Finishing Newly Installed Hardwood Floor

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Los Angeles

While some hardwood flooring can be purchased pre-finished, the majority must be sanded and finished once installation is completed. Newly installed hardwood floor that requires finishing allows more room for you to apply your personal preference, specially when it comes to the stain or type of finish that you would want to be used.

Finishing hardwood floor requires some specialized skills and power tools. These primary pieces of floor finishing equipment include the drum sander for sanding hardwood floor, power edger used to sand the areas that the drum sander can not reach, like the edges of the room, and the floor polisher used for applying the finish and/or stain.

Floor Preparation

    It is recommended to apply the finish to the hardwood floor on the last part of any construction project. In this way other work traffic of workers won't mar the finish. Wall coverings should be in place and painting completed except for a final coat on the base molding. Floors must be swept clean immediately before sanding.

Sanding 

    When Finishing a hardwood floor, sanding should be done first. This process gives the floor a fine finish, removes imperfections and preps the wood floor for the application of stain and/or polyurethane finish. Drum type sander is used for heavy sanding operation. A floor polisher with a floor sanding abrasive disc is used. The experience and sanding technique of the hardwood flooring technician determines the quality of the outcome of the finish. If the wrong grit is used for the type of wood species you have, the finishing process could get affected. 

Staining Hardwood Floor

     A custom stain can be applied to the hardwood floor during the finishing process. This will allow you to determine what shade or color do prefer for your hardwood flooring. Different type of wood gives off certain characteristic when being stained and finished. For example, Cherry hardwood takes light reddish stain well, generally no filler is needed for this type of wood and it imitates mahogany very well . On the other hand, Maple hardwood stains well in lighter colors, takes fine finish and no fillers is needed. Make sure that your hardwood floor technician helps you figure out what stain will work best with the type of hardwood you have.

Finishing Hardwood Floors

    There are properties and method of application that needs to be considered when finishing hardwood floors. Determine first the type of finish appropriate for the type of wood specie you have. Most finish are applied with a high quality brush or lambs wool applicator. A sealer is applied first. Some seals produce satisfactory results with one coat but most manufacturers recommend two coats or one coat plus a special top dressing. Surface finishes are then applied. There are different types of polyurethane finish. The oil modified polyurethanes and moisture cured polyurethane. Make sure that the sealer and top coat finish being used on your hardwood floor are compatible. Consult your hardwood floor contractor for further details. 

www.custom-hardwood-flooring.com