How to Refinishing Hardwood Floors – DIY Guide

Introduction

Visually appealing, durable long lasting hardwood floors enhance the features of your home and make it elegant. However, time and use diminish that splendid finish to an eyesore before long. If that day comes, refinishing hardwood is a wonderful way of fixing the problem. But you need to think of the refinishing cost.

A lot many varied factors make up the price and so the charge can change from project to project. Getting expert professionals, materials cost, do it yourself, condition of your flooring, all are important in understanding the cost of the project. So the question is :- should you give out a contract or do it by yourself? We need to compare the refinishing hardwood floors cost difference and see which approach is good here.

Budget Briefing

Refinishing hardwood floor is worth the effort as it can work in favor of increasing the worth as well as the overall look of the property. However, this project can go over the estimated budget in a jiffy as there are a multitude of variables available to choose from and you may stretch yourself going in for the best of the lot. Calculating refinishing hardwood floors cost will be very important or else you find yourself running around scrounging to meet the costs. It can be beneficial if you work on a quote given by a professional, weaving your budget around it, if you have no skill or experience in this matter.

Also, at the onset you need to figure out the condition of your floor. If the floors are shiny enough and not much wear shows around, your flooring is in a fairly positive condition, and your floors might need a layer of top coat to bring back that glow. The refinishing hardwood floors cost thus works to somewhere in the range of a $1 to a $1.50 per sq. ft. but, if the wear & tear is considerable, it would be approximately two to five dollars per sq. ft. approximately. You will have to pay extra if floor calls for repair & additional services are expected.

Understanding Refinishing Hardwood Floors Cost

You need to aware that the prices given by stores will be higher than quotation from contractors; however, price is not everything. Having your floors re-finished can be a real hassle if done by yourself and there are a lot of services that many refinishing contractors give that can make the process easier on you. Most refinishing hardwood floors cost from refinishing companies can be done in two installments. First you have to make a deposit and you can pay the remaining amount after the job is finished to your satisfaction. If you hire a contractor, make sure you get detailed quotes of what they services they can offer you.

Outsourced

Most of the refinishers who excel in hardwood floor charge their clients on basis of the floor space that needs to be redone. Should you hire a professional to complete the work for you though it is going to increase the refinishing hardwood floors cost; it is not recommended to sand and refinish your floors on your own unless you have the experience. This can be from $3.75 to about $5 per sq. ft., including the labor charge, so an average room (15×15) will then cost you approximately in the range of $850 to $1125. The expertise of the refinishing expert also determines how this cost will increase or decrease. If you consider completing the project on your own, then you can simply deduct the labor and contractor charges.

This cost charged by the refinishing contractor is inclusive of the price for stuffing the vents and the doors. Also included is the charge for the space that has to be sanded with sheets of plastic, removing any existing finish while sanding floors and preparing the wood for the finish absorption, any small wood repairs, finishing as well as staining the floors. The better condition that your hardwood floor is in, lower the total cost you are going to incur. For example, if you had a room that is 15×15 the wood floor refinishing cost should be at least $340 – $900, that if you do most of the work yourself. If you hire a contractor to do it, refinishing hardwood floors cost should figure at about $850- $1125.

Additional expenses

There are other aspects to this project that add up to the refinishing hardwood floors cost. All the furniture from floors needing refinish must be cleared up. You can do this by yourself or have the refinishing companies do this. They will remove the furniture before the project and later move it in after the work is finished. They charge anything from about $0.25 to $0.50 per sq. ft. Others tend to charge a rate in the band of approx. $100 -$200, which is dependent on the floor space of the area to be worked upon. Also, there is a matter of cleaning up after all the finishing and the sanding is done. You can do it yourself, or have the contractor take care of it for a fee.

Also, if you want to give your wood floor an old school orientation, or you choose to modernize your old hardwood floors, you are eyeing a customized job. The price in such instances will shoot upwards. The charge to redo the finish on hardwood floors with custom drawn outputs can get you billed anywhere from $4 to $6 per sq. ft., depending on technicality of the job involved, and the finish you would like to see.

Do it By Yourself Project…

If you want to refinish the floors yourself, you will need patience and will be rewarded with a lot in savings.

Since most of the tools used for this project will not be used frequently anywhere else in the house, it would not make sense to buy them and keep it. Most people elect to rent out specialty equipment found at hardware rentals and tend to purchase standard tools. Do it yourself refinishing hardwood floors cost will be in the approximation of 250$.

The specialty equipment that you need to hire include a drum sander, needed to do all the sanding job which can cost you about $40 – $50 for a day’s time and an Edge sander, that lets you get to the edges, corners that the drum sander may not be able to reach which may cost $20 – $30 for a day. You will also need to buy some regular tools that you may need in the future like paint rollers, claw hammers, nail set, and an extension pole so as to put the varnish. The roller covers can be inexpensive at about $4 – $7. The pole can set you back by about $5 – $40, based on its material and length. Clear varnish or liquid based polyurethane can be purchased for $8 – $10. The wood stain being optional is available for the same cost. Shop vacuums are powerful than any standard vacuum based cleaners, will cost anything between $70 and approx. $160. In the finishing stage, you will need a pack of cotton rags for cleaning; these retail for $4 to about $11.

In light of this presentation on different approaches to refinishing hardwood floors cost, you can decide on what suits you best and work away to a brand new floor.