LESLIE: Heading out west to Utah with the number one question asked here at The Money Pit – flooring. David, how can we help you?
DAVID: Yeah, I have a hardwood floor that has an area that’s worn near the dining room table …
TOM: OK.
DAVID: … and it’s all connected. It’s the entry, the kitchen, the hallway; it’s all about a thousand square feet of hardwood.
TOM: So David, is the finish just slightly worn or is it actually down to raw wood?
DAVID: It’s smooth everywhere but you can see raw wood underneath the chairs.
TOM: OK. So here’s what I think you should do. This is a project you can do yourself and I’m going to tell you how to do it so it’s not so terrible. What I want you to do is to rent a floor buffer with a sanding screen. Now, the floor buffer is the kind of big buffing machine like they use like at the mall and other commercial places to kind of buff the floors, but instead of the buffing pads you can get a sanding screen which kind of looks like window screen material; it’s abrasive on both sides. By using the floor buffer you’ll just be sort of taking off the top surface of the finish and preparing it for the next coat of urethane. The areas where it’s actually worn down, where you’re starting to see some raw wood, just do some handwork in there with a hand sander so that you get those smooth. This way you’re not totally sanding down the entire floor surface, which is more than you need to do; it’d shorten the life of the floor and, frankly, it’s too much work for you. And then put a new coat of polyurethane down; use oil-based polyurethane. You’ll probably need about three coats. You can apply it with something called a lamb’s wool applicator, which is a way of just sort of mopping it on. And plan when you can be out of that house for quite a while; let yourself get some good drying time there and I think you definitely could accomplish it.
DAVID: Great. Alright, I think I’ll take that on and get that done.
TOM: Alright, David. Go to it. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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