Refinishing Hardwood Floors

[IowaMan]

Thought I'd toss this one out there and see what you thought.

I moved into the house I grew up in last May (after having been away for about 14 yrs.). The place had been vacant for quite some time but there had been renters in here on and off while I was away up until the last five or so years. The place needed an AWFUL lot of work both inside and outside. Another story perhaps for another day. One thing though that could really use some help are the hardwood floors.

When I was growing up here all the rooms were carpeted and I was absolutely floored (no pun intended) to find that there had been some really nice hardwood underneath the carpet in the two-section living room area(s). It is incredibly worn and needs to be refinished though. That's where my questions and perhaps problems come into play.

When I watch a DIY show it doesn't seem to be too difficult to refinish hardwood flooring but it looks as though it is something that maybe I shouldn't attempt myself given my lung problems. Anybody have any ideas on what may be the least dusty and fume free way of refinishing the things? The two rooms measure about 11' x 18' and 11' x 15' if that makes any difference.

Would there be any products out there that could assist in perhaps making a complete refinishing not needed? I've gone through lots of Murphy's Oil Soap to keep them looking as shiny as possible but the worn areas just make me sick to my stomach when I think just how great they could look.

Okay, that's pretty much all I wondered. Not expecting really anything other than I need to sand them down and refinish them but thought I'd see what I could learn.

Thanks.

[wyndhy]

leave them the way they are. call it character.

if you're determined, there are breathing masks that would greatly reduce if not totally eliminate anything you'd breath in.

[scotzoidman]

Sounds like you're living my life now...I've been in the house I grew up in for over 11 years now. The hardwood floors are something you do want to try to save, but with lung probs you might want to avoid any DIY salvage ops...I have not gone to the total refinishing process with the bigass rolling drum sander, which would require a complete application of floor varnish, but I did go with this; in our bedroom, we pulled up ugly Pepto pink carpet (that was prob the dustiest dirtiest part of the project), cleaned the wood with Murphy's, then went with the old yellow paste wax...I still have my mama's old Kenmore floor buffer to help with that (nearly impossible to find them anymore)...in the dining room I spot sanded with my random orbit palm sander to take down a few high spots & small stains (not altogther successfully), cleaned the dust as best I could, & touched up with a good floor Varnish (I recommend Minwax) followed by paste wax...nothing that would pass for showplace finish, but it don't look bad for a 50+ year house...also stratigic use of doormats & area rugs can cover the worst spots, & soften up the room a little...
Everything I did still involves a bit of dust & fumes, so you should invest in a good respirator mask whatever you decide to try...PM me if you wanna ask for more details, & best of luck...

[IowaMan]

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Area rugs and such.

Oh, I know I shouldn't worry about it because it's such an old place and all but it could look just so great! The "character" that wyndhy mentioned is definitely there but it just looks so bad. :(

I tore out a lot of carpet from a back hallway and the bathroom when I first moved back here and laid down vinyl flooring. The dust was pretty fun to deal with there but nothing too terrible. Bought a couple of the respirator masks and they helped. Found out from that part of the project that I've got a little bit of arthritis in my hands. I blame that on being single for so damn long. ;)

I may have to give the spot sanding thing a try. I guess if that doesn't work to my satisfaction I can always take the plunge and redo the entire thing. (Which I'm not smart enough not to do but am hoping a simpler solution is out there.)

The pace I'm going at with this thing is very much snail-like so I've got time to change my mind a few times before I actually take any action. Way too much idle time on my hands nowadays.

Thanks for the tips wyndhy and scotzoidman! :thumb:

[scotzoidman]

wyndhy got her post in while I was still composing mine, but her advice isn't at odds with mine...my floors were the same as yours, some spots are just too ugly to write off to "character"...so my solution is a compromise based on prior experience with DIY renovations, where the rule is "everything will take longer & cost more than you planned for" :banghead: I also have to take the slow & easy approach, being on diability for a bad back, diabetes, arthritis, carpal tunnel, etc....I've been stuck in the middle of a mid-sized kitchen renovation for most of the past year, the paint & new floor tiles are still sitting in the floor waiting as we speak...

[IowaMan]

Sounds like you and I need to get together over a drink sometime and talk about all the stuff we'd like to get done on our houses. Seems like we're in the same boat. Hopefully the damn thing doesn't spring a leak or I'm probably screwed. :D

[WildIrish]

I put down a new hardwood floor in our last house and sanded & finished it myself. Rather than attempt using a drum sander, I opted for what is essentially a large orbital one. It's one of those machines that is an orbital scrubber/buffer and they sell round screens that go between the buffing pad and the floor to provide that abrasive quality. Drum sanders can be a bit unforgiving. Come to think of it...the orbital one was a bit difficult to handle at first too! ha ha

At any rate, I used a dust mask and the sawdust wasn't too bad at all. And for finishing, I used water-based polyurethane. That way I didn't have to worry about the noxious fumes that oil based stuff emits. I think it required a few more coats than oil stuff would've, but it was a wise trade-off considering we slept in the house while it was drying. lmao

[Wicked Wanda]

Sweetie, with your lung problems I would suggest paying someone, or have a friend do the work and you supervise from a distance. The dust is bad enough, but there sounds like there's a lot of chemicals involved with this kind of work, and that could be a real problem for you.

