Does anyone know what it costs to have Hardwoods refinished per square foot?

Can you rent one of those big sanders and do it your self...or at least part of it? How hard is it to do that?

Thanks.

10/13/2006 2:58:49 PM

Its not an easy job, and get sawdust all over the damn place.

Cost per square foot wouldn't be much, but it is a huge hassle. Call up some floor place and ask them, like Carpet One, Etc.

10/13/2006 3:03:33 PM

I've never personally did it, but I've always heard that even if you want to do it yourself, you should at least get professionals to sand it b/c it's really easy to create dips in the wood. the actual finishing isn't that bad from what i've heard.

10/13/2006 3:06:41 PM

My mom did hers a while back, she used a buffer type sander to do the big areas then used a belt sander to get close to the walls, she said it was a royal pain the ass. .I would get an estimate and if it's within your budget let someone else do it.

10/13/2006 3:08:10 PM

refinished my floors recently, wasn't bad for myself (depends on how lazy you are). Just have to have plenty of tolerance and leave plenty of time for putting on several layers of stain and polyurethane. You come out much lower doing it yourself, as with any home improvement job.

10/13/2006 4:26:38 PM

it probably wouldn't be bad to do yourself if you had all the right tools and some patience

10/13/2006 5:02:57 PM

Do it all at once, whatever you do, DONT try to sand it when you can as you can. Seal off the rest of the house, get the sander the day or two you need it, and knock it the hell out. Tring to do a floor one part at a time jsut ends up witht he whole place coverred in dust and an uneven floor.

10/13/2006 9:15:06 PM

just make sure you rent one of those huge ass industrial size sanders

10/13/2006 9:25:27 PM

cost is nothing. sanding that bitch yourself....thats a little work.

10/13/2006 9:26:01 PM

it's not that bad with 2 people...start with a low grit paper and have someone follow you with a shopvac or you'll pad will clog quicker. go ahead and buy plenty of sand pads, you'll use them if you want to be done quicker. work to a higher grit and have someone else go around the edges with an orbital or beltsander...I prefer the orbital because it's a little less agreesive for someone who may not know as much about how to sand around the edges. Obviously make sure all the tacks from carpeting and padding are up....you'll find them either way. have GOOD lighting and get on your hands and knees and feel of the floor for smoothness and dips, etc. Clean it really well before you start to apply stain....some folks prep the floor with a base that supposedly opens the wood to more evenly take the stain. Go look at some floors and decide if you want a flat finish, satin finish (my fav) or glossy. The satin tends to be a little more forgiving too. Plan on sanding taking a solid day for say, a 12x12 room. Plan on the whole project taking a week, sanding one day, 1-2 stains, and 3 polys. Good Luck.

10/13/2006 11:28:18 PM