Staining hardwood floors is not something that can be done quickly. It requires dexterous hands, a lot of dedicated time and patience to get the desired results. However, it is absolutely satisfying to see the outcome of a well finished job of stained hardwood floors. Different hardwood reacts differently to staining, so while sometimes, the results are quick, at others, they can painstaking jobs accomplished through trials and errors. Such jobs are best accomplished if you rely on a skilled hand which understands all types of hardwood floors to carry out staining hardwood floors in your home.
The first thing which is required to be done before initiating the process of staining hardwood floors is thoroughly clean the floors. Cleaning doesn't entail superficial cleaning. It requires removing all traces of previous varnishes from the hardwood floor as the wood needs to be raw for staining. Even if the floor looks like it is bare wood, it will require thorough cleaning, for it may be coated with a natural looking lacquer, which will hamper all attempts of staining hardwood floors if not completely removed. The cleaning necessitates smoothening of the hardwood floor so that all traces of the color are removed from the wooden floor. The amount of sanding will, of course, depend on how deep the color has penetrated into the wood. Some types of floors need to be hand scraped, which drastically increases not just the time required to carry out staining hardwood floors but even the cost involved.
Staining hardwood floors which have been engineered could be a challenging task and may not be achievable. One thing is assured that traditional methods of staining hardwood floors cannot be readily used on engineered floors, as there may not be sufficient hardwood for sanding the floor down to bare wood. For staining hardwood floors that are engineered different procedures are used to get a desired effect.
Staining hardwood floors takes time as the process of sanding and staining the floor is grueling. The time taken will also depend on the amount of sanding required and the final finish desired for staining hardwood floors. On an average a 400 sq. ft. room will take between three to four days if a professional is engaged to do the job, provided weather conditions are favorable. This includes the time taken for stripping the room bare of furniture. Further, the time taken will depend on the material being used for the staining. Sanding the floor and staining it with a water based dye will require around two days work. Oil based staining can take up to 3 days. Wet weather may take the staining, a little longer to dry.
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Georgio Antonnini has been an contributing writer for nearly 5 years. In addition to the expert topics of diet, fitness and weight training, you can also check out the latest websites on Unfinished Hardwood Floor as well as to see detailed information and consumer reports.