Hardwood Floor Refinishing Grand Traverse County, MI

Hardwood floors make your living space warmer and more attractive and they are usually easy to clean if taken care of. However, in order to have perfect hardwood floors, you need to follow certain procedures in maintaining and caring for your floors! Today hardwood floor refinishing in Grand Traverse County, Michigan is becoming a very popular choice.

​If you have hardwood floors that need a touch up, before coming to any decision, you should first consider whether you want to refinish or simply recoat your hardwood floor. Recoating refers to only adding a top layer of protection; such as varnish. In this case you do not need to sand down any areas and you simply need to apply the top coat. However, refinishing includes sanding down the area and removing discolored areas and gouges before applying the finishing coat.
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A good tip to keep in mind when wondering whether to refinish or just varnish and polish your hardwood floor is by performing an easy test of dropping some water droplets on the floor. If the water soaks into the wood immediately, it means that the wood fibers are now exposed and in this case you would want to refinish the floor. If the water droplet remains on the floor, it may only need polishing.

Why opt for Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Hardwood floor refinishing in Grand Traverse County protects your floor from damage, helps you to maintain it and gives the floor an excellent look. Traditional hardwood was made of solid timber, however over time new alternatives have developed and one of the most popular choices today is engineered floor planks. This is made out of layers of wood with a top layer of hardwood that has been bonded to other layers so as to prevent or minimize the floor from shifting during contraction or expansion of the wood.

​Engineered wood has been designed in such a way that the natural movement that usually takes place in wood, is restricted. If you have hardwood floors in your home, you will definitely consider refinishing old hardwood floors at some point or the other. 

When it comes to choosing between completely replacing or refinishing your hardwood floors, it's always a cheaper option to choose hardwood floor refinishing in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

​If you are wondering when to finish your hardwood floor, you will know it is time for refinishing when the hardwood begins to show signs of age such as scratches, stained spots, discoloring and dullness.

​If the hardwood is about 3/4th inches in thickness, it can be sanded about 6 to 8 different times. Typically, hardwood floors have a lifespan of about 20 years and needs to be refinished once every 7 to 10 years on an average. ​

Types of Hardwood Floor Finishes

There are several types of hardwood floor finishes that you can choose from, each one with different characteristics. Some of the most popular ones used in Grand Traverse County are:

• Acid-cured finish - The acid-cured finish is undoubtedly the best that there is in the market today. This varnish is a composition of alcohol and acid and dries up in no time at all. Once it is completely dry it looks beautiful and amazing. The lifespan of this finish is up to 10 years with good care under ideal circumstances, and the great thing about this finish is that you can touch it up whenever necessary unlike aluminum oxide.

• Aluminum oxide - Aluminum oxide hardwood finish is the most durable out of all. It makes the wood surface almost scratch and fade resistant. Some of the pre-finished hardwood comes with this finish already applied on it. You just need one application of this finish to last up to 25 years.  Because of its durable and resilient nature, this type of finish is very difficult to replace. Trying to replace this finish may actually result in damaging the floor, so you may need to replace the floor instead of re-finishing it.  
• Water-based polyurethane - This type of finish is a great choice and works well with all types of environments especially in climates with higher humidity. It is easier to apply, and dries up quickly, allowing multiple coats to be applied in a single day. It may not be as durable as finishes that are oil-based but it has lower VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), thus making it an excellent choice for rooms with less ventilation such as the basement.

• Oil-based polyurethane - If you are looking for something that isn’t too expensive, you can opt for this finish. It is the cheapest finish among all modern finishes such as water-based polyurethane and once applied adds a warm hue if used on floors made out of white oak or maple. Several coats of this finish can be applied within a few hours as it dries hard fast. You would usually want to apply several layers of this finish to achieve a good result. Over time oil-based turns an amber color and is easy to fix.
• Moisture-cure urethane - This type of finish is great if you have a lot of traffic in your home, especially if you have kids and pets. This finish is very hardy and does not get scratched or marked easily. It has been the optimum choice for bowling alleys and is quite difficult to apply. It takes between 1 to 2 hours to dry and is best applied by a professional hardwood floor refinishing contractor.
• Penetrating oil-sealer - This finish is very traditional and old-school. Though there are plenty of options available today, penetrating oil-sealer has tung oil in it that soaks into the wood and gives a low glossy shine to it. This floor finish requires time and patience and takes about 1 to 2 days to dry. It does not last for many years and needs to be redone every 2 or 3 years.

Steps to Refinishing Hardwood Flooring

​Before refinishing any hardwood floor, you should be aware of the steps to refinishing a hardwood floor. This is also a guide you to preparing your hardwood floor for refinishing.

