Wooden floors are a great feature that you often find in older properties. They look so much better than the fake wood laminate that you can get, but they also get worn a lot quicker. From time to time, you’ll need to give them a bit of an overhaul. You could call in somebody to do it but there’s really no need to pay out all of that money. With a bit of hard work, you can do it yourself in a weekend. If you’re not sure how read this quick guide to restoring your wooden floors.
Refurbishing Wooden Floors
Remove The Skirting
If the skirting around the edges of the floor is looking a bit tired, you can skip this step because you’ll be sanding and repainting that as well. But if it’s looking in good shape, you need to remove it, otherwise, you’ll end up damaging it and creating more work for yourself. Get a small crowbar and gently pry it away from the wall. Do it slowly and take care so you don’t damage the wall behind it. Use a wooden board to lever against, so you aren’t wrecking the paintwork on the wall behind it.
Fix The Squeaks
There’s nothing more annoying than a squeaky floor so you should take this opportunity to fix them. Walk around the room and identify any boards that are a bit loose or squeaky. Then take a nail and fix the board back in. Make sure that you’re nailing it into the joists, not the just the under flooring, otherwise, they’ll come up again in no time. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to get going on the floor properly.
Sanding
Before you start sanding, get some polythene sheets (you can buy them from any good hardware store) and fix them around the doorways to contain the dust. Then you’ll need to get an electric sander, you can hire one or buy one. You’ll need it again in future if you plan to stay in the house for a long time so you may as well get your own. Start with a low grit sandpaper (check out https://home.howstuffworks.com/difference-between-grits-sandpaper.htm for a guide to sandpaper grit) like 60 or 80. Sand the entire floor and then hoover away all of the dust. Then do it again with a fine sandpaper (something like 100 grit). Then clean up again, making sure to get rid of all the dust.
Finishing
All that sanding should have removed the scratches and bumps, so now you’re ready to finish. There are plenty of different things you can use; wood stain, linseed oil, walnut oil etc. But if you want something more environmentally friendly, you should use tung oil. It gives a great finish and it dries quicker than those others so it’ll save you time. Check out https://www.realmilkpaint.com/blog/tutorials-videos/beginners-guide-pure-tung-oil/ for a guide on how to use it. Let the finish dry properly before going back into the room and you’re almost done.
Look After It Properly
Now that you’ve spent the time refinishing the floor, and realized that it’s pretty hard work, you want to avoid doing it again for as long as possible. You need to know how to spot the signs of damage and avoid them as far as possible. Try to keep it as clean as possible, without using strong chemicals, and avoid any scratches on there.
Follow these steps and you can make your tired old wooden floors look beautiful and elegant.
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