Refinishing hardwood floors - DIY or Pro job?

[greg_n_clayton]

Hardwood finishing is ......you can make a mess without the experience !! Someone who finishes hardwood in these parts are very busy because the good ones are few and far between !! But we are talking some high dollar houses around the lakes and the mountain get away homes of the rich and famous !! Allen Jackson has a house on Burton. He gave more for 2 Chris Craft wood boats than alot of people have in their homes !!

 

[Duff]

I've done it both ways. Helped a friend finish his and had a pro do mine. I will hire someone when it needs refinishing.

The more gloss you apply, the less durable or prone to show scratches the finish is. A semi gloss would be as far as I would go.

Also, I would want a poly type finish, especially with the pine floors. You will need a product to seal, coat and protect the wood rather than a oil that will penetrate it.

 

[SarahFair]

Will a matte finish show scratches as well?

 

[NE GA Pappy]

Will a matte finish show scratches as well?

Yes, but not as badly. That is what I put down on my oak floors. At the time, I had an 80 lb lab running around the house at the time.

 

[Artfuldodger]

My daughter has a big Boxer Husky mix. Her hardwood floors are all scratched up. The dog's claws go through the poly finish.

My suggestion in an old house with a dog would be to sand, stain, and put on some real tung oil. That way you could go back over the scratches from time to time with stain or just the tung oil.

The flooring in older houses will usually looked somewhat distressed even after sanding due to nail holes, water stains, etc.

The dog scratches are still the lesser of two evils compared to carpet or vinyl.

My daughter's was finished with a matte finish and as mentioned, it doesn't show scratches as bad. She just stains her scratches every so often. That's why I'm thinking an oil finish would be better with dogs.

A lot of the tung oil they sell at Home Depot and Lowes isn't real tung oil. It's labeled "tung oil finish." It's thin varnish with a little tung oil added.

Every finish does have its pros & cons;

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2284507/anyone-using-oiled-wood-floors-not-polyurethane

 

[GA native]

Do you have a picture of the floors? Water damage would have to be sanded and refinished. But I would wager a good coat of paste wax would bring the shine back. If it is not water damaged.

https://www.houselogic.com/remodel/windows-doors-and-floors/hardwood-floor-finishes/ This should muddy the waters a little more.

 

[BDD]

I’ve done two houses, the first one built in 1854 and the second (much newer) built in 1906.
It’s very easy, I would never pay someone to do it. The main cost is in the rental so if you have
The time to sand about 10 hours a day you can get the sanding done quick, than take your
Time on the finishing. I stained until I got the shade I wanted then a coat of satin polyurethane,
Follow by hand sanding and another coat of ploy.

 

[skeeter24]

Will a matte finish show scratches as well?

Yes. The only thing that you can get that will not show some scratches from larger dogs is laminate. I know you said that you could not tear out old wood floors and I said the same thing. Refinished my sunroom earlier this year and installed a good quality laminate. It has totally changed my mind. Thinking about putting it in my whole house instead of refinishing hardwood.

 

[SarahFair]

Doesn't look like it's going to matter.

We passed on that house due to what looked like termite damage.
Plus the 70s and 80s were not good to it.


We actually put an offer on the house a few doors down. Its been fully remodeled, including hardwoods, and it comes in under what we wanted to spend.

I'm just hoping they've taken care of the underneath as much as they have the upstairs...

 

[GRT24]

This what i do for a living along with installing. Matte finish poly shows the least amount of imperfections. If your are not changing the color of stain you can DYI. It's fairly easy and can teach a new guy very quick if your not changing stain color. You can rent what you call a screener from Home Depot it runs around 60 bucks a day. It virtually a large orbital sander. im pretty confident you could do this. Very simple. If you plan on going with a different stain color whole different animal. I have made good money fixing people's floors that were DYI and trying to change stain color It's took me a long time to get where I am in this business. Send me a PM and I'd be more than happy to explain it more on the phone and walk you through it and let you know what you would need.