Five Tips Bringing Life Back to Old Wood Floors

So your may have just discovered that your new home has some great looking wood floors under the carpet, or perhaps you already knew that the wood floors were there. However if the floors don’t look great they may be in need of a major face lift. Now I may not be an expert when it comes to flooring but there are some practical tips that I have learned which may prove to be helpful. So when it comes to restoring your old wood floors you have a variety of options to choose from.

1. Get a professional opinion

Start by having a professional come to your home to give their thoughts on the floor. You don’t have to hire them to do the work, but you can get several thoughts and ideas on what needs to be done. For example some may tell you the entire floor needs to be replaced but may do so only because they want the contract to do the job. Of course there will be those flooring experts who will be honest with you on what needs to be done. After you get a few professional opinions you may realize that you can do the work yourself. It may take a little bit of hard work, but it will be well worth it to save you some money.

2. Removal

Of course if you just removed the carpet you will want to make sure that there are no nails or staples left in the floor before you do anything to work at restoring the wood. This may take you some time to do, but if you get enough people to help you should have no problem inspecting every area of the floor to make sure all of it has been removed.

3. Replace missing or broken pieces

Sometimes old wood flooring can get pieces that are broken, or worn in some way and it needs to be replaced. This may mean you need to put new pieces of wood and replace just the broken pieces. Then sand down the entire floor and refinish it. Sounds simple right! It can in fact be a lot of hard work depending on the size of the floor you are dealing with, so be sure you will be able to finish the product when you first start. Well if you are not that handy you may be surprised at what you can accomplish with just family and friends helping you out. There are also plenty of You Tube videos and websites like DIY, that can offer you step by step instructions on how to restore your old floors.

4. Staining goes a long way

If you are dealing with a floor that is in pretty good shape you may just need to re-stain the floor to give it a fresh new look. The stain can come in different colors, and you really want to choose the right color stain to make the floor look it’s best.

5. Don’t be afraid to do it yourself

Last but not least is to not be afraid to do things yourself. You will save yourself a lot of money if you just keep things simple. Your local Home Depot or Leows store offers some great resources when it comes to flooring. In some cases you may even be able to pay to have certain aspects of the flooring project done for you with a low cost.