Take These Steps to Ensure a Successful Home Improvement Project
If you’re considering hardwood floor refinishing for your home, you should know these essential preparation steps for your space and members of your household.
- Understand the process.
- Choose your finish.
- Purchase supplies.
- Prepare the space.
- Make a plan for household pets.
- Make a plan for your family.
By completing them before the crew arrives at your home, you can help keep your project on track.
Understanding Wood Floor Refinishing
Hardwood flor refinishing revitalizes the appearance of your floors by sanding away the worn-out surface layer and erasing scratches, dents, and areas of discoloration.
After the floor’s surface is smooth, a new coat of stain and protective finish enhance the aesthetic appeal of the floors and help prevent future damage. Refinishing gives new life to your floors and refreshes your home.
Choose the Right Finish
During the refinishing process, a large sander will essentially grind off your floor’s existing finish, leaving bare wood behind. This means you’ll need to first decide on the stain color and sheen that your hardwood floor refinishing team will reapply to your floors.
Your hired professional can help you make your selection by providing color samples and showing you the differences between finishes, so you can choose what you like best.
It’s important you decide on these before your scheduled refinishing appointment because the crew will bring the stain and sealant with them.
Purchase Supplies
Immediately after your hardwood floor refinishing project is complete, you’ll want to be prepared to protect your floors’ renewed appearance. This requires heading to the store!
Although you shouldn’t put furniture or other items back into the room for at least 48 hours after your sealant is applied, you can at least begin preparing your furniture. Buy felt pads sized for your furniture legs to help prevent future scratches and dents.
Pick up gentle cleaning supplies made especially for hardwood floors. These cleansers remove dirt and grime without damaging the finish.
Choose entrance mats that complement your home’s decor style and place them at your front and back doors to catch debris from shoes before coming inside. You and your family can also take off your shoes instead of wearing them in the house, so you may also want to pick up a shoe storage solution. This prevents tracking in debris that can scratch your newly refinished floors.
Finally, if you don’t already have them, buy blinds or window shades to help prevent your floor from fading and warping from the sun’s damaging UV rays.
By shopping for these items before your project begins, you can ensure you’re taking steps to protect your floors so they last a long time.
Do Some Heavy Living – Remove Your Furnishings
Rooms that contain furniture or boxes of personal items are not candidates for hardwood floor refinishing because those items will be in the way of the sander and stain applications. Clearing the rooms to be refinished enables a smoother workflow for the floor refinishing team and protects your belongings from dust accumulation and potential damage.
Secure these items elsewhere in your home if you’re having hardwood floors refinished only in certain spaces. If you’re having your whole home refinished, you may need to rent a short-term storage unit.
For heavy or cumbersome furniture, get help from a moving professional. Carefully pack delicate objects like artwork, electronics, and heirlooms. We also recommend taking down window treatments.
Although this prep work seems difficult, it will all be worth it to make the refinishing process more efficient and to protect your belongings.
Make a Plan For Your Pets For Your Hardwood Floor Refinishing Project
Most pets don’t like the sound of the floor sander or the crew in their space, even if the work is limited to just one or two rooms of the house. To keep your pets happy, make arrangements for them to be out of the house.
Perhaps your pets could stay with a friend or family member, at an overnight dog boarding facility, or with you in a hotel room for the duration of the project. Whatever you plan, make necessary reservations in advance to secure your pet’s spot in their temporary home-away-from-home.
Make a Plan For Your People
Deciding whether to stay at home during the hardwood floor refinishing process is a significant consideration. The nature of the project includes uncomfortable sounds and smells for some people. Those with sensitivity to strong odors or who have respiratory conditions are advised to stay outside the home until the floor has cured – about 48 hours after our team is done with their work. You should also make plans to stay elsewhere if the hardwood floor refinishing team will be working on the majority or all of the rooms of your home.
Considering arranging to stay with family or friends. You could also book a hotel room or treat yourself to a mini vacation during the project. Being out of the house gives your refinishing team unrestricted access to their work area. Although this feels disruptive, it’s worth it when you come home to beautifully refinished floors.
Need Hardwood Floor Refinishing Near You? Call JRK Flooring!
Now that you know the preparation steps for hardwood floor refinishing, it’s time for a free consultation with a team of professionals: JRK Flooring, Kansas City’s award-winning hardwood flooring company.To get started, call us at (816) 237-9327 or fill out our brief contact form online.
