apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Can't you just strip and re-varnish them? You could do it yourself to save money (it's work, but it is doable), or hire someone.

What about floor-painting? My boyfriend and I were considering a strip revarnish, but our floors are so old that no amount of sanding would smooth out the unevenness. I've read about floor painting in a few AT entries and it looks really farm-house chic, if anyone has advice about how to floor paint, please add!

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/12173.shtml

Consider sanding, coating with color/varnish of the same color, resanding and then sealing with poly. If you can hire a sander from Home Depot for the purpose and do it yourself, the results may be worth the labor. Good luck.

The light floor color works in your favor. Sand lightly to remove poly apply a new coat.

While I agree with Ceda that painted wood floors can look cool, I daresay that your landlord will not be psyched about the idea, because I'm pretty sure once you've painted, there's no going back.

We sanded, added poly, then used bowling alley wax on our floors back when I had h/w floors. We hired a man who refinished floors (word of mouth), it was about $150 per room from what I can remember (sand, poly, wax). BUT that was 10 years ago. NO CLUE what this would go for today, but I'm thinking a quick Judysbook.com or Craigslist.com search can help you find out rather quickly.

Best,
Holly

I have found that gross apartment floors often just need to be cleaned really well to look passable. Mop and scrub, and be sure to also scrub baseboards as they contribute to scuzziness. Using a cup of vinegar in a gallon of water will also lift a lot of dirt and help redistribute old wax evenly.

After the thorough cleaning Jake recommends, get some Howards Restore-A-Finish, and some Restore-A-Shine.

The former, for me, is a miracle product. The latter I've never used, but it's got to be good!

You can reverse floor painting. I painted my horrible wood floors with a white latex outdoor paint. I did this to attract renters. However, when the renter moved in he decided he knew best and stripped the paint and sanded in an attempt to fix the floors. No good. Now he has this horrible shiny glossy coat on top of the floor that seems to magnify it's ugliness.

Try pledge for hardwood floors after scrubbing with a brush and murphys oil soap. My hardwood floors (in a rental) were a nightmare and those two products made the floors many times better

which brings us to . . .
poly comes in flat and satin finish
much better than glossy
which gives you that plasticy look

there's an industrial cleaner avail at hardware stores
"Mex"
in a red foil box
wear gloves!
it's very fumey, but it loosens up ancient dirt like crazy
we used before repolying the floors

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Painting the floors are not an option, so it looks like I have some scrubbing in my future. I am going to see what the cleaning can do before I try to resand, stain and poly.

That being said, does anyone know where I could rent a sander in the city?

ms

I got a sander from Crest Hardware on Metropolitan, after I got the macho treatment from some other place where I'd started out. I asked a few questions and suddenly they were driving me home to price the job themselves ($700) and yelling at me (yup. yelling) about how I couldn't possibly do it myself and I'd blow a fuse and there is just no way blah blah. Jerks. So I kicked them out and called Crest and they were like "here is our book where you can look up how much of each grit of sandpaper you are going to need for your floors." They were polite and helpful and not macho. Whew!

I sanded and then oiled my floors with linseed oil, which I think precludes future poly. On another apartment with crappy floors, I scrubbed, did not sand, turpentined and then used bowling alley wax. That was also totally functional. The bowling alley wax came in a dark red option that was really nice.

Good point on the landlord not being so happy about the painted floors. I wanted to ask Amanda about her ingenious solution: how much turpentine did you have to apply to the floor and where did you get the bowling alley wax?

i had some dull dirty yellow floors. i went to HD and got a product that is a little like car compound. it's in the cleaning aisle, I can't remember the name. But you apply it in little areas and it takes off the top layer of grimey poly and your let with clean shiny floors. i was really happy with it.

Hardwood floors are can be a headache if not dealt with properly. Pardon me if anyone else has said any of this before. Striping and waxing is one way to go if the floors have been previously waxed then this will give you quick gratification. I grew up in a house where the floors were striped and waxed once a year and buffed several times a year. Waxed floors look nice but if you’re hard on your floors i.e. not dusting or vacuuming regularly the grit on your shoes will make the finish look worse. Waxed floors are a pain to keep up. The other way to go is to refinish the floors using a floor sander and some elbow grease, after the floor is sanded then you add a coat of polyurethane and you have a new surface that will last for some year’s low maintenance. If you want a even harder finish almost like a rock get GYM Finish it goes on much the same as polyurethane but it’s though as nails. You might want to talk to your land lord and see if he will work out a deal with you. Getting the floors refinished is a big plus for you and him/her. I don’t advocate using any oil Tung or Linseed the reason being these don’t protect the floor from water damage and or dirt, after a few months dirt will begin to get into the grain and the floors will look worse. My experience with all of this is that I am a finish carpenter and a furniture builder, so you name it I have used it, yes even bowling alley wax which is slick as owl ****.

