well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused



any good ideas will be appreciated

If your going two coats, you'll need three or four days before you can put
down rugs and furniture. First day sand, prep, and first coat. Second day
second coat. Third day dry to light walking. Fourth or fifth day for fully
dry.

It might be a good project to send the Mrs away for a couple of days. It's a
mess and the smell is substantial.

Are you looking to do it yourself or bring in a crew?

Bernie

wrote in message
...
well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused



any good ideas will be appreciated

On Jul 10, 6:14�pm, "Bernie Hunt" wrote:
If your going two coats, you'll need three or four days before you can put
down rugs and furniture. First day sand, prep, and first coat. Second day
second coat. Third day dry to light walking. Fourth or fifth day for fully
dry.

It might be a good project to send the Mrs away for a couple of days. It's a
mess and the smell is substantial.

Are you looking to do it yourself or bring in a crew?

Bernie

wrote in message

...



well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused

any good ideas will be appreciated- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Havent decided if its a DIY project/

home depot wants a 100 bucks a day for the sander rental, the
oscillating type.

doing one or two rooms at a time could be very costly.

our dogs have never been in a kennel, puddle our oldest wouldnt eat or
drink in the disney kennel as a day guest, sassy our rescue dog freaks
going to groomer. kennel is bad idea. and no family around who likes
dogs and has fenced yard.

I favor the install door to backyard, me and dogs could live in
basement while work goes on. We have fenced yard,

my wife has asthma, she will likely need a vacation , poly stink would
liprobably cause her breathing troubles.

my problem is dust from dogs, access to key areas in home, like
bathroom and kitchen.

camping out in basement fixes all this.

my wife thinks door to backyard is overkill.........

wonder what pros charge for floor refinishing?

On Jul 10, 5:40 pm, " wrote:
On Jul 10, 6:14�pm, "Bernie Hunt" wrote:



If your going two coats, you'll need three or four days before you can put
down rugs and furniture. First day sand, prep, and first coat. Second day
second coat. Third day dry to light walking. Fourth or fifth day for fully
dry.

It might be a good project to send the Mrs away for a couple of days. It's a
mess and the smell is substantial.

Are you looking to do it yourself or bring in a crew?

Bernie

wrote in message

....

well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused

any good ideas will be appreciated- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Havent decided if its a DIY project/

home depot wants a 100 bucks a day for the sander rental, the
oscillating type.

Boy, are they proud of their sander. :-)

Unless they are deep scratches, I don't see why you couldn't use paint
or varnish stripper.

Good luck.

wrote in message
...
well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.


Read both of your posts.

Do at least one floor at a time (economy of scale).

Three days from sanding to sock walking. A week to restore furniture with
padding. 30 days for normal traffic. Up to a year to handle normal scuffs
and scrapes. This isn't what the floor people will tell you but it is the
way it really is.

Best bet is to take a small trip and let them do their thing. Dust and
smells are a problem for most people. Oil based poly is worst for smells.

OTOH, you may find that a nice coat of mop and glow looks real good on what
you uncover.

Colbyt

The buffer isn't made for refinishing its made for buffing. You need a
drum machine. This isn't an easy project per say.

The grit order is

36

60

110-150

You don't go again the grain of course. You should seriously ask
experts on this.

you can ruin a floor in just a few seconds

Don't use stripper either, that will ruin the floor as well.


Visit my website www.totalflooring.org and make some post under
hardwood refinishing and I can walk you through it with picture
diagrams.

wrote in message
Havent decided if its a DIY project/

home depot wants a 100 bucks a day for the sander rental, the
oscillating type.

doing one or two rooms at a time could be very costly.


************************************************** ******

I'd talk to a pro at that rental rate. My guess is that you can break it
down into two steps and have each portion out of the way in three days.
Move the furniture to one half of the house. do those rooms and let the
floor cure for a week, then do the other half. Pros run into these things
all the time and probably have some idea on how to get around it all.
Hardest part is moving all the furniture. They may even know a
rent-a-teenager to help with that portion.

