I've tackled every other job in my house, restoring 100 year-old wood windows, kitchen remodel, exterior paint, but this is one of those extremely labor intensive jobs, where there is risk of screwing up as a beginner, that the pros will do for relatively cheap. I had two bedrooms and a hallway done, stained with 3 coats poly, $850 by a local company (this included splicing in a few new boards where old ones were too damaged) that specializes in refinishing wood floors. I honestly don't think it would have been worth my time doing it myself.

100% agree with above. Three fixer uppers into it, I would not consider doing this myself. Previous house was done at a cost of about $1,500 for a 1000 sqf main floor. Beautiful. Like @talktoearthworms, I just had two (small) bedrooms and a hallway done. $700, no stain, just poly, worth every penny.

The dust WILL get everywhere, remember to insulate other rooms. Be prepared to let the finish cure longer than you'd think is necessary.

I'm pretty sure the sander pictured is not a drum sander but an orbital one.

Has anyone tried this? I have some floors that need refinishing and we're on the fence about doing it ourselves. I live in LA so if anyone knows a good wood floor refinisher, I'm all ears!

I agree with the previous post. Refinishing wood floors is not something you want to tackle yourself. When I attempted for the first time to do my floors, I ended up gorging part of the floor. The sanding machines were extremely heavy and costly to rent. I ended up calling a professional to redo the job. Never again!

Any recommendations for a refinisher in Chicago?

I too think the sander pictured is an orbital one. And that's the type of sander I used when I refinished all the floors in my first house. The orbital sander is great because the risk of gouging the floor is minimal compared to a drum sander. (I have also used a drum sander, and the technique is difficult indeed!) The orbital sander also doesn't take as much off the top of the wood, so it's great for floors that have some surface issues and wear and tear, but are otherwise okay.

I also used a nail set to make sure every nail was recessed into the floor and applied wood putty over each hole before I sanded the floors. In 1950s houses, the wood is often nailed down from the top.

I had great success refinishing my floors myself (about 650 sq. feet). I did it before I moved in, though, so getting off schedule wasn't a big deal, and I would do it again under those circumstances. However, I've hired someone to refinish my hardwood floors next month, because I don't want to mess with the pressure of such a big job in a house I'm currently living in and I don't have time to do it. I paid about $250 for materials and tools when I did the floors myself, and am paying $1500 for a similar sq. footage this time around.

That is one job I would certainly hire someone to do. Admire those who do it themselves.

In Chicago - G.S. Floor Designs, Inc.

I have done 4 of the hardwoods in my home (dining room and 3 bedrooms) and now just have to tackle the hallway and main living room. My husband did the sanding. We did 2 rooms using the drum sander and then the last 2 rooms used the Orbital - far superior to the drum sander and worked in half the time. Instead of sanding between each coat of urethane I steel wooled the floor. I guess to each his own. I did 4 coats of high gloss urethane over 2 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut. I love the way they look wet but they always get a dull sheen to them dry. I think it's the product I'm using to clean the floors but haven't looked into it enough. I have 4 animals and knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have gone as dark as I did. It shows every little piece of dust, dirt and fur. Maybe I would've used white wood pickling stain instead and done a Scandinavian look. Live and Learn!

Sorry - also use a refinishing company that offers "dustless sanding". No one can refinish without some dust, but these machines come equipped with a high-powered vac that drastically reduces the amount of debris leftover.

Seeing as the part that's the worst is the sanding, you could hire someone just to do that part. I had a crew come and in one day they sanded my whole 1250sf, 3 bed house, excluding the closets (those I didn't mind doing myself). Then I oiled the floors myself so I could rotate stuff from room to room - the flexibility in finishing it yourself is great.

That room in the photo is GORGEOUS!

I have old honey pine in my whole house. It had never been sanded or sealed - just covered with carpeting from 1880 to 2003. It only cost me $700 to have the whole first floor sanded and sealed, and then a few years ago, I did the upstairs for about $800.

