Comments on: Floor Refinishing 101

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:23:31 +0000

Ugh, I wish! We had the same experience and have basically just vowed to use eco-friendly water-based sealer next time since it shouldn’t smell as much. Hope you find some great tips somewhere else online though! Good luck!

xo,
s

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:09:52 +0000

Your floors look fantastic!
We had ours professionall finished a few weeks ago and never realized that the odor would be so strong – despite ventilation and raising the heat up for days.
Although the odor has been reduced, it still is quite noticeable when one enters the house.
Is there any odor absorbing substance out there? Reading this blog in search of a way to get rid of the odor has not been successful. (We replaced the heat pump air cleaners right away)after the sanding and polyurethaning. Am growing concerned that we may be harming ourselves, as we spend considerable time in the 30×15 family room

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:21:18 +0000

Great to know!

xo,
s

By: Linn

Linn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:49:21 +0000

Before moving into our house we spent a few days refinishing our oak floors. And boy was that a lot of work! We rented a drum sander which was a really evil machine (=terrible to work with!) and inhaled sawdust and then some more sawdust. We chose a water based polyurethane which I’m really happy with. It dried really quickly, didn’t leave any weird smell, and the floors look great! More info on the process: http://www.christonium.com/HomeProject/refinishing-wood-floor-process-removing-carpet-sanding-finishing

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:42:19 +0000

I would say that you could get away with those things in pretty much any order. Maybe the slightly preferred method might be to refinish hardwood floors, paint and redo trim/baseboard, paint cabinets, replace doors. That way when you refinish and the baseboards or the base cabinets get a bit stained you’re still going to redo them next!

xo,
s

By: Betsy

Betsy — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:26:45 +0000

I am just in love love love with your blog. Truly, I have been scouring your site and I just love your style. Didn’t realize how much I could improve our house on a budget – just been ‘living’ with things as-is and hating it! Anyway, I have 4 larger project priorities in my house:
- painting my kitchen cabinets,
- refinishing the hardwood floors (just a hallway and dining/kitchen area),
- painting or re-doing trim & baseboards (from wood to white)
- and painting and/or replacing some interior doors (from wood to white)
Can you give advice on if there is a good, logical order of doing these? I am not sure if refinishing hardwoods might negatively impact the baseboards? Or should I just for whatever bugs me most!

By: Inga

Inga — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:57:36 +0000

Donna, I have the exact same problem with the wood floor fumes… and severe asthma. Did you ever find a solution? Thank you.

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:01:34 +0000

Aw, Queens. Those were the days! Good luck with your home!

xo,
s

By: Eric C

Eric C — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:52:48 +0000

Thanks Sherry! I see you guys met in Queens? I’m from Jamaica/Fresh Meadows, but have lived in Massachusetts for a while now and we’re moving to our 1920′s home in Dedham MA next week. First job — floors! Then I’m going to tackle the basement like you guys. God bless!

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:07:08 +0000

Hmm, I would trust them about the color because they probably do dark floors a lot and have learned from experience that they can get super deep. I’m no expert though, so maybe calling someone for a “second opinion” might make you feel better- perhaps another floor person in your area?

xo,
s