Hello from Hotel Vitale in San Francisco!
I’m here for the weekend with a few other bloggers, and many of them live here. It was fun over dinner last night, getting the inside scoop about all the great things this beautiful city has to offer. We’ve thought about moving to San Francisco a few times over the past couple years. Maybe down the road in a few years (if Brooklyn doesn’t work out for us)…
Speaking of Brooklyn, this weekend I’m trying to figure out if we should refinish the wood floors of the brownstone ourselves or if we should hire it out. If we’re going to do it, I feel like we need to do it first thing, before we move anything in the house.
I have a meeting next week with my contractor, just to get a sense from him how much it would cost to get some of the bigger projects professionally done. In the meantime I need to get online and do some research on DIY floor refinishing. The current reddy stain bugs me, but honestly – it’s not *that* bad. I do think a new stain would help the house feel more finished and updated. Less…70s. But we’ll have rugs in most rooms, so maybe this is a place where we should save our money.
Have you refinished your own floors? Or maybe you went with a professional service and you were glad you did? I’d love to hear about it as we’re weighing out our options.
Have a lovely weekend! See you Monday. xx
I'm super excited to watch as you renovate the brownstone!
I've thought about refinishing my own floors many times because I'm always working with a tiny budget, but decided that I'll hire a professional when I'm ready to do it. Every single one of my friends who have attempted it themselves has regretted it, and sworn they would never do it again. It's not only really messy, but it takes finesse. I would try a small room first before tackling a large brownstone.
I definitely think you should get them refinished though. A bad stain color isn't something that grows on you. You still won't like it next year!
my floors were very similar to the ones in the pic. we had them refinished & to me, it was SO worth it. my wood floors are my favorite part of the house. we went a bit darker & i'll never be able to get beautiful floors like this in another house. it wasn't terribly expensive. just make sure to have it done before you move in as it creates a mess like you've never seen!
http://ohhhsolovely.blogspot.com/
We pulled up carpet in the bedrooms and hallways and had them professionally refinished to match the hardwoods in the front of our home (LR, Den, Kitchen.) We did it before we moved in. BEST DECISION EVER.
As a financial compromise, though, we refinished the bedrooms in Golden Pecan to match the rest of the house. It's not as red as your floors, but still more yellow than the darker walnut floors that are popular (and lovely) lately.
I can live with the shade of my floors (click for pics), but if you really dislike yours, or if the undertones will throw off your decor ideas, go ahead and do it because there is NO WAY you will move out to re do them all again. You'd move to San Fran first!
1st did them ourselves…all 1200 sq foot.
Never looked like a professional job and it was horrible and we swore never to do it again.
Have had them done professionally 3 times (in 2 different homes) and the look is so much better.
Always have it done before you move in, we have learned that lesson also!!
We bought our former house from a woman with three big dogs and a dog door; the floors were trashed! So, we had them refinished before we moved in and I'm so glad we did this. Our new house has almost-newly refinished floors, but a kitchen reno with a new layout will necessitate another refinish and I DREAD it! But, the new kitchen will mostly make up for the pain of essentially moving all over again :o)
A professional job is so much better. The equipment you can rent is really not suitable for bigger jobs and it's very easy to damage the wood during sanding. We have also found that the finishes you can purchase are not as durable.
We did it ourselves about 6 years ago but this time around we'll hire a professional.
Go pro! It is such a big job and smelly too- the dust and chemicals are terrible for you, I think it is so worth paying for. Its not terribly expensive either. Plan on having it done a few weeks before you move if you can because the smell really lingers and you cant put rugs or big furniture down right away. Our most recent reno included refinishing the whole house and we went with an espresso color. I LOVE it but it really requires sweeping/vaccuming daily because every speck shows.
Have the professionals do it, but definitely do it! Our old house had floors that same color, and when we moved into our current home, it also had that same color stain. We had these floors re-finished in a really beautiful dark mixture of jacobean and ebony and I LOVE them and get so many compliments! It really transformed our home! And then if you really love your floors you might do fewer rugs…save a little money there, and spend it on the hardwoods. You won't regret it!
Looks like oak floors, yes? Have a professional refinisher come out and look at them. Odds are the poly coating protecting the floor has just burnished over time. You might be able to get away with rescreening, which is basically removing old poly and putting new coating on. It's an inexpensive fix.