• First, all furniture and rugs should be removed from the floor and protruding nails should be taken care of. Make sure that there are no loose or squeaky floorboards. It is best if you use a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust and debris before beginning any refinishing work. Also make sure to seal all air vents so that the dust from sanding does not get into any of the ducts. It’s also a good idea to use plastic sheets to seal all the doors. Before using a sander, you should ensure that the shoe base moulding is pulled up in the area where the floor and wall meet.

• The next step is sanding. This will help to get rid of marks and scratches that are on a hardwood floor, but it will not remove any stains, discolored wood patches or gouges. Sanding is best done by a professional hardwood floor refinishing contractor with the help of a belt sander or a belt sander along the grain of the wood. An edge sander is also used around the edges and small areas such as closets or bathrooms. Some professionals may also use a screening pad that has fine grit in order to screen-sand the floor.  
• Once the sanding is completed, all the dust and debris is removed using a powerful vacuum cleaner. Any amount of dust and sand or hair can leave imperfections in the refinishing project.

• The next step is optional and involves applying the wood stain. You can choose the color based on the kind hardwood you have and the hue that you desire.
• The final step involves carefully applying the hardwood floor finish based on your choice.

 
Sometimes, if your floor is in great condition, only a screening may be required which means that the process of sanding can be avoided, thus allowing you to opt for a sandless hardwood floor refinishing. In this case, only a screen is applied. It acts as a clear coat over the existing flooring. The disadvantage to this is that you will not be able to change the color of the floor or get rid of stains, scratches and other marks.

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Cost

Once you have decided about refinishing your hardwood floors, you should take a look at hardwood floor refinishing costs. On an average, refinishing hardwood floors costs anywhere between $1000 and $4000. Thus, hardwood floor refinishing costs per square foot fall within $3 to $6 if you choose the traditional method which includes moving furniture, sanding, followed by recoating and finally cleaning up. However, today many professional hardwood floor refinishing contractors use the dustless method and professional vacuums for the job. This can cost between $5 and $8 per square foot.

Sometimes, the job is really complex, costs can go up to even $4000. The higher the area, the lower the square foot price tends to be. If you want to add other enclosed spaces such as closets, the cost tends to go up because the job becomes more complex.

Sanding costs between $0.50 and $3 per square foot and you will be paying anything between $80 and $500 for a room of an average size between 12 X 14 feet. After sanding, you waxing and staining look like easy DIY options, however, it is best that you leave this up to a professional. Staining costs between $1 and $3 per square foot; and coating and finishing costs between $1 and $2 per square foot. ​

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Contractors in Grand Traverse County, MI

Hardwood floor refinishing in Grand Traverse County, MI is not an easy task and you should preferably hire a hardwood floor refinishing contractor for the job. Choosing an ordinary contractor or an inexperienced person could lead to further damage to your hardwood flooring as there is a certain procedure that needs to be followed when refinishing hardwood floors. When choosing a hardwood floor refinishing contractor in Traverse City, Kingsley, Williamsburg, Interlochen or anywhere in Grand Traverse County, keep these tips in mind before hiring.

• Inquire what type of sanders they use. If they use rental sanders, it is better you move on and look for other professionals who use their own dustless polishers and sanders instead of rental ones. Always make sure that you do not hire anyone who does hardwood refinishing as a part time job, as sanding requires experience and many years to practice.
• Ask what preparatory steps are included in the contract or if you need to do any by yourself.
• Find out the safety measures that will be taken during the process of refinishing the floors.
• Get an idea about how many sanding steps will be included in the package.
• Ask about the type of finish they will use and how many coats there will be. It is a good idea to opt for something that has little or no VOC’s.​

If you have beautiful wood flooring that is worth keeping, you should consider refinishing it and not replacing it with something cheap like laminate, as it is better to preserve the original, authentic floor. Laminate is an option for retail stores, apartment complexes and business places that have a limited budget. If you have uneven subfloors in your home, installing laminate flooring is not a good idea. ​

Contact Us

​If you live in Traverse City, Kingsley, Williamsburg, Interlochen or anywhere in Grand Traverse County, MI and are considering refinishing your hardwood floors, do not hesitate to contact us today for a free assessment and quotation. Each home is different, and the price can be determined only after we take a look at the quality and condition of your hardwood floors.

​Once we assess everything, after discussing the plan and your budget we will offer you a quotation. Our company has professional and trained hardwood floor refinishing contractors who have been doing this job for plenty of years and knows exactly how to treat your hardwood floors and make it as good as brand new again!

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