Nurse Wanda :loveshowe

[IowaMan]

Sweetie, with your lung problems I would suggest paying someone, or have a friend do the work and you supervise from a distance. The dust is bad enough, but there sounds like there's a lot of chemicals involved with this kind of work, and that could be a real problem for you.

Nurse Wanda :loveshowe
Yeah, that probably would be the smart way to play it. Sure would be good to have a personal nurse though who could make sure I wasn't over exerting myself while supervising. ;)

[Wicked Wanda]

hmmmmmmmm

with benefits?

:undies:

[IowaMan]

Why of course dear. Whatever benefits you would desire. ;)

[1nutworld]

at the risk of "hijacking" this thread..........

Oh nurse Wanda.

I've got a "head" ache!

[IowaMan]

at the risk of "hijacking" this thread..........

Oh nurse Wanda.

I've got a "head" ache!
I can verify that Murphy's Oil Soap probably won't help it. Probably wouldn't try to sand it either. :p

[scotzoidman]

Having Nurse Wanda supervise sounds great to me, too, but I have this feeling that the job might not get done in a timely fashion... :69:

Health problems can make any DIY project a challenge, but typically they often make for a tight cash situation as well...which is why I don't go ahead with hiring somebody to do the work. Besides, I like the satisfaction of knowing I did it, & (hopefully) saying it looks pretty good considering. Depending on the severity of your lung probs, you might be able to handle the job with the right kind of respirator...I can never get used to them myself, but I'm weird like that. WI's idea on the water-based polys may be better for you as well, & I hear that they are getting better all the time. Probably need to wait for spring anyway, so you can ventilate the house thouoghly, just to be on the safe side.

Oh, & WI, I hear that those big floor buffers, with just the right amount of tequila (taken internally, of course) make for a real fun ride...

[Oldfart]

Just a late thought, have you thought of just turning the boards over?

It's a big job, but not to the scale of full refinishing maybe.

[IowaMan]

You know, that's something I'd never even considered. I'm afraid I could probably make a bigger mess out of it trying to do that than by the simple refinishing though. It sounds like one of those, "In theory it's not that difficult just time consuming," things but given that I'm really not all that handy I'm sure I could really mess it up.

Keep the ideas coming though, I'm thinking it will be at least April before I actually start working on them. Contractor is putting in new windows (reframing and the whole nine yards) then (hopefully) and I sort of want to wait until all of that work is done before I hit the floors.

[Booger]

Keep the ideas coming though, I'm thinking it will be at least April before I actually start working on them. Contractor is putting in new windows (reframing and the whole nine yards) then (hopefully) and I sort of want to wait until all of that work is done before I hit the floors.

When they come to do your windows just tell them to take a couple day between taking them out and putting the new ones in this should give you plenty of ventilation. :roflmao:

[WildIrish]

:withstupi :D

[IowaMan]

:roflmao: Unfortunately I don't think I'll have to worry about that. The guys who are doing the work do a great job but speed isn't really their thing. They replaced the front and back entry doors to the house this past fall, in three days. :faint:

[Booger]

:withstupi :D


Hey I resemble that remark.

[scotzoidman]

For once I would have to disagree with OF (unless he was just yanking everyone's chain again)...turning the boards over would likely end up a huge disaster; if these are the typical oak floorboards used since the last half century, they are tongue-&-groove boards nailed tightly together beneath the surface, & the backsides are not flat nor are they finished...they have this molded groove down the middle to make sure they stay flat on the sub-floor even if they warp & cup a little...

[Oldfart]

Scotz,

The Jarrah floors my sister replaced about 10 years ago were perfectly symmetrical tongue and groove.

If the boards are fancy profiles, the simplest way to refinish them is to have a pro lift them and run them all through an electric plane to take off a few thousandths of an inch. This leaves you the equivalent of virgin boards to stain, wax estapol or fingerpaint as takes your fancy.

Good point, Scotx.

[scotzoidman]

I have heard great things about modern wood floor options, especially the pre-finished boards that friction fit together & left floating on the subfloor. I was assuming that IowaMan's home would be similar to mine, since he said he grew up in it, & the floors would likely be the old 1950s-60s grade materials. But since you bring it up, his best bet (if he can handle the expense) may well be to lay down new floors that don't require the sanding or finishing, thus avoiding the dust & fumes factor altogether. Myself, I couldn't bear the thought of covering up those old floors, installed by the last true craftsmen & intended to outlast the homeowners.

[IowaMan]

Nope Scotz you're not wrong, this is an old home and the floors have been in for quite some time. I really don't want to cover them up.