refinishing/staining hardwood floor

[changedname]

Hi, I'm not a reg on here but might join you guys as I have a ton of projects on the go.

I really hate the colour of my hardwood floors. I was thinking of getting them restained or doing it myself. Has anyone done that? Is it a DIY job?
The issue is that we have a wooden staircase too with spindles so it would be a pita but I was thinking to do the white paint and wood thing which might make it easier?

Also do you know if this can be done on engineered hardwood too? Does it make a difference?tia

[lavender444]

We DIY almost everything, but floor restaining/refinishing we hire out. Just because it's such a pain to keep the kids and the dogs away for as long as it needs to be done and dry. We generally try to time it with a vacation.

You can DIY, but make sure you use the right products for the job, and you're very comfortable with a sander. I've seen people ruin their floors with a sander, and end up having to pay a lot more to have it fixed.

I'm not sure about engineers floors. I don't have any experience with those

[mrs.jacinthe]

To my knowledge, engineered hardwood cannot be refinished unless it's a darker color used as an over-stain, because you cannot sand them.

That said, I've DIYed refinishing hardwoods. It's backbreaking, time consuming, and difficult to do correctly. I'd hire it out.

[simpsongal]

I refinished our stairsin the dark wood/white look. Honestly, I wouldn't do it again. The painting is fine but sanding and restaining was rough/messy/imprecise, etc.

Hire it out.

[soozy87]

My mom refinished our hardwood floors when we were young. She is not super handy but they turned out well. Like someone else said, make sure you have the right tools for the job.

[changedname]

Jul 1, 2014 14:23:29 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

To my knowledge, engineered hardwood cannot be refinished unless it's a darker color used as an over-stain, because you cannot sand them.

That said, I've DIYed refinishing hardwoods. It's backbreaking, time consuming, and difficult to do correctly. I'd hire it out.

Ok that's what I though. Crap. I would,be happy with them just being a shade or two darker (I feel like they are too orangy now). However, wouldn't I still have to sand them? They have a kind of shiny finish now.

[mrs.jacinthe]

No, you can use a product like Minwax Polyshades which is a tinted polyurethane. That's really your only option, as far as I know.

[changedname]

Jul 1, 2014 16:26:58 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

No, you can use a product like Minwax Polyshades which is a tinted polyurethane. That's really your only option, as far as I know.

Thanks, didn't think of using them. I have some spare pieces of wood the old owners left so I will do some tests.

[kaylie]

Definitely hire it out and I do think engineered can be sanded down and refinished. Call a professional and have them come out to take a look. They'll need to figure out how thick the top layer is

[redheadk]

Engineered hardwood can be refinished, just only one or two times bc it's a thinner layer of the finished wood. I'd definitely hire it out bc of that bc you have less margin for error.

[pitterwoo]

I would look to a pro for this. I've heard engineered can be done 1-2 times so I wouldn't want to risk messing it up.