Wooden flooring is hardwearing, attractive, and sensible – a style trifecta that means wood flooring tips (from herringbone and parquet to simply just laid planks) are a design and style typical in all manner of homes, irrespective of whether that is an urban loft or a rural farmhouse.
But what if the shine is coming off your floorboards, and the floor is starting to clearly show some use and tear? Sanding may perhaps appear the clear remedy when you’re wanting to refinish hardwood floors to retain them in very good issue. Sanding eliminates the best surface of the wood to reveal the contemporary timber beneath, but this is a critical – and very seriously messy – occupation, that most likely isn’t required. As an alternative, recoating the wood could restore the finish, beauty, and longevity of your flooring, with a fraction of the hard work and disruption.
‘Recoating is a good way to restore the appear of your hardwood without a total sand down. It’s the approach of introducing a new topcoat of complete to an current wooden ground complete,’ explains Brett Miller, vice president, Technological Standards, Schooling, and Certification at the Countrywide Wooden Flooring Affiliation (opens in new tab).
‘One of the gains of serious wooden flooring is that nearly all wooden flooring, whether pre-finished or internet site finished, solid or engineered, can be recoated. The trick is guaranteeing the new complete will adhere to the existing complete. The sheen of the floor can be modified by way of a recoat, but the coloration will continue to be the very same.’
How to restore wood flooring: the expert check out
(Picture credit score: Woodworks by Ted Todd)
Typically speaking, wooden flooring can be restored without sanding by recoating, applying both mechanical or chemical strategies. These can be utilized across wooden flooring suggestions for a living area, wooden floors for a bed room, kitchen area flooring and splash-safe and sound wooden toilet flooring.
‘Mechanical adhesion is a recoat approach that includes physically buffing, or lightly abrading a wood ground. This is also referred to as a “Monitor and Recoat”,’ describes Brett Miller, vice president at the National Wood Flooring Affiliation. ‘This procedure will involve flippantly abrading the area complete, leaving guiding micro-scratches in the existing end which let the new coat of finish to bond to the old coat.
‘Chemical adhesion is a recoat system that will involve using an adhesion promoter, or a bonding agent, that sticks to the present complete and enables a new topcoat to adhere to it – variety of like utilizing double-sided tape.’
Brett Miller is Vice President, Technical Standards, Training, and Certification, at The Nationwide Wood Flooring Association, an worldwide not-for-gain trade association symbolizing all segments of the hardwood flooring market.
What to take into consideration in advance of restoring a hardwood ground with out sanding
(Picture credit score: The Reclaimed Flooring Corporation)
There are a number of factors to look at when recoating any wood ground, in particular if never strategy to sand back again the boards to eliminate hurt and stains.
‘If the ground has seen dents, use designs or long-lasting cupping, recoating may well not be a viable alternative, and a comprehensive sand down might be your only solution to restore the finish,’ describes flooring expert Brett Miller.
‘Dents, gouges, and scratches might be recoated, but will even now keep on being in the flooring floor and might grow to be much more evident right after the new coating has been applied.’
How to get ready your ground to get the greatest complete
(Image credit rating: Genevieve Lutkin)
In order to restore a hardwood ground without the need of sanding, and achieve a skilled-search complete in the approach, the wood must be totally clean and easy just before any new coating is utilized. Wax, grease, and residue from cleaning solutions can all have an effect on how effectively any contemporary polish or lacquer adheres to the surface area of the wooden.
‘Floors that have experienced the wrong servicing merchandise used to them may perhaps not be candidates for a recoat,’ says Brett Miller. ‘At the Nationwide Wood Flooring Affiliation, we advise making use of a wood ground cleaner encouraged by the ground manufacturer. For illustration, Bruce (opens in new tab) creates hardwood flooring and has a line of floorcare products (opens in new tab) that could be beneficial in this lookup.
‘Cleaning merchandise that might be problematic usually incorporate descriptive conditions these kinds of as “refreshes, restores, rejuvenates, polishes, renews, renovates, shines…” These phrases are indicative of including some thing international to the area of the flooring, which means these solutions may well interfere with a new topcoat adhering.’