On Jul 10, 4:58*pm, " wrote:
well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused

any good ideas will be appreciated

You're getting some sketchy information, and from the sound of some of
it I'd think the responders haven't refinished a floor in years or
decades. I'm particularly surprised that the totalfloor guy is so far
off base - then again, maybe not.

The oscillating sander that Home Depot rents is a U-Sand orbital, it
is not a buffer.
http://www.u-sand.com It is not as aggressive as a drum sander, but
a DIYer will have a hard time screwing up a floor with the U-Sand.
The sandpaper is more expensive, but it's cheaper than chewing up a
wood and putting waves into a nice floor. You can sand right up to
the wall and have a minimal amount of hand scraping to do, with no
edge sander rental required. It is a good machine and almost entirely
dustless. Do not ever underestimate the importance of dust collection
when sanding a floor. The dust will ruin your finish and you'll be
cleaning dust off of your stuff for weeks.

There is no reason to use an oil finish unless you are matching one,
and even then there are tricks. Water-based finishes will put you
back into your rooms days earlier. http://www.hallshardwood.com/refinish.htm
There's a typo on that page - they mean Trek _or_ Traffic as their two
preferred finishes. I've used both, I like the Trek. Here's the
manufacturer's info:
http://www.lastnlast.com/CDtrekplus.html
Some places say they'll only sell the stuff to professionals as it
dries very quickly, so you definitely have to stay on top of it, but
you can buy it if you check around. The stuff is not cheap. It is
worth it.
http://www.abbotpaint.com/itemDetail...ish%2 0GALLON

There's no problem at all in putting down two or three coats in a
day. Do not put down just two coats of finish. At the very least you
should put down three. Some people use a sealer as a first coat to
save a bit on the expense, but I prefer to just stick with the two-
part catalyzed polyurethane. This is what the Trek instructions say
about curing:
"CURING: The curing process takes approximately 7 days (75% cured
after 1 day, 90% after 3 days). Do not replace rugs until the floor
has fully cured. The floor may be walked on after 24 hours, but the
floor is susceptible to scuffing or marring, prior to completion of
the curing time. Do not clean with water or detergent during the
first week."

I do not know what your skill and energy level is, so I'm not sure if
doing such a large job makes sense for you. Clearing a house of
furniture is the biggest part of the job. Keeping a wet edge is very
important as any stoppage or drips will show through all subsequent
coats. Breaking it down into manageable bites is a must - separate
floors at a time at the very least. If you have door saddles between
rooms or other places where you can take a break it will make it a lot
easier to do.

The only way to determine if it makes sense for you to tackle this is
to get some contractor prices for the whole job, and figure your costs
if you DIY. If the difference isn't thousands, I don't think I'd DIY.

R

On Jul 11, 12:19�am, RicodJour wrote:
On Jul 10, 4:58�pm, " wrote:





well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.

well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about
this........

we have 3 active smaller dogs with 2 doggie doors. bath on second
floor, home full of furniture and stuff.

wife says do one room at a time, which ignores hallway will put entire
floor out of service anyway.

hiring a contractor to do one or two rooms at a time, or renting
sander for many days will be costly.

my idea was add door from basement to back yard, something i always
wanted anyway.

then we and dogs live in basement why upstairs is refinished and let
dry.

how long does poly floors need to sit unused

any good ideas will be appreciated

You're getting some sketchy information, and from the sound of some of
it I'd think the responders haven't refinished a floor in years or
decades. �I'm particularly surprised that the totalfloor guy is so far
off base - then again, maybe not.

The oscillating sander that Home Depot rents is a U-Sand orbital, it
is not a buffer.http://www.u-sand.com� �It is not as aggressive as a drum sander, but
a DIYer will have a hard time screwing up a floor with the U-Sand.
The sandpaper is more expensive, but it's cheaper than chewing up a
wood and putting waves into a nice floor. �You can sand right up to
the wall and have a minimal amount of hand scraping to do, with no
edge sander rental required. �It is a good machine and almost entirely
dustless. �Do not ever underestimate the importance of dust collection
when sanding a floor. �The dust will ruin your finish and you'll be
cleaning dust off of your stuff for weeks.