I would happily pay that price to not have to do this horrible job myself.:)

I have done it myself and it was fine - and I'm tiny tbh. The sander I hired was not orbital - it went back and fro and had a sack to collect dust so a lot less messy. Not only is it much cheaper (I had paid pro's incomparably more previously) but you can make sure you get a good finish when you do it yourself. Hard work but very do-able.

One hundred and twenty year old floors, the square parquet ones in old brownstones, were also nailed from the top. If you have top nails, consider hammering each down with a nail set first. It makes for a much smoother floor when done. If you can't hire someone to do this, it would be worth it to do it yourself, and then pay someone else to sand and finish. You don't need to fill the holes with putty or anything (though I think the nails used way back then were smaller and didn't have such big heads, maybe not though.) Just be gentle. The floors I have seen like this are much smoother, and you don't feel the nails underfoot. Also, for really gorgeous old floors, you can do them with a stripper and then sand with a hand sander as if they were furniture, and the finish you get will be way better, will look like the finish on a piece of furniture. That's good on gorgeous old parquet that is growing thin, the kind some lazy sanders will tell you is too thin to sand and needs replacing, while others manage to sand it with large sanders just fine.

And do consider whether you need stain at all with old floors - your finish, be it oil or poly or something else, WILL change the color of the wood once applied, and that may be enough darkening for you. With really nice old wood, there's nothing like seeing the beautiful grain that is there, and it can almost always be better seen without further darkening it. With newer, less gorgeous floorboards, stain away.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you use a drum sander remember to lift it slightly when you turn it on or it will eat into the floor!

I redid the floors on my 1950s ranch in the living room, 2 bedrooms, and hallway that had been covered with carpet. It is my first house, and I didn't have the budget to hire out, plus I had a flexible move-in date. I have beautiful floors and have mostly forgotten how awful this project was :)

My suggestions:
1- Only attempt if you are not living in the house at the time.
2 - Find a square shaped orbit floor sander. It is much easier to get close the edges than with the circular shaped on that is pictured in this post. (I did not have success with hand sanders around the edges.)
3 - Change the the sandpaper often.
4 - As always, expect this to take 3 times longer than you plan.

I refurbished the wooden floor in our hallway using a handheld sander. (blogged here) While I am really chuffed that I managed to pull it off, I am DEFINITELY hiring professionals for the other rooms in our flat.

I have a stupid question - does it make sense to refinish floors when you're living in the house given the dust & general hassle? Can anyone tell me the difference between refinishing and replacing (for 1,000 sq. ft. say). Thanks

^^ to clarify - the difference in COST between refinishing and replacing wood floors. Mine are from 1969 and have some nail holes from carpet tacks

I'm married to a professional hardwood floor technician and I can't imagine anyone doing all that work themselves (without proper tools and skill)!!! But I may be biased :) but this "tutorial" of sorts definitely left out a lot of steps and if you were to follow it I don't think you'd be too happy with your floor. Not that anyone would probably attempt this just going off AT here. But yeah. My suggestion would be to always leave it to the professionals. Again. A bit biased. But there is A LOT of work and skill that you just can't fake.

@elaneb - you can TOTALY have your floors done while living in the house. 90% of our jobs have been refinishes where the family is living in the house. A couple things you want to look for in your flooring guy would be "dustless sanding". And make sure they have the trailer mounted vacuum system. It's the only TRULY dustless system (a lot of companies use vacuum systems that don't do that great of a job but with the trailer the vacuum is 25hp and outside the home so it is 100% dustless. Seriously. And also make sure your contractor uses water based finishes. These dry in a couple of hours (rather than days) and have very little non toxic fumes. These two things should be standard in the flooring industry and any contractor that doesn't use dustless and water based is just behind the times :) our company obviously does and if you happen to be in the Portland area we do free estimates!! Shameless plug :) www.barcelloshardwoodfloors.com

And refinishing would always be cheaper. With new wood you would pay for the wood plus demo of the old floor AND sanding and coating the new wood besides. With refinishing you're just paying that sanding and finishing. Even if you go with pre-finished wood you'd still have to pay to demo the old floor. An at least in our area pre finished is more per square foot that our company charges to refinish. So unless you went cheap-o laminate, definitely refinish. Your flooring contractor should be able to replace a few boards too if it's just an isolated area that has nail holes.

