Refinish floors before or after remodel
housenut1
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
My plan is to finish the wood floors after I remodel each room. This way I wouldn’t have to be as careful during the remodel process. Someone told me to have the floors done first. This way the dust, etc. isn’t all over your finished room. What are your thoughts.
Replies
General remodeling rule is, work from the outside in and the top down. So, I would refinish the floors last, it's easy to clean up the dust, it's expensive to repair a scratch in the finish. You still want to protect the floor from dents though.
"It is what it is."
Hello Chicago Mike:
This is what I did originally and you all reaffirmed this. It appears you are in Chicago and if you are, maybe you can recommend some floor finishers. If so let me know.
Mike
Sorry bud, I am from Chicago and miss it terribly. I moved to the Albany NY area in '99. I used to live in Bridgeport near Comiskey.
"It is what it is."
Thanks for the response. Go Sox!
Mike
House,
Floors last. Almost always.
In your case, floors last. Hire a good floor co.
Best of luck w your project.
Harry
Thanks Harry:
This makes the most sense to me too.
Mike
finish the floors just about last, and there are "dust-less" refinishing companies out there.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
This makes the most sense to me too.
Thanks,
Wayne
when i was doing my house there was a point when it worked best to sand the floors. now i tried to leave them bare. that does not work. but if you find a point where you want to sand the floors,sand them and put 1 caot of poly on them,then when your ready to finish a quick scuff and 2 more coats and you got it. larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Thanks Larry, I kind of figured there is no hard and fast rules.
Mike
housenut1
Don't put poly down.. If you do and you scratch it it when moving stuff around or working etc.. it will require complete removal to do an invisable repair!
Use shellac instead!
That way if a scratch does occur you can do local invisable repairs quickly without the mess of resanding.. remember new shellac melts old shellac to provide an invisable repair..
Plus shellac will dry in as little as 15 minutes compared to the time it takes poly to dry..
Thanks for the tip Frenchy. Did you mean when the floors are done use shellac instead of poly?
Mike
Housenut1
yes for several reasons..
First is the ease of repair should damage occur.
Unlike poly's and virtually all other finishes you can do invisable repairs simply without the need for resanding..
Second shellac is extremely easy for you to do yourself without the concerns of making mistakes that virtually all other finishes offer. and thus save greatly in finishing costs.
Third it's safe, you've been eating shellac all of your life on candy you eat and pills you take.
Forth it's really fast to do the first coat dries hard enough to walk on in 15 minutes.
Fifth nothing exceeds the beauty and depth of a shellac finish It's the finish of choice on fine antiques and musical instruments.
Unlike myths shellac is extremely tough and durable. More than capable of withstanding the rigours of modern living. should the inevitable scratch occur it can be dealt with in minutes without sanding..
(it's also biodegradable renewable and perfect should some one in your family suffer from heightened chemical sensitivety)..
If you'd like I'll give you a simple set of directions that makes applying shellac a simple process where even a child can do a flawless job..
All I can say is wow. Yes, I would like some sample directions. I won't be having the floors sanded until next spring but I will finish them!
Sincerely,
Mike
housenut1
OK I'm glad to do it..
but please note I do things a bit differant from what is printed on the can.. The reason for that is I'm not a good painter.
MY approach works for anyone espeically those who like me tend to get more paint on themselves then what they want painted <grin>
Go to a paint store like Home Depot, Lowes etc. and buy a gallon of Zinssers Bulls Eye shellac I like blonde you may also want amber if you like a darker finish.. .. (it's a yellow can with white back ground) for every 500 sq.ft. you want to finish.
You will also need two gallons of denatured alcohol.. a Large 3M sanding sponge (fine 220 grit) or a DA sander with 220 grit paper. If you are young you can apply it with a 4 inch wide fine paint brush but since I'm old and hate to get on my knees any more than I have to I apply it with a lambs wool applicator on a pole..
Now before we begin we should talk about sanding..
Don't rent one of those drum sanders!
They require too much skill to operate.. a mistake can easily ruin your hard work..
I use those square pad sanders. about 20x24 I also get one sheet of each grit they have (including the fine screen, two of the 24 grit ones if the floors are really in bad shape.) It's false economy to skip grits.
Sanding isn't a skill with those units. It's simply work. Start out with the coarsest grit you need to level everything out.. don't sand more than you need to.. and once they are level tilt the machine and pick up that grit and go to the next grit.. (unlike the drum sander you don't have to attach the paper) as soon as you give the floor a uniform sanding switch to the next grit and the next etc.. I finish with the sanding screen..
The first grit takes about 70% of the time to do and every grit from then on goes really quickly in comparison. The floor should have almost a sheen when you're ready to shellac..
Get up all the dust. I wipe it one last time with a towel dampened with denatured alcohol..
Now mix the two gallons of denatured alcohol with the gallon of shellac.
Now the rest is a race!
I mean you have to go fast, really really fast! and don't ever stop to go back over anything you miss
Flood on the shellac! Don't worry do this like you're mopping a floor not painting.. If you miss a spot skip it and get it the next coat.. don't worry!
If you're really careless you might tape up the skirts etc.. but you have to cover this very quickly.. shellac dries so fast that most people have a lot of trouble because it actaully dries on them as they are painting..
15 minutes later the shellac should be dry enough to walk on.. From this point I walk in stocking feet.. (don't worry any shellac you get on your clothes will come out in the wash!)
I told you it was fast!
Now comes the sanding..
It's real lick and promise kinda sanding you should spend about 1 to 1 1/2 seconds per sq. ft. sanding. 500 sq.ft. should take you between 9 and 15 minutes to sand.
Don't try to "improve" anything because the second coat melts the first coat and you're just wasting your time.. what you are trying to sand is the little nubs that get raised from the shellac..
Now wipe up the white residual with a towel. and apply the second coat the same speed.. FAST! ( get any spots you missed the first time) this coat will take about 1/2 hour to dry (every coat doubles the drying time) when it's dry feel to make sure all the nubs were got with the first sanding. (floor should be smooth) any you missed can be sanded off now without any problem. wipe up and residual and apply the next coat etc..
I like three coats but you might want a little more. Thicker is not better! Too thick and you can have problems.
I've heard nice reports about those DA sanders as well but have never used them..
Dear Frenchy:
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions for the floor refinish with shellac. I will put the instructions in a safe spot and will attempt the process this spring. I will let you know how it turns out.
Mike
P.S. Sorry I am so late in my return correspondence.
Frenchy,
I would like these directions as well, please & thank you.
confused2
Hopefully you can read what I just posted to housenut if not I'll retype it for you.
Yes, got it thanks. My concern with the shellac is the possible frost on the windows - I live where it gets -40, and as it is a not a fulltime residence, if there is frost / condensation, nobody is around to mop it up for a week or two at a go.
confused2
I too live where 40 below occurs. My windows are double paned and thus I can safely shellac them without fear.
However I would never risk doing that with single paned windows.. If I did I'd be forced to refinish the windows every spring..
That's not as hard as it seems.. since all you would do is wet a rag with denatured alcohol that strips all the finish. and then reapply the shellac.. No sanding required.
Last, absolutely. It's must easier to paint baseboards and everything when you don't have to worry about what you get on the floor. The refinishing nowadays isn't that dusty if you hire professionals. You might be able to rent the dustless sanders yourself - I don't know. On This Old House they had this machine with HEPA filters and everything. They were running it without even wearing a dust mask.
Thanks for the info I will wait to the all the rooms are done before the floors get done.
Mike