How To Tell If Wood Floors Can Be Refinished

Always wear a good dust mask or respirator ear protection and goggles.

How to tell if wood floors can be refinished.

If the water is quickly soaked up into the wood and leaves a darker stain on the surface there s no finish left. The wood needs refinishing as soon as possible. Discolorations scratches and dings on your hardwood floors don t necessarily mean the wood needs to be refinished and a surface that looks smooth and uniform might actually need some touching. If you decide to refinish your wood floors the fun part is picking a new stain color like rich mahogany or dark oak which are both very popular right now.

Wipe any remaining water from the floor with a paper towel and repeat the test on any other areas that look as though they may need refinishing. The problem is while you may think darker colors would hide dirt they make dust particles more noticeable. If you re unsure whether you have solid hardwood or engineered wood floors you can figure it out by taking a look where any vents or registers in the floor are located and removing the grille. Engineered flooring boards have laminated layers.

Engineered wood flooring with a wear layer of 2mm or less cannot be sanded down fully but can take a light scuff sanding using a buffer and then refinished.