How to Refinish Hardwood Floors

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I absolutely love DIY projects where I get to put in some manual labor and get some awesome results! Refinishing our hardwood floors was one of these types of projects. It does require a significant amount of labor but if you are wishing to save a significant amount of money, DIY is the way to go.

How to Refinish Hardwood Floors

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My husband and I are living in our first home! The first time we went to a showing of our home, we were so surprised at how it had been frozen in time. There was green plush carpet (see below) and vintage furniture. We ended up choosing another home to make an offer on.

House with Carpet — Our first showing of our house! It was frozen in time.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), our contract with another house fell through. We waited quite a while to start looking again. Almost a year after our first showing, we got a call to come look at “70s House” again. It was a completely different house! The carpet was pulled up and my tall husband said he didn’t feel as close to the ceiling as before. We bought the house.

Hardwood Floor Before — Although the color isn’t my favorite, check out how great these floors are!

The color wasn’t the best but how awesome are these floors! I immediately made a list of DIY projects for us. After painting and fixing the walls (link to come soon), we made plans to tackle this project.

Our neighbor had her hallway and living room hardwood floors refinished and the cost was over $2,000. I knew we could do this project and save TONS of money.

Step One: Figure Out Where You Are Going to Live For Two Weeks

With all of the drying and curing time, you are going to be off of those floors for at least two weeks. We were lucky and had a basement with a bathroom; we were unlucky in that we decided to not move everything downstairs and just live in the kitchen. It was a crazy hot summer and we didn’t have air conditioning. We did take a three day vacation during the drying time.

Yes, this is where we lived for almost two weeks in the middle of the summer with no air conditioning. Choose better!

I hope you are better at choosing your area.

Step Two: Make a List of Supplies

Here’s what you are going to need:

Sanding:

Floor Sander. We decided on a drum sander to really tear up that top layer. If your floors are pretty even already, you could go with a random orbital sander. We rented from United Rentals.
Edger. The drum sander will not reach the edges near your walls. We rented from United Rentals.
Hand sander. This is for light sanding between coats of varnish. We have a 5-inch Dewalt Random Orbit and love it! Also, you can also use a pole with sanding pads (much more work).
Floor Sandpaper. The rental company will help you determine how much you need for your square footage. Purchase extra and return what is not needed. Our grit progression for the drum sander was 36 – 80 – 100 and for the edger was 36 – 100. We did try 24 grit but it completely tears up your floor. You only want it if you have severe stains. We purchased our paper from United Rentals.
Trim Sandpaper (if needed). We used 3M’s 80 grit and 120 grit.
Sandpaper discs. We used 220. Grab a variety here.
Particle mask. Protect your lungs. We have the “regular” masks and a fancier valve mask.
Cheap pillow cases and rubber bands.
Vacuum.
Drop cloths. We prefer .7 mil plastic drop cloths.
Painters tape. We love the 2-in Scotch Blue tape.

Staining & Finishing

Rags. Lots and lots of rags.
Staining pads. We used four staining pads for 800 sq ft.
Paint brush. We went with the more expensive Purdy to prevent brush hair loss.
Paint tray. We used Blue Hawk from our local Lowe’s store.
Paint tray liners. We used Linzer.
Paint thinner. We used Jasco from our local Lowe’s store.
Stir sticks. Get them free from your hardware store.
Laytex Gloves. You will need a whole box of non-powder gloves like these.
Trim Paint (if needed). We used a semi-gloss warm white.
Stain. I highly recommend Minwax stain because it is affordable and comes with many color options. We chose Special Walnut.
Lambswool mop head applicator and pads. In my research, everyone recommended lambswool for the finish applicator. I now agree. Make sure it is a mop head like pad. Minwax makes a great version carried at here at Lowe’s and Amazon has a high rated one here.
Watering can.
Finish. We did go “all out” with the Minwax Water Based Oil-Modified Polyurethane in Satin. I wanted to retain as much of the Special Walnut stain color as possible, shorten drying time, and prevent yellowing. However, it still yellowed so I wish we used the Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish which is water based. If you want a warmer, yellow tone as your finished product, use the traditional (and slightly cheaper) Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane.

Step Three: Prepare Your Floors

Clear out all furniture and, if needed, hang a plastic barrier between the workspace and your living space. We used painters tape to attach a plastic drop cloth to the ceiling, walls, and floor between our workspace and our kitchen.