There is no reason to use an oil finish unless you are matching one,
and even then there are tricks. �Water-based finishes will put you
back into your rooms days earlier. �http://www.hallshardwood.com/refinish.htm
There's a typo on that page - they mean Trek _or_ Traffic as their two
preferred finishes. �I've used both, I like the Trek. �Here's the
manufacturer's info:http://www.lastnlast.com/CDtrekplus.html
Some places say they'll only sell the stuff to professionals as it
dries very quickly, so you definitely have to stay on top of it, but
you can buy it if you check around. �The stuff is not cheap. �It is
worth it.http://www.abbotpaint.com/itemDetail...20Plus%20Comme...

There's no problem at all in putting down two or three coats in a
day. �Do not put down just two coats of finish. �At the very least you
should put down three. �Some people use a sealer as a first coat to
save a bit on the expense, but I prefer to just stick with the two-
part catalyzed polyurethane. �This is what the Trek instructions say
about curing:
"CURING: �The curing process takes approximately 7 days (75% cured
after 1 day, 90% after 3 days). �Do not replace rugs until the floor
has fully cured. �The floor may be walked on after 24 hours, but the
floor is susceptible to scuffing or marring, prior to completion of
the curing time. �Do not clean with water or detergent during the
first week."

I do not know what your skill and energy level is, so I'm not sure if
doing such a large job makes sense for you. �Clearing a house of
furniture is the biggest part of the job. �Keeping a wet edge is very
important as any stoppage or drips will show through all subsequent
coats. �Breaking it down into manageable bites is a must - separate
floors at a time at the very least. �If you have door saddles between
rooms or other places where you can take a break it will make it a lot
easier to do.

The only way to determine if it makes sense for you to tackle this is
to get some contractor prices for the whole job, and figure your costs
if you DIY. �If the difference isn't thousands, I don't think I'd DIY.

R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

THANKS FOR ALL THE USEFUL INFO!

some floors are darkened in areas from urine stains, I have been told
these can be bleached to lighten them.

but I was also told urine stains should be coated with oil base poly,
to seal in any odor.

previously i did some floor refinishing at my moms home, she and hubby
were incontenient.

sanded all floors and used oil poly on them and bin primer sealer.

the syink smelly house never had a urine odor again.

I was old that water based poly could soften and odors reoccur

The Clarke Square Buff or Oscillating Sander Isn't for Sanding the
wood down to natural wood again; however it can be used for taking
lines and marks out of the floor made by more aggressive sanding
machines and paper. Its best applications are to buff the first coat
of poly before you put others on or to work in the stain. You can try
to use it but every time I've seen someone use that to "sand" a floor
they spend a ton of money and time and still do not even get through
the old poly. And still call a pro.

Perhaps you should think about contacting a company just for sanding.
They would charge you a reasonable rate. Quite a bit less then for a
total refinish. The Staining and poly application are a breeze.

Always off based @ www.totalflooring.org

On Jul 11, 8:57�am, bill wrote:
The Clarke Square Buff or Oscillating Sander Isn't for Sanding the
wood down to natural wood again; however it can be used for taking
lines and marks out of the floor made by more aggressive sanding
machines and paper. Its best applications are to buff the first coat
of poly before you put others on or to work in the stain. You can try
to use it but every time I've seen someone use that to "sand" a floor
they spend a ton of money and time and still do not even get through
the old poly. And still call a pro.

Perhaps you should think about contacting a company just for sanding.
They would charge you a reasonable rate. Quite a bit less then for a
total refinish. The Staining and poly application are a breeze.

Always off based @www.totalflooring.org



old finish must be varnish, mostly worn off.

home built in 1950 doubt floors ever refinished, we have lived here
since 1972.

Is the polyurethane/top cot worn off solely or does the ware go all
the way to the wood, how dark are the urine stains?