I have similar ugly floors, they are have thick yellowish polyurethane that was poorly applied and filled with bubble that crack and fill with dirt. In my bedroom I hired someone off craigslist to sand the floor, I think it was $150. Then I applied Benwood Low Lustre acrylic polyurethane with a sort of mop toolI got at the hardware store that is just for this purpose. It came out really well! I love it!

-dl

is it true that the more a floor is sanded over time, the thinner the boards get, causing them to eventually warp?
my floors are very old but made with nice 6" planks. one day i hope to get rid of the dark stain and reveal a natural finish. they're still quite firm but i'm afraid that if they're sanded again, they'll be paper thin! yes? no?
someone enlighten me.

When you sand floors your really not taking much wood off 1/32 1/16 or so. If you sand your floors alot then yes the boards will get thin and warp if not nailed down properly. Wood floors should only need refinishing every 20-30 years if the finish is applied properly and cared for i.e. mopping(not wet mopping) dusting vacuming so on. Your perfectly fine. Alot of home owners will sand only the finish off not the actual floors. I have done this many times however i will suggest using a professional if you dont want to touch the wood it takes alot of skill and knowledge to know when your too the wood but not sanding on it. If you floors look bad dont be afraid to take them on . The chances that that your floor has been sanded several times is very very low so have at it, I learned by trying it. I would suggest starting in a room that isnt used much and in a place that isnt noticable. As you get better and you will then move into your more used rooms.

Where are you located? I had a similar problem, except my floors had coats of grey paint... I have an excellent and very inexpensive wood flooring guy who made my floors absolutely beautiful!

Annie, I'm in the east village.

ms

MS, I am, today in fact, having my wood floors refinished (not going so well, really) I have to say, I am extremely handy, I've done almost everything one can do in a DIY fashion, this is not something that I would ever have taken on, I contemplated it and I realized it was worth more to me to have someone else do it (and it is still not going well), so I'm saying don't sand it or poly it yourself if you value your sanity.
Have you considered having them professionally waxed? It is not that expensive and makes a world of difference, plus it's not dramatic enough to disturb your landlord, though you might not want that much of a shine.

That works, I had my floors refinished on East 7th Street .

If you still need someone to provide you with excellent and reasonably priced flooring service call Marcus 646-244-5432.
Good luck!

Great thread. However I've got some feedback after trying something I read here.

[I'm responding to this: After the thorough cleaning Jake recommends, get some Howards Restore-A-Finish, and some Restore-A-Shine.The former, for me, is a miracle product. The latter I've never used, but it's got to be good!

Posted by Jean at 08/28/06 3:36 PM]

With all due respect to Jean, I bought their whole restorative kit this week, because I have the same problem as the original poster. Well, it turns out that the Howards Restore-a-Finish is NOT a floor product!

The instructions say to apply it w/ a small rag by hand only. When I emailed the company to ask if there was a way I could apply it to floors, they sent me back a rather unfriendly cut-paste reply:

"There was a misunderstanding regarding this product... It is Howards Restore-A-Finish, it is not a Refinishing product. It is designed to restore problem areas on wood surfaces, such a sun fading, water marks, scratches etc. It is not for large refinishing or staining of wood floors. It is available in 16oz cans only.

You may return the product for a full refund."

Now I have to box this stuff back up and pay for shipping. At least it's returnable, and I did get free shipping on the way here.

Thought I'd give readers a heads-up and spare you what happened to me.

What technique should be used when you have had new hardwood floors soaked with water in a room, even though water was removed quickly, it still resulted in some cupping or alittle warping on some boards? I heard it takes two months to truely dry out, but I am getting impatient.

Success at last! My floors look amazing.

I bought the Orange Glo Floor Refinishng Kit from Bed Bath & Beyond. This stuff rocks:
http://www.russianriverchalet.com/2006/09/a_wood_floor_re.html

We recently purchased Sierra Oak Hardwood floors for our new Victorian home - BIG MISTAKE! After cleaning them once with Murphy's Oil Soap, they have smudges, streaking, spotting, imbedded footprints, etc... I had always used this product on our previous wood floors, and it cleaned beautifully until now. What a mess we have on our hands. The manufacturer refuses to stand behind the product - tells us we will have to refinish or replace after spending $10,000.00. Our floors look like the ones pictured in the apartment above.

Can anyone give additional recommendations for someone who refinishes parquet wood floors. I am in a Brooklyn co-op and obviously want quality services and affordable price.

New oak floor...LOve it 2 boards tight to grther are bowing. What in god's name can i do ? Help!!!!

Personally, I appreciate the look and texture of carpet underneath my feet.Well, I suggest you try one.
At least, by the time you own an apartment or house of yours,you could still use it.And it won't require so much effort on your part...
What do you think?Anyway,still your decision...
Got to fix my Audi Q7 Knock Sensor first..Good luck!