Next, turn off the heat or air conditioning (or at least in the room you are working in) and cover the vents. Just closing the vents will not prevent particles from going into your system.

Pull out closet clothes that you will need and tape off the rest with plastic.

Covering Vents for Refinishing Hardwood Floors — When sanding floors, it is important to prevent as much dust particle contamination as possible. Plastic drop cloths will be your friend.

You can also see how worn our floors were.

Covering Clothes for Refinishing Hardwood Floors — When sanding floors, it is important to prevent as much dust particle contamination as possible. Plastic drop cloths will be your friend.

You can also see how worn our floors were.

Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! Your floors need to be as clean as possible before sanding. You do not want to mess up your expensive sandpaper.

Remove quarter round from your baseboards/trim. This insures you get the most even coverage possible. You may have to replace it, but it is worth it. We didn’t remove it in two rooms and they were super difficult to finish correctly.

Step Four: Choose Your Stain

You do not want your floor color to be a surprise. Choose an area to sand and test out multiple stains. We love our Minwax in Special Walnut.

This is especially important since different woods take to stain in different ways. We were lucky to have red oak which absorbs stain easily and doesn’t affect color too much.

Test Spot for Refinishing Floors — Always, always, always test your stain color.

Step Five: Sand, Sand, Sand

Sanding your floors is going to be a multiple step process, but it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Trim

We decided to paint all of our trim during this time. The thick poly needed to come off. We used a combination of our Dewalt sander and manual sanding (lots of manual sanding) to prepare the surface. We used 80 then 120 grit.

Now for the more difficult part – the floor sanding…

Since we were refinishing almost our whole house, we decided to sand it all with one grit then move on in the process. We used a 36 – 80 – 100 grit progression. We tried 24 grit on one swipe and it really tears your floor up so we ended up wasting that sandpaper. Only use 24 grit if your floors are really stained or uneven.

Large Floor Sanding

First, rubber band two pillowcases around your collection bag. This will prevent excess dust particles.

Pull back loose hair, wear a particle mask, and wear thick shoes.

For the drum sander, you need to make passes in line with the board direction. I started in the middle and worked my way to the edges. I overlapped passes by 1/2. Do not start in the same spot every time.

Push the sander forward and slowly engage the sandpaper drum. This will create a smooth transition. You will need to hold the sander back a little since it will pull fiercely. Slowly disengage towards the end.

Empty your dust bag when it gets 2/3 full.

Demonstration of using a drum sander. Make the pass as smooth as possible. (I was so silly for not wearing shoes. Wear shoes please. Safety first.)

Overall, I really enjoyed using the drum sander. I thought it was easy to use. I know there are many opinions out there saying it is difficult, but I disagree.

Drum Sanding Hardwood Floors — Make sure to using uneven lines when sanding. This will make a smoother transition.

Edging

The edger we rented was a high quality hand random orbit sander. We skipped the middle grit and used a 36 – 100 progression. It will mess up the trim a little but that’s why we took the quarter round off so we can cover it back up.

The edger was very strong and Lucas had to do most of it because it was hard for me to control.

Corners– We got as close as we could with the hand sanders but of course there will be some left over in the corners.

We mainly hand sanded the corners. Lucas’s dad helped us out with some chiseling in the hard spots. We also used our Dewalt hand sander in some spots.

Sanding the Edges and Corners or Hardwood Floors — We wanted everything to be perfect. Lucas used the Dewalt for fixing the edges and his dad chiseled out corners.

We had a few knots come out. I filled it with a wood glue and dust (from the sanding bag) mixture.

Overall, the hardest part about sanding was the edging. It hurt your back a little and took a lot of strength. My favorite part was using the drum sander. It was easy to use and made fast work.

I asked Lucas if we could keep the floors the way they were because they were gorgeous!

Sanded Hardwood Floor Example — Look how great these floors look! You can also see where we sanded down the trim.

Step Six: Stain

First, vacuum like crazy. It needs to be spotless.

Second, treat your would with paint thinner. This will create a clean, absorbent surface. We used Jasco. Just put it on a rag and swipe it on the floor.

Prep Your Floors with Paint Thinner — Prep your floors using paint thinner. We used Jasco. Let it dry completely.