First off – LOVE your blog! We just purchased a new-to-us split level house that definitely needed major updating to bring it back to this decade. We have "red oak" floors which apparently only accept a certain level of darker stain. We wanted to get them as dark as possible which after some research ended up involving "popping the grain" (have them sanded down and water put over the grain to allow the wood to accept a greater about of stain) In looking at what it would take in terms of both time and money to do 2000 sq feet on our own, we decided to go with a professional. For us, after taking into account rental costs alone it only cost roughly $700 more. Could be a different cost scenario in New York, but definitely worth it in the Midwest :) Also, everyone we talked to said to do it before you move in, and I'm SOOO thankful we did as there was still quite alot of dust and stain to clean up after the fact, even with their "less dust" system. This also allowed us to be a little more reckless about our painting which we did before the floors, and crown molding installation (also pre floors)
You can save some money by taking off the baseboards (if you plan on replacing those or refinishing them) which is what we did.
Good luck!
http://www.thenewlycornwells.com and
We've done both. My husband refinished our floors when we renovated our 125 year old home – both floors. He applied everything he learned from a book from FineBuilding – very helpful. It was a huge job, but he wanted to do it right. They were the most beautiful floors I've ever seen. For our second house we hired a floor finishing contractor. My husband did a better job I think, but we wanted to get in the house and have plans to recover them down the road so we weren't as picky (they're not the greatest floors). Either way, a) getting them done before moving is the only way to do it, b) it will take forever if you want to do it yourself (the right way) and c) there are great refinish contractors out there and not so great!
We refinished our oak floors and it turned out well. You can damage the floors, but my husband is meticulous and did a great job. It is a big job, and messy, but we like to save money on DIY projects. We have remodeled our entire house and only hired people to install A/C and windows, everything else we do.
We are total diyers…but we paid someone to refinish our floors. Totally worth it. I don't think your floors look bad, so, like you said, it's an area that you could save money. But, if you are going to do it…save yourself the headache. : )
HIRE. IT. OUT!! We DIY everything and we ended up hiring someone to do the floors. We tried it ourselves first and the sanding machines we rented were terrible (we even rented two different machines from a big box store and a mom & pop hardware!) It's just a nightmare. Hire someone who has great reviews and you will be very happy.
I've never done it myself, but I've heard that it can be kind of a nightmare to get it looking really good if you DIY it. Like you I'm not a big fan of the cherry wood color so I'd refinish them if it was in my budget. Good luck and I can't wait to see your new place!!
We refinished our hardwood floors ourselves before moving in and it was the best investment we've made in our house, for sure. I'd do it again, and neither my husband nor myself consider ourselves that handy. In fact, it was the first time we'd ever done anything like it, but we both agree we'd do it again. Watching stain go on a raw hardwood floor is the BEST instant gratification.
SO many great comments. Refinishing our floors is definitely on my (secret) wish list. Although it would mean a serious move since our whole house is wood floors with the exception of the kitchen and baths.
Can't wait to see what you decide to do!
It's such a messy job! I suggest hiring someone to do it. I'm soo glad I went that route instead. The thought of inhaling all that dust was enough for me to pay the money. Save your time, energy and health for other easier and cleaner diy jobs for the home. :)
I'm having a fun little giveaway today. Come check it out.
http://www.becauseofmadalene.com/2012/06/perfect-giveaway.html
Christina
I love my dark floors. We had a professional do it.
I think your talents would be better used elsewhere but knowing you – you could do it with the right tools!
pve
Totally unrelated to the floor question, but I am totally jealous about you staying Hotel Vitale…it is AH-MAZING! My hubby and I stayed there a couple years ago and loved it!
We had similar floors in the dining & living rooms of our first home, though in much worse condition. My husband is the DIY kind…the rental consisted of a professional machine & finishes and it took him about 3-4 days. It was a bit dusty but they turned out BEAUTIFULLY! We would certainly do it again.
I did a small room in my house and our AC went out the same week. The high humidity made the floor cure in almost a full week! I would let the pros do it! Especially w/ kids running around. that and kitchen cabinets…i will never do again. It's too time intensive and doesn't come out professional looking.
HIRE SOMEONE!
My husband and I tried to do our floors ourselves. biggest nightmare and mistake ever.
after renting all the equipment, buying the stain and urethane we were out $1000 .
sanding was total hell. the mess, the back breaking effort. it took 4 days just to sand. then we put on the stain and realized that we had done a crappy job of sanding, it was so bad. it looked like our floor had become a skating rink.
We ended up having to get a pro to come in and re do everything. which cost more than having him do it from the start. this, in addition to the previous cost of the DIY presented us with floors that cost twice as much.
we could have just gotten new hardwood installed for the price.
DONT DO IT YOURSELF! LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!
-Rachael
We hired out a dustless service and are so pleased with the results. Even with two professionals it took a few days for the work to get done; sanding, staining, drying, etc. It's a lot. Best of luck!