^super long essay of a comment...I'm done now.

Ask around. There are contractors who do this for bigger companies who would do the job well at a fraction of the cost if you work directly with them (and pay cash). We had our almost 1000 sq rental done for $700. Our landlord is a contractor, so he recommended an employee from a company he uses who is a good worker. SO worth it! (bonus helping a good guy out)

We did our living room at our old house. It was a small room, with 100+ year old wood flooring covered with carpet (and beneath that, a thick layer of old carpet glue). I will never do it again. We timed it so we were in a hotel for the weekend we did it, and then on a 10 day vacation, so we weren't at home while it cured.

The sanding wasn't easy, but it wasn't horrible. We did notice that after the floors were coated, there were some spots that were "wavy", but the floor was slanted too, and so old that I can't say for certain that we caused them with the sander. The first two coats of poly went on nicely, but the third didn't adhere properly and "wrinkled" which meant we had to sand again, and reapply the poly. The first kind we used gave a gorgeous finish, but was kind of expensive, and the customer service was terrible, so we used a cheaper poly the second time (and it didn't look nearly as nice).

Anyway, I hated it. It was one of the worst weekends of my life, and when the floor was finished, all I could see were the imperfections. Our house now has 2000+ sqft of wood flooring, and I'll pay whatever I have to when the time comes, so that I don't have to do them myself.

We did the floors in our 1947 bungalow ourselves before we moved in. There were in reasonable shape, having been covered with carpet for a decade or more. My husband is a carpenter/builder and very handy and talented. He did a great job, but the floors do not compare with our friends' who had theirs professionally done. We wouldn't do it ourselves again.No matter how talented of a DIYer you are, some jobs just come out better done by someone who does only that job all day long.

Where can I find this table or a similar one?

This is one job I just won't do in my house. I've got old floors that have seen better days (peeling finish, etc). I really wish I had the money and time to do this before I moved in. Now that I am here, there is no way I am going to the trouble and expense. I will leave that to the next owner, whoever (and whenever) that may be.

I've redone a floor with a drum sander, and I've hired out the work. I would highly endorse the hiring out. They did a much bigger job than I did in the same amount of time, did a better job, and I didn't have to lift that beast of a rental machine in and out of my truck.

My buddy at work has refinished basements and redone kitchens. He refinished his floors at his house and said never again, worth every penny to have a professional do it.

Helped friends do 2 big rooms and a hallway, and I enjoyed it.
I have two small rooms in my house now that I plan to redo at some point, and will likely do myself.
I think for me the age/condition of the house has a lot to do with a DIY job or hiring pros.
If I owned a nice old house with floors in good condition underneath the old finish, and there was a lot of floor, I would save up and hire out. The house I have now though, is a very old house, that has had it's share of past DIY over the last hundred+ years, and floors are not level, put in expertly etc. I only have 2 small rooms with the real hardwood, so I think doing them myself won't be bad.
It would be hard for them to look worse, and if I take my time I know I can do them well.
I second the use of an orbital sander instead of a drum in small areas though.
Now when I can afford to have the rest of the house's crappy laminate floors torn up and reclaimed hardwood put back in, I will hire pros for start to finish for sure.
For those of us on very tight budgets though, working on redoing an old house top to bottom, some things just have to be done DIY.

Definitely read more how-to's though, as I agree this is missing some steps and tips.

