nails
- remove shoe base moulding from the edges
- secure any creaking or loose floorboards
- seal off the area’s doors and air vents to prevent sanding dust from spreading thorough out the home / building.
- rough sanding
- edge sanding
- screen sanding (fine grit)
- cleanup
- apply stain
- apply finish
- replace shoe base moulding
Some Do’s for Newly Refinished Hardwood Floors
- Do enjoy the new glow, and don’t fret.
- If you will have other contracting working in the area post refinish, or movers moving you back in we recommend installing the same protected Ramboard™. It is a temporary floor protection solution for residential and commercial applications. Install Ramboard™ with blue tape only.
- Keep large and/or rambunctious pets over 12 pounds off the floors entirely for 10 days.
- Put exterior mats at every outside entry point, and carefully clean shoes before entering, or remove shoes altogether. Minimize street shoe traffic by investing in soft-soled booties or socks. No heels at all, and no bare feet for at least 7 days.
- Protect your flooring by adding felt or rubber furniture feet protectors and LIFT, don’t drag chairs and stools.
- Clean up any liquid spills or messes immediately with a microfiber cloth and lukewarm water.
Some Dont’s for Newly Refinished Hardwood Floors
- Do not put down rugs for 14-18 days.
- Don’t use any cleaners for 2-3 weeks. Not even water.
- Avoid rolling anything with wheels over your new finish.
- Do NOT use any type of steamer cleaning equipment, oil soaps, waxes, acrylic or shine restoring products.