How to Refinish Hardwood Floors

Instructions on How to Refinish Hardwood Floors!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• project
• sanding
• repairing
• staining
• sealing
• wood floors
• Skil
• Skil Power Tools
• Skil Tools
• Skilsaw
• Skil Saw
• Skillsaw
• DIY
• Do It Yourself
• Woodworking
• Home Improvement

[SkilPowerTools]

@paramagicmike A temporary fix is to sprinkle unscented talcum powder or powdered graphite on the joint. Work the powder into the gap by stepping on the area. A more permanent fix is to locate where the squeak is, drill a pilot hole at a slight angle & drive a trim screw into the pilot hole, sinking the screw head slightly below the floor's surface. Fill the hole with wood putty or a mix of sawdust and wood glue. Smooth with a putty knife. Use a good quality wood glue when making a woodfiller.

[ToroToker]

Im refinishing my girlfriends mothers floors in the next few weeks and I'm on a very tight budget....Would it be a ridiculous undertaking to attempt to sand a living room, 12' by 19' with a regular handheld belt sander?? There also a few boards with a significant gap in between them, do you have any good tips for filling in these gaps, I'm not sure if filler would be a good fix for something like that or not......And great video, very informative.

[SkilPowerTools]

@torotoker It's not ridiculous, BUT it would be difficult & time-consuming to refinish a floor that size with a handheld belt sander. A belt sander is meant for use in a fairly small area--using one on a large floor increases the chance of gouges, dips & high spots in finished surfaces. Considering the amount of time it would take to complete this project by hand & that the finished result will last for years, we feel the value of renting a sander is worth it.

[SkilPowerTools]

@ToroToker First, you'll want to determine the reason for the gap. Some gaps are caused by the wood shrinking due to lack of moisture in the air in the winter and will go away during the humid months. Other gaps can be filled, but you want to consider how the end result will look-sometimes it makes the floor look worse! A great resource is Floor Covering Installer Magazine.

[Nahlabaird]

Great video. Question, could you clean it with a steam cleaner now or will this call for an additional protective coat?

[SkilPowerTools]

@Nahlabaird Although we haven't tried steam cleaning a hardwood floor, it seems the potential for damaging the wood could be great. Considering the many different types of wood flooring now available on the market, we decided to call upon the experts for advice. Read what the Hardwood Flooring Association recommends here: wfca.org/hardwood/care.aspx

[mvcasaz]

Oh: while the dust+glue trick is clever and resourceful, I really wasn't happy with the result. It was the color of coffee with cream when I applied it, but it dried almost black.

[mvcasaz]

@plumbersteve: I actually just did a project about the same size using the exact same machine. I was surprised to see that the built-in vacuum picked all but about 1-2 cups of the dust, and barely left any floating around the room.

Hint: buy extra sanding pads. They go quickly. And make sure you THOROUGHLY sand any spots you've glued. The glue does a good job at rejecting any finish.

[plumbersteve]

man, that's a great video!! really makes it look like something that I can handle, having installed prefinished hardwood over about 550sqft and building a mantle over my fireplace. Question...how much dust was produced? because in this video, it sure didn't seem like a really dusty job.

Thanks!!

[seocom]

Thanks Bill.. I am hoping to refinish my hardwood soon.

[s020020]

Really good video, thanks so much~!!

[TheSib]

Excellent video! I even have a hole to fill also! Very thorough and well done. Thank you for pointing out the type of sander too.

[shooter275]

thanks for the great video! i have hardwood oak floors in my farm house that im going to refinish. Do you suggest to strip the floor of the old varnish/wax before sanding? or does the sander do a good enough job at taking it all off without gumming up the sanding disc to bad?

[takito518]

Thank you very helpful and educational video.

[Oldspirit189]

keep up the great work

[Oldspirit189]

quRTER SHEET POND SANDER URE SOOO RIGHT ON GREAT VIDEO BRO