Refinishing Hardwood Floors in Westchester

Hardwood Flooring refinishing in Westchester County – Everything you ever wanted to know about sanding your floors

 

Refinishing your hardwood floors can have a huge impact on your Westchester home.  You will be amazed at how refreshed your home will look…and the floors will look good as new. Many don’t realize that when you sand and refinish the floors, you have the option to change the color – you can go from dark to light or light to dark or anywhere in between.

 

If you have hardwood flooring underneath your carpet, you are in luck. Usually, refinishing and restoring the hardwood will cost LESS than recarpeting. And, most homeowners prefer the look and feel of hardwood. Not only will it improve your home’s value, but they are much easier to clean and maintain.

Please note that this article may contain affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.

How does the hardwood refinishing process work?

First, all the furniture and all items need to be moved off of the floor. Sometimes, our customers move the furniture; other times they prefer to have us move it. If there is carpet to remove, we take care of that as well. We put plastic around all of the areas that will not be sanded. We then sand the floors 3 times…each time with finer and finer grits so that the wood looks like raw hardwood again and the pores are open to accept the stain and polyurethane.  We use edgers to help around the edge of the room.

 

From there, we apply a stain (if you want to stain the floors) or if you are going natural, we add on a coat of polyurethane. After this has dried, we add on another coat of polyurethane, and after that has dried, we buff the floors and add on another coat of polyurethane. During that entire time, you can not walk on the floors nor have any furniture on the floor. For this reason, it’s ideal to do this work either BEFORE you move in or while you are away (not to mention that it is messy and it smells). See below of for a link on how long the process takes as well as the different types of polyurethane (the different types have different drying times and it’s important that you plan ahead).

 

The sanding machines have bags attached to capture most of the sawdust (similar to a lawn mower), and we vacuum in between each coat.  It’s important that while the refinishing process is going on and it’s drying that no other work is happening elsewhere in the house.  If so, dust created by other workers can easily settle in the stain and polyurethane.
If you have pet stains (or water stains) on your hardwood, we can help you fix that. Usually, the hardwood can be replaced and woven in, and after you refinish the hardwood floors, it will look good as new.

 

We offer dustless sanding and refinishing – Westchester NY

Many of our customers prefer the dustless refinishing as it’s much cleaner and neater. It’s especially good if you are already living in your home, and if one of your family members is sensitive to dust or has asthma. Dustless sanding does cost a bit more than the standard method, so we will often price out both options for our customers.

 

Choosing a stain color for your hardwood floors in Westchester County.

We help our customers choose colors by providing guidance on colors that are in style and will go with your overall style and decor.  We usually test 3 stain colors for our customers so that they feel comfortable with the decision.  It’s much better to test the stain on your own floors…the same stain color can look different in different homes, pending on the species of hardwood, the grade of wood as well as its age and based on the lighting in the home.  Wood naturally has color variation, so some boards will come out lighter and some darker, so going off a single stain chip can be misleading…it’s much better to see it on a larger section of your own floor.

 

For more info on hardwood stain colors, check out these 2 blog posts.  You can also visit minwax.com to see the full stain color range.

• Hardwood Flooring Stain color trends
• Dark hardwood flooring in Westchester

 

 

Frequently asked questions about Hardwood floor refinishing in Westchester County

• How long does it take to refinish hardwood flooring?
  
• Which type of polyurethane is better: oil based or water based polyurethane?
• Can you change the color of your hardwood floors?
• Is it better to paint first or do the floors first?
  
• How to prevent scratches in your hardwood floors
• Should I replace my hardwood floors or replace them?
  

If you live in Westchester County NY, I offer color consultations to advise customers on paint colors and stain choices. My designer discount at the paint stores usually more than offsets the cost for the hour consultation. Read more here. Due to popular demand, I’m now offering phone consultations as well.

Complementary products that will prolong the life of your hardwood floors

• Bona hardwood floor cleaner
• Felt pads to protect floors
• Office chair mat
• Doggie Socks
  

  Refinishing Hardwood Floors in Westchester

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