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Hardwood Floors That Shine
Posted 3/1/2009 @ 1:27:43 pm by woodworkvoice.com
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Installing hardwood floors can be a beautiful and valuable addition to your home. In many homes rugs or carpets are laid down over existing hardwood floors, and much to the surprise of new homeowners who were unaware they were actually standing on hardwood flooring.
There are different schools of thought on the preferred method for finishing hardwood floors, but no matter how the process is completed, when hardwood floors are finished they are beautiful. In today's market there are various types of products that can be used to achieve any goal you may want for a hardwood finish. The process of finishing your hardwood floor may involve some hard work and dedication, but the final result is definitely worth it.
The first step in finishing a hardwood floor is to sand your floors thoroughly to return them to bare wood. This is done so that you can later add the finish of your choice to your floors. Like any other type of flooring, hardwood usually has taken a beating over long periods of time and hard work has to be put into cleaning them up if you truly wish to achieve a distinctively finished look.
There is a wide range of different stains and polishes that are used to restore hardwood floors. The process of getting your floor looking like new using a woodwork finish takes time and work. There are companies out there that sell woodwork finishes, some of which carry over twenty different colored stains. These companies also sell the polyurethane needed to coat the floor after the stain is applied. Customers have a choice of using oil or water based stains.
In today's world, convenience is key, and to that end many companies now sell a hardwood floor that is pre-finished. These simple kits allow homeowners to simply install an already finished floor. There are also many other considerations to keep in mind when installing a new floor or finishing an old floor. Decide what kind of hardwood you want or have so you can find the correct type of stain to use. Your local hardware store should be able to offer plenty of advice for anyone interested in refinishing their hardwood floors.