We refinished our floors ourself. It really wasn't that bad, but our floors were contained. Bedrooms and front room and not a big space. Our biggest tip is to not start with the belt sander down. Tip it up and turn it on then evenly put it down and immediately began pulling it towards you. We also rented a square sander that I can't remember what it is called to do the edges. I applied two coats of stain and sealed it with three layers. Be sure to sand lightly between coats. I didn't do it on the last layer because I was antsy to get 'er done and it's not as smooth as it could be.It took us a week from start to finish waiting for the stain and sealer to dry properly. I think that we spent $200ish on everything. It's held up great and I have never regretted it!
My husband is a carpenter and we have built a few homes and I believe that flooring is an element that makes it or breaks. If you don't like the floors change it before you move in. I am with you the stain color is terrible. There is no doubt that doing something yourself will save you money, but is it worth your time. That is what we have found when we have decided to contract something out or do it ourselves; sometimes the time in the end will cost you the money you thought that you would have saved. Refinishing floors is going to be a lot of work & messy!
When we bought our house, my husband decided to refinish the floors. He planned everything out from a timeline to materials. He started and about an hour into it, he called a contractor to get them professionally done ha!
When my friend bought her first house I refinished the floors for her–that was my house-warming gift to her. I've done it two more times and used a big, drum sander every time. The hardest part was getting it in and out of the car. I have a degree in economics and am no pro, so I think if you're kinda handy like me–and you are–you'd have no problem. DEFINITELY do it before you move a single thing in and know that no matter which road you travel you have to let the poly cure for a good week before you walk on it–especially if it's hot and humid. It is a messy and rewarding experience. Good luck!
My younger brother was all about refinishing his own floors. He is super, super in-shape, but even he ultimately could not wield the circular sander for the hours upon hours it took to do just one room. He quit half-way through and hired someone to do the whole house. Stripping wallpaper is one thing; apparently, sanding floors is a whoooooooole other thing.
My parents once refinished their wood floors themselves, and they refer to the various tools needed as "heart attacks on sticks." So, I think it's a hard thing to do :) Maybe just have the main public area professionally refinished and leave everything else?
If you decide to hire out the job, I would suggest asking the refinishers if they could also remove the debris bags. It didnt occur to me to ask, and when we moved in we found half a dozen bags full of dust on our back porch that weighed a ton each and had to be specially disposed…total pain.
If you decide to hire out the job, I would suggest asking the refinishers if they could also remove the debris bags. It didnt occur to me to ask, and when we moved in we found half a dozen bags full of dust on our back porch that weighed a ton each and had to be specially disposed…total pain.
We did our own floors on multiple houses. I think you can do a really professional looking job, but you have to do some research first.
1) be sure to get the right equipment. Often times professional refinishers will also rent out their own equipment for DIYers.
2) watch videos and read a lot about how to do it right. Some big DIY mistakes are not sanding smoothly and being too aggressive, which leaves gouges in the floor. A good DIY job will require multiple passes over the floor with increasingly higher grits. We first used a drum sander with 50 & 80 grits (higher grits if it's a pine floor) and then an orbital buffer with a sanding screen with 80 and 120 grit. (You also use an edger for the first 2 passes, and those are a beast to handle. I personally do the big drum sander and my husband does the edger, because it takes a lot more upper body srength).
3) You have to be really meticulous about vacuuming really well between sanding passes and again between coats.
4) Buy the same finish that the pros use. This last house that we refinished, we couldn't get the good stuff and used in-stock poly from Home Depot. I'm not super impressed with it so definitely research what the pros use and buy that.
Bottom line: you can DIY especially if you find a refinisher who's willing to rent you the right equipment and share their expertise. You'll save a lot of money, but it will take quite a bit of time.
I second the recommendations to first have a refinisher see if it just needs a scratch and recoat.
Good luck!
We have done pretty much everything ourselves on two houses now but decided to hire a professional to do the floors and it was DEFINITELY worth it. We also had them done before moving in which I would suggest if it's possible for you. Even then, we had dust in the house for about a month after. It took a long time to settle. I would say that's one job that isn't worth your own effort. I think the experienced man was able to do a much better job than we could have. They look like brand new floors.
I'd definitely fix the color of the floors. It will bug you forever if you don't. I DIY a lot of stuff and would definitely hire the job out. I don't think I could load and unload the equipment from a car. In fact I'm not sure my car is actually big enough to bring home the sander!
No floor advice, but be sure to try some of the tiny square chocolate cookies at Miette Bakery in the Ferry building!
Hi Jenny,
We refinished the all the floors in our last house (about 1,500 sq ft) and we also have 4 kids. We used a water-based polyurethane finish over the stained oak floors. The floors performed worse than I expected and there were scratch marks and wear marks all over after living there 4 years. In our current home, we had our hickory wood floors refinished with a Swedish Glitsa finish and have been 100% happy with them. They wear well, clean easily and feel silky on my feet! Good luck. Can't wait to see what you do with your new home!
