We know, we know; you love home improvement projects. You’re Home Depot’s favorite customer, and they all know you by name. You’re a whiz at replacing faucets, painting trim, installing new ceiling fans…the list goes on. But unless you’ve been specifically trained in wood floor refinishing, you’re taking a huge gamble with your investment. Here are three reasons why you should leave the wood floor refinishing to the experts.

One: Sanding the Floors Requires Special Skills.

Removing the old finish off your hardwood floors takes more than just getting a sander and sandpaper and going at it. Every finish calls for different grits of sandpaper—and sometimes several types per project—and you need to know which grit is best and safest for your particular finish. There are also specific sanding techniques you’d need to know in order to create a smooth finish that will accept the stain consistently. And finally, you have to be precise and avoid getting the sander on the baseboard or the wall. One misstep in any of these areas, and you’ve got nasty swirl marks on the floor, scratches on the baseboards, or a basically uneven finish that may not even show itself until you see how badly the stain takes.

Two: Using the Sanders Requires Training.

You might think you were born to use power tools—and we won’t argue the point—but the hand sanders, belt sanders and orbital sanders we use in floor refinishing are heavy, precision instruments that require some training and practice to use correctly. Mishandling the sanders can cause damage to the floor at best, and damage to your body at worst. Save yourself the risk of damage and/or injury and let a professional handle it.

Three: Applying the Stain and Sealant Isn’t as Easy as It Looks.

If you think your wood floors look bad now, just think how they would look with blotchy dark and light spots from stain that was applied unevenly. Likewise, you’ll want to apply a protective coating over the floor, and if you apply that unevenly, you’ll have noticeable clumps and irregularities, and you’ll basically have to sand it down and try again. Again, these tasks require skill, precision, and years of practice to get them right.

Bottom line: If you turn your wood floor refinishing into a DIY project, you’re running the risk of a floor that looks worse than when you started. Maybe you took on this project to save money, but considering you’ll probably need to hire a professional to fix what you broke, you’ll still end up spending more in the long run. Save yourself the trouble and protect your investment—hire a wood flooring professional to refinish your wood floors. You might not get to work the power tools, but you’ll save yourself a ton of regret.

If you’re thinking of refinishing your hardwood floors, our team of skilled craftsmen is ready to help. Give Renaissance a call today at 918-298-4477 for a free estimate.

The post Three Important Reasons NOT to Try Refinishing a Wood Floor Yourself appeared first on Renaissance Hardwood Floors.

By nature, any wood flooring installation or refinishing project is going to release extra dust. At Renaissance, we take extra care to minimize the effects of dust, but you still might want to take proactive steps to protect your more sensitive belongings. Here are some tips that may help.

Move Pieces Out of Reach of the Dust

With any hardwood floor installation or refinishing project, you’ll have to move all furniture out of the room so our craftsmen can work. However, moving sensitive pieces to another room might not be enough to protect them from dust in the air, especially if you have an open floor plan. For best results, try moving these pieces into a room with a door, away from the construction activity. Cover the gap under the door itself, and close the air vents to mitigate the dust coming into the area.

Cover Furniture with Blankets and Plastic

For additional protection, especially when it’s simply not feasible to seal off a room for your sensitive pieces, the next best thing is to cover those pieces with plastic. At the customer’s request, Renaissance will bring plastic sheeting to cover furniture and wall hangings for this purpose. With wood pieces, there may be an additional complication with humidity condensing under the plastic and getting your pieces damp. To keep this from happening, first cover the pieces with blankets or cloths, then place the plastic over the top. Try to make sure the pieces are covered all the way to the floor.

An Extra Precaution: Air Scrubbers

If you have numerous items that can’t be exposed to much dust, or if someone in the home is highly allergic, Renaissance can bring in air scrubbers—powerful devices that remove dust particles from the air. Strategically placed, these units placed can greatly reduce the dust output from your wood flooring project so you can rest easier. This equipment comes at an additional expense, so talk to us to get an estimate.

Obviously, no home is completely dust-free, and many of your pieces might not need this much protection. You’ll probably have to dust a little more often for the next couple of weeks after the project is complete, but for the most part you won’t see any change. However, if you’re concerned about protecting your most sensitive or costly pieces, taking these extra precautions should give you greater peace of mind. For any other questions about hardwood floor installation and refinishing in Tulsa, Jenks, Catoosa or surrounding areas of Green Country, call Renaissance Hardwood Flooring at 918-298-4477.

The post Hardwood Floor Installation/Refinishing: Protecting Sensitive Pieces from Dust appeared first on Renaissance Hardwood Floors.