As I read through all these comments I suppose refinishing your hardwood floors isn't for everyone. But I believe most of these claims to be made with overly exaggerated difficulty implied. Doing your floors doesn't have to be back breaking (or it can be) as also does not have to be a great financial burden (or can be). I will explain what I mean by this. And sometimes you will even trade one for the other. For example, when I did my bedroom, I had ZERO experience doing any of this and not knowing any better, used my fathers spare orbital hand sander. This was somewhat tedious, but none the less "doable" with some 80 and 120 grit sand paper (used what I had, you can go coarser or finer depending on budget / expectation / need) So, basically, I had saved money not renting a sander, but it was quite a bit more work i would imagine (as I have never ran a stand up orbital floor sander) But judging from my experience from the hand one, I can say the floor came out BEAUTIFUL, it was a little work but well worth it in my opinion, and also that brings me to my second point. The cleaning, stain, and clear coat or oil / wax. This does not have to be super complicate, but you do have some choices... So, pretty much, I will lay out the steps so you can see

1. Remove EVERYTHING from the room, leave just an empty room, thats it.
2.If your painting(walls ceiling), do it now, before you rip the carpet out. If there is no carpet, but a PAINTED wood floor instead, obviously omit the carpet removal step and proceed to step four.
3. Tear out old carpet (if any) being careful not to score the wood underneath with your skill knife.
4. Depending on how much paint is on the floor (for whatever reason) you may want to use a chemical agent to remove any paint or whatever else may be over top your very nice, very hidden, wood floors. These things can be paint, wax, oil, grease, stain, clear coats, etc... I warn you though, floor stripper is some very nasty, corrosive stuff. However, please don't be afraid of this. If handled gently, and used properly, it can bring an AMAZING new surface to light otherwise covered up by all that stuff previously mentioned. Just read the instructions and look at videos. Its easy, however, commands great respect (pretty much like driving a car or pumping gas id say)
5. OK. Now that most (all is ok, but most is fine) of the paint or old polyurethane is removed by chemical means (and that is not even 100% necessary, just if the old stuff is really thick or if you have lead paint you may need to do this, as you wouldnt want to sand lead paint. However, I would look into that, please dont take my word for that, if you have even the slightest idea you may have older style lead paint, CONTACT A PREFESSIONAL. That is important enough, I will mention it again later.) Now that most of the paint or old polyeurothane is removed by chemical means, scrape it all away with a putty knife.
6. clean surface with soap and water. Be careful not to completely soak the living hell out of it and just ring your mop really well. just use hot water and Murphys oil soap or dawn or whatever you may have. Just use very sparingly, you don't want to leave any residue really. As a side note, you may use some bleach in the water to clean and sanitize. This is a good Idea for floors previously inhabited by carpet, pets, plants, etc. Bleach water solution may also be used to lighten the color of the wood to a more desirable shade unachievable by stain, or to simply bleach the wood in preparation for new color. This is optional, but this is the way I did it, and the way I will always recommend it. For those religious folk out there, cleanliness is next to godliness. How about that, eh, leave it up to the church to get away with selling ya a "holy floor". haha, just joking. relax ;) But seriously, put a lil bleach in the water if you wanna sanitize a nasty floor and also lighten things up. REMEMBER your the boss, use as little or as much as you like.
7. Let it all dry for a little while, and apply your stain. Read the back of the can for more help.
8. Apply clear coat (polyeurothane) and do do EXACTLY like the can says. one coat at a time, moving quickly, keeping a wet edge, allowing ample time between dryings, sandings, and reapplication. ONLY PUT ON AS MANY COATS AS YOU FEEL LIKE. Personally, I like it really super shinned up, so i use like 4-5 coats. Dont be lazy, make it nice! But really, that's the beauty here, you can do as little or as much as you want. You can either rent a nice stand up sander and have to pay a little, or use a shitty little hand one like me and save a a few hundred but also do more work. Its all your choice. But nothing a DIY weekended couldn't tackle and afterward feel damn proud about (1-2 rooms bedrooms in a weekend)