How to restore a hardwood floor devoid of sanding: phase by stage
With a minimal preparation and know-how, it is attainable to restore the hardwood floors in your dwelling without having sanding down the surface. We questioned carpenter Matt Hagens, founder of Obsessed Woodworking (opens in new tab) to share his abilities with move-by-step guidelines.
‘As a wooden skilled, I have experienced the opportunity to perform on a lot of hardwood flooring restoration projects about the decades,’ he suggests. ‘One project that stands out in my head is a dwelling that experienced been sitting down vacant for a number of several years. The flooring were being uninteresting and scratched, with stains and discoloration in several locations. The house owners were anxious that they would need to sand the flooring, which would be high priced and time-consuming. Nevertheless, I was equipped to demonstrate them that there are a number of efficient approaches to restore hardwood flooring without having sanding.’
Matt will work on home furnishings jobs, as properly as large-scale renovation assignments working with carpentry and woodworking.
1. Clear the surface of your hardwood floors
One particular of the to start with actions in restoring hardwood floors devoid of sanding is to comprehensively thoroughly clean the surface area.
‘This can be finished by working with a gentle detergent and h2o, or a specialised hardwood floor cleaner,’ indicates carpenter Matt Hagens.
‘It is important to eliminate any dirt, dust, or grime that may perhaps have accumulated on the surface. This will aid to brighten the colour of the wood and make it less difficult to see the present scratches and stains.’
2. Fill any scratches on the ground floor
Following, it is critical to deal with any scratches or stains on the area.
‘For gentle scratches, a straightforward coat of wax can be used to fill in the destruction,’ claims Matt Hagens. ‘For further scratches, a wood filler can be utilized to fill in the spot and then sanded down right until it is flush with the surrounding wooden.’
3. Polish and finish the flooring
After the area is cleaned and repaired, it is time to polish and complete the flooring.
‘This can be completed by making use of a hardwood ground polish or a specialized buffing machine,’ describes Matt. ‘The essential is to use a light contact and to function in small sections at a time. This will assist to distribute the polish evenly and stop any buildup of surplus materials.
‘Restoring hardwood floors with out sanding is an helpful and value-economical way to provide new life to your flooring. By pursuing the good techniques and tips, you can reach a beautiful, experienced-searching complete that will final for yrs to appear.’
What errors may well I make when restoring a hardwood flooring with no sanding?
One widespread miscalculation that is manufactured when restoring hardwood floors without the need of sanding is to use as well much polish or end.
‘This can result in a cloudy or hazy visual appeal that is challenging to get rid of,’ clarifies carpenter Matt Hagens. ‘To stay away from this, it is crucial to use the advisable volume of polish or complete and to work in tiny sections.
A different mistake that is often created is to neglect the worth of vacuuming and sweeping the flooring just before restoring. This can consequence in little particles of filth and dust remaining embedded in the end, which can lead to discoloration and unevenness in the complete.’
How can I clean up and maintain a hardwood ground?
‘Routine maintenance ought to be all you need with wooden floors – each day sweeping, vacuuming on the bare ground placing about the moment per week and applying a moist mop with the correct cleansing solution regular,’ advises Brett Miller from the Countrywide Wood Flooring Affiliation.
But when it will come to how to thoroughly clean hardwood floors, the style of finish on the flooring can dictate which style of mop is suitable to use.
‘The mop ought to be a little moistened and very well-wrung out, making certain the quantity of moisture left on the floor area is minimum,’ Brett says. ‘When employing spray mops, use only high-top quality spray mops that offer higher management about the quantity of remedy that is applied, and that will come with super-absorbent, disposable, or washable pads that eliminate the cleansing alternative and soil from the floor’s surface area.
‘Never use a steam mop on a wood ground. The steam can vacation further and more quickly in between the cracks and into the cells of the wooden. Repeated use can permanently injury the wood and the floor’s end.’
