Hardwood & Laminate floor repair and restoration

Refinishing is the best way to restore the original beauty of wood floors, although it requires hard work and professional equipment. To minimize the impact of VOCs during the refinishing process, ensure proper ventilation by keeping windows and doors open and using fans to blow fumes outside.

Dustless Wood Floor Refinishing

Dustless refinishing is a floor sanding process that uses a vacuum with filtration devices to contain 60% to 90% of the dust generated during traditional refinishing. It is not completely dust-free and may increase the cost and duration of the refinishing. Dustless refinishing is recommended when sealing certain areas with plastic is difficult. The estimator can determine if dustless refinishing is necessary.

Wood Sanding

Wood sanding is the process of removing coating layers and stains down to bare wood using sanding machines. It is necessary for changing the color of wood or repairing damage that can’t be removed by buffing. The floor’s thickness must be checked by the estimator before sanding. The number of times the floor will be sanded will depend on the condition of the wood. After sanding, buffing the floor is required to remove sanding marks, and wood filler may be used to cover gaps between boards. However, wood filler is only recommended for floors installed on hard surfaces as it can crack and expose uneven spaces between boards if the floor doesn’t have a solid subfloor.

Staining

Staining is a crucial part of floor refinishing in Schiller Park, and the complexity of staining depends on the color of the floor. Darker stains reveal more sanding imperfections, so additional sanding and preparation are required. Washing the exposed wood with water is a crucial step that pops the wood grains and removes most sanding imperfections. The stain can be applied by hand, pad, or floor buffer, but it’s important to apply it evenly and wipe off excess stain.

Coating & Recoating

To refinish a floor, a chosen finish must be applied after the stain is dry. Options for finishes include water base, oil base, or acid cured. Recoating is a maintenance process for superficial scratches and involves buffing the floor and preparing the surface for a new coat of finish. It’s important to determine the type of wood cleaner used and the type of finish applied last time to ensure success. Oily products must be cleaned before buffing to prevent a new finish from peeling off, and the same product should be used if the floor was coated less than two years ago to avoid damage to the finish.

Oil Residue Cleaning

To prevent an oily buildup that can prevent a new coat of varnish from adhering to the existing finish, a special degreaser mixed with water will be used to clean the floor before recoating. The process will be repeated multiple times until the buildup is removed, and a new chemical will be used to remove the degreaser and prepare the finish for the new coat. This process is called a Sandless Refinishing, and involves using only chemicals to prepare the floor for the new coating.