I was feeling ambitious today and decided to rip up the playroom carpet by myself. The hardwoods underneath are 75 years old, but in otherwise decent condition. I've never refinished hardwoods before, so I'm not sure what I'm in for. Has anyone ever done this? Any tips? I'm wanting to tear out the carpet in the hall too but I want to make sure I can handle one room first!
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You go girl! I don't have any tips, I have re-done everything in my house except for the floors! You definitely have a good plan to start with only 1 room though
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YHL has done some refinishing before.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/01/floor-refinishing-101/Good luck!
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That is impressive! I hope you post how it turns out in the end - I'd love to rip up our hallway carpet!
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@Bao: are you doing it yourself or hiring someone?
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We've done it. It's a pain in the butt but worth it if you have time. It took a while for the different sanding stages and then a few days for the poly to dry.
My only advice would be to do it all at once and seal off any spaces you aren't going to be doing all because the dust goes everywhere. -
@Bao: wow! I am impressed you ripped up the carpet today! I don't know anything about refinishing but I want to see before and after photos! I feel like you guys are always doing home improvement projects! I wish I had as much motivation as you!
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@Mrs. Jump Rope: we will be doing it ourselves.
@yellowbird: oh yeah we are always doing something but our house was a fixer upper when we bought it, the previous owners didn't show it any love!
@Ocean girl: I'll do before and afters!Thanks everyone I'm excited for the end result!
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@Bao: you can rent equipment... I'd look for a dustless system!
Also try looking for how-TOS on the NWFA website (national wood floor association)
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@Bao: we did this to our whole house last summer! Totally doable
Some tips:rent an orbital sander from a home improvement store...if you do on a wkend go right when they open, they go quick! Also make sure to get one that sucks up the dust as you go.
You'll also need to get a small had sander so you can do the edges. Make sure to get lots of the sandpaper refills!
I also recommend buying plastic so you can seal off your area, dust gets crazy. After sanding, there will still be some dust on the floor so make sure to thoroughly go over it with sticky cloths to get every stray fuzz, hair, dust, etc.
We just did 3 coats of polyurethane after that. But, you could always stain the wood before you poly too if you don't like the color.
Warning: the poly can smell pretty strong so you may want to sleep/spend the day elsewhere as it's drying!
Let me know of any other questions! Its worth the work....so beautiful in the end!
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@winter_wonder: wow! Thanks for all of the tips, I'm tired just thinking about it ;)@Mrs. Jump Rope: alright I will, thank you!
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