When does your wood floor need to be refinished? Use these guidelines!
While wood floors are very beautiful and can do a lot for a home, they can sometimes be deceptive. Discolorations, dings, and scratches do not necessarily mean that your floors need to be refinished… whereas a floor that looks smooth may actually need to be touched up. It’s very important to be able to recognize when your wood floor needs to be refinished in order to prevent permanent damage to the wood and keep it looking naturally beautiful for years to come. Here are a couple of tests to do if you suspect that you may need to call in a hardwood flooring contractor to have your floor refinished.
The Water Test
First, you should find a part of your wood floor that gets the most foot traffic every day. This part is likely to be the part most in need of refinishing due to its heavy use. Take a tablespoon of water and pour it onto that section of the floor, then observe what happens. If it beads into droplets which rest on the top of the floor, the finish is fine. If the water soaks slowly into the wood, the finish is wearing thin and you should think about having the floor refinished in the near future. If the water soaks quickly into the wood, leaving a dark stain in its wake, you’ll need to have the floor refinished as soon as possible. Make sure to wipe up any water that remains on the surface of the wood with a paper towel if necessary and repeat the test on other areas of the floor as necessary.
The Business Card Test
Next, find a pair of floorboards that meet imperfectly and have a deep groove in between them. Insert a business card into this crack as far as it can go, then mark the card where the top of the floor hits. Take the business card out and measure the crack depth using a ruler. If the mark is less than 3/4-inch long, you may want to contact a wood flooring contractor to see if your floor may need to be replaced rather than refinished. Refinishing involves sanding down the old floor, so if there isn’t enough depth available refinishing may not be a viable option.
Trust Jason Brown Wood Floors for All Your Hardwood Flooring Needs!
At Jason Brown Wood Floors, our commitment to quality installation is clear in all that we do, which is why our customers consistently rate us as one of the top contractors in the region. We have been awarded Baltimore Magazine’s Best of Baltimore Award 3 times and have been proudly serving the Baltimore Area for over 16 years. If you’re ready to speak with someone about your hardwood flooring project, we want to hear from you! Contact us at 410-668-9131 or send us a message here.
Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Houzz, and Youtube and check out our blog for more news and information!