P.S. I should've mentioned that we did the first floors ourselves (less durable) and the current ones professionally. I would recommend using a professional. They turn out so much better and it is SUCH A PAIN to do the floors yourself.
Love your blog. I have never commented before – but I feel strongly about this subject. We have professionally refinished hardwoods in 3 homes (all three homes were all hardwood) and can't say it enough- your time is better spent elsewhere. This is definitely a professional job. We are DIYers- but there are certain jobs that should be left to a professional- especially if you have high expectations and a lot of square footage to cover. Our current home has the espresso color. Love the color. Hate the cleaning.
If you decide to have the floors redone you will not regret the decision. They make all the difference.
I've done this upon moving into my condo. We hired out the sanding of the floors and did the refinishing/poly coat ourselves. I had help from my Mom and Dad – so it didn't take too long to do the 700 square feet of common space. 1 day to do 2 coats of stain, 1 day to 2 coats of poly and let that dry. If you had more help, it would go faster. I love my new dark mahoghany floors and know you could definitely do it!
Me and my husband refinished about 800 square feet of hardwood floor before we moved into our little house about a year ago. And I have to say: it is a lot of work! However, I'm really glad we did it! It took us a few days of nonstop work, but it only cost us around $500 altogether, and hiring somebody would have been SO much more. I wrote a detailed post about our experience here: Refinishing Hardwood Floors
I can go either way here: it's great if you're up to it, however just beware it is a lot of work! Good luck!
My husband and I have worked on a couple homes. I recommend having a professional do the work of refinishing/restaining/repolying your floors. Interview a few contractors and go with one you feel good about. Our floors smelled heavily of the finish for at least a week after they were done, so maybe you can have this job completed well before you move in. Good luck!
there is a process called "screening" which is less costly than fully refinishing. it is the way to clean up a lot of surface scratches and change the color of the floors. we did it on our nyc loft floors in part to preserve the character of the wood–i like all the old marks and spots from age. they still look fresh and newly done though. get someone else to do it, this is the least appealing of all DIY jobs!
Refinishing the floors yourself is a very difficult, messy, tedious job but is totally doable and will save a lot of money. My boyfriend and I refinished the original floors in my 1920s house in January before we moved in while the house was empty. 1400 SF took about 5 days, working at least 9 hour days and returning at the end in 12 hour intervals to add poly coats. Then the house had to sit empty for 4-5 days to cure. Then no rugs could go down for a month. But the total cost was under $1000 and the floors are STUNNING. Because of the mess, having a completely empty house is the only way to do it quickly. I'm sure you can handle it!!
Please, please spare yourself some heart break and have them done professionally! We have tackled every job in our house ourselves and the one "fail" was the floors!
The Gentleman and I are refinishing floors room by room in our 1930s house. We can't afford to do the whole thing at once, and I lived there four years with my daughter before I talked him into helping me tear up carpets – so doing it before move-in wasn't an option.
We use the same ebony stain in every room we do, with many coats of poly. I love it and am so completely proud of the floors since we did them ourselves.
I would not advise DIYing it unless you are super-handy, meticulous, and patient.
I echo everyone. I just had a contractor, who is a professional, ruin floors in a 1800's brownstone. He tried to stain them super dark and it only took to half of the floor, in a terribly bad way. It's so, so sad. They are sanding them all down, which is big $$$ to see if it can be corrected.
It looks like you already have a lot of advice on the floor dilema but I will throw in my two cents worth. I am a big do-it-yourself person. I've done just about everything – plumbing, tiling, carpentry, dry-wall, furniture refinishing – but I will never do floors again. My condo is very very small so it didn't seem like a big deal, and the sanding wasn't (other than the mess it created). The finish was a different story. No matter how much I vacuumed and how many tac cloths I used, dust settled in the finish. I used a water based poly product which never dried properly and which stuck to everything that I set on the floor.
Whether you do it yourself or you have it done professionally, make sure you do it before you move in. The dust gets into everything and I mean everything.
You guys are amazing!! Thanks for all the great feedback! It sounds like this might be a job for the professionals!! I'm most concerned about the stairs, actually. Stripping every tread just sounds like a total nightmare!
Fingers crossed this ends up not costing us an arm and a leg. I'll let you guys know when we get the quote.
xoxoxo
Just in case you decide to refinish the floors, I thought I'd share one more thing: my favorite products. I went with Bona Traffic Hd Commerical Extra Matte finish and have never looked back. I did use poly the first two times and, while not bad, the finished product is a bit gym-like. The Bona is fabulously matte and so very durable–and very updated in the mood it creates. Because of the finish scratches are not noticeable at all. Keep blogging!