Hardwood floors have been in trend for a very long time. Besides the pretty look this flooring gives, its durability, resistance to pressure and high traffic, longevity makes it a perfect choice. From older to new houses, hardwood seems to be covering most of the floors. Hardwood comes in a wide range of types, sizes and colors, giving customers a variety of options to cover their floors. Hardwood might get older with time, and lose its natural luster and color. One cannot replace them every now and then. Therefore, experts have come up with a refinishing process to help restore hardwood planks to their original condition. Hardwood floor refinishing services can be hired to give a new look to hardwood floorings.
Refinishing is done to remove the sealant, the stain, the uppermost layer of the wood to display the underneath grains of a hardwood. Here is an insight into how professionals refinish a hardwood floor.
1) Prepping:
They first remove the shoe base molding.
2) Fixation of Damaged Parts:
Next comes the fixation of any faulty or loose planks. Damaged parts are covered with a filler.
3) Sanding:
Professionals use special sanders, usually drum sanders, to sand the surface of the floor. This will smoothen the surface and remove the upper layer of the hardwood floor.
4) Cleaning:
They use a vacuum cleaner to remove the small wood particles. Next comes a thorough cleaning with a cloth that can help prevent any small hair or dust particles from being glued to the floor.
5) Staining:
After cleaning comes the staining process. Staining helps in changing the color of the hardwood. If you want to change your room’s theme, you might opt for a staining chemical, otherwise not.
6) Sealing:
Last but not the least is the application of a sealant. A professional will wait for the stain to dry and then apply a fresh coat of sealant. As the name indicates, sealant helps seal the floor from water, and damage or scratches from furniture or heels. It also gives a sleek and fine look to the floor. There are glossy and matte sealants available in the market, and you can opt for the one you desire.
Hardwood Refinishing Costs:
Professional service providers will charge you around $3,500 per 1000 square feet. Larger the area or number of rooms, the more will be the amount charged.
Who to Hire?
Here are the qualities to look for the Best hardwood floor refinishing in San Jose CA.
1) Experience:
Best service providers always offer experienced workmanship. They have been in the relevant industry for years, and have the know-how of the job and know dealing with customers. Experienced workers prioritize customer satisfaction more than anything. So, hire those who have the right knowledge of dealing with your hardwood floors.
2) Insurance:
Any working company should have its employees insured, to get covered by the insurance company during any injury or mishap on the working site. You should always look for this particular attribute of a service provider before you hire them. Or else, you will be going broke trying to pay for the hospital bills of a worker injured at your home.
3) License:
Every job has its technicalities, and can only be understood by real trained and qualified professionals. A license is an acknowledgement of a worker’s craftsmanship. Therefore, before you hire any service provider make sure they have a C-15 flooring license.
4) Reviews:
What the general crowd thinks of a certain company matters a lot. The reviews of past customers are worth-relying on. See if the hardwood floor refinishing company in San Jose CA you find interesting, are well-reviewed by people or not. Checking their reputation on reliable online websites can help you judge their craftsmanship. Also, the way they deal with negative remarks says a lot about their professionalism.
5) Popularity:
A good service provider is always the talk of the town. They will own the highest place in the relevant market and keep giving a tough time to the competitors.
6) References:
One can obviously not trust every other contractor with their household repairs. Therefore, they need to ask about the past customers the service provider has worked for. Best hardwood floor refinishing services in San Jose CA can produce many references upon being asked.
7) Online Presence:
The Internet is a very important medium to help track a service provider’s history and get to know about their services, priorities and pricing policies. It makes it easier for customers to reach out to the best ones. The reliability of a company can be judged through their online websites or social media accounts. Those that don’t care about catering to this need of customers aren’t worth-hiring.
8) Work Ethics:
You might as well ask the past customers about the general behavior of a company’s employees, based on which you can decide if they are the ones to refinish your floors or not.