Prepare your stain. You can shake up your can and then stir. It is ok if there are bubbles. Have a lot of rags on stand by and use gloves!

Preparing Stain for Hardwood Floors — Make sure your stain is stirred very well and have tons of rags ready.

Staining Strategy

Work the stain in small blocks. You will want these blocks to travel in line with the floor boards. Stain a block, let sit for the time on the directions, then remove excess stain except a slight 2 inch sliver to blend into the next block.

Staining Hardwood Floors — Work the stain in small blocks. When removing the excess, leave a sliver so you can blend it into the next block. We used Minwax in Special Walnut.

If you need to pause for a while (probably because your back is hurting), then make sure to blend the edges. We did the bedrooms one night and the living and dining room the next.

Feather Out the Stain Edges — Feather out the stain edges if you need to pause your work. We did the bedrooms one night and the living room the next.

Finished stain in dining room — Feather out the stain edges if you need to pause your work. We did the bedrooms one night and the living room the next.

It looked plenty dark to me at the time, but I do wish I would have put another layer of stain on since the finish changes the look.

Step Seven: Apply Your Finish

We did go “all out” with the Minwax Water Based Oil-Modified Polyurethane in Satin. I wanted to retain as much of the Special Walnut stain color as possible, shorten drying time, and prevent yellowing. It still yellowed so I wish we used the Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish which is water based. If you want a warmer, yellow tone as your finished product, use the traditional (and slightly cheaper) Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane.

Since our stain still yellowed (they say warm amber tone), I wish we used the Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish,
which is water based.

In my research, everyone recommended lambswool for the finish applicator. I now agree. Make sure it is a mop head like pad. Minwax makes a great version carried at here at Lowe’s and Amazon has a high rated one here.

Gently stir your finish; you do not want any bubbles on your floor. Pour it into a watering can.

Pour your finish from the watering can in a long line, making sure there is plenty. Take your lambswool applicator and smooth it over, making sure there are no drips or super wet areas. *Do not use a roller.* Again, leave wet edges for a smooth transition.

Your Flooring Guy gives a good idea of how to apply the poly. I did not have that much on the floor at one time. I like to pour enough for one or two passes.

Let dry then sand with 220 sandpaper. We used our Dewalt hand sander, but you can also use a pole sander.

Repeat the process for two or three layers. Let cure for the time stated. This is super important!

Step Eight: Finish Your Trim

Lastly, painting our trim made the biggest difference in the look of our house. It was difficult for me to paint over real wood trim, but oh does it look so good.

We needed all new quarter round. We chose a plastic based product so it was easily bendable since our floors were slightly uneven. Use a nail-gun and finishing nails.

Caulk over all nail holes and caulk the edges of your trim for a nice finish.

Using a good angled paintbrush, apply the primer then multiple coats of your paint. I ended up needing three coats. Protect your walls with painters tape.

Painting Stained Trim — Here, you can see mid-process of finishing the trim. I had already put down the quarter round, caulked, and painted the baseboards. Now, I just had to finish 8 doorways!

Lucas loved using the nail-gun. It made quick work.

Step Nine: Admire Your Work

You have worked really hard to get the floors of your dreams. Step back for a moment and admire all of the work you completed!

After Picture of Refinished Hardwood Floors — Our beautiful refinished floors!

Step Ten: Admire the Money Your Saved

We estimate a professional would have charged $8,000 – $10,000 for this project. Here is a breakdown of our costs for approximately 800 square feet:

$140 – Rental of 8″ Drum Sander and 7″ Edger
$175 – Three 36-grit, Four 80-grit, and Four 100-grit drum belt sandpaper. Three 36-grit and Six 100-grit edger paper.
$65 – Two gallons of Minwax stain.
$165 – Three gallons of Minwax polyurethane finish.
$10 – One gallon paint thinner.
$80 – Miscellaneous supplies (plastic drop cloths, stain pads, rags, mask, pillow cases, painters tape, gloves, watering can, lambswool applicator).
The other supplies we had in storage.

Grand Total- $635 That’s a savings of over $7,000!!! Kind of crazy!

If you want to add how much we ate out during the process (lol), it would total to about $1,000.

Want a FREE DIY Project Checklist & Budget? Click here.