Sometimes, when you buy an old home with great wooden flooring, you may find some of the flooring is damaged and some kind of is required.



Wooden floors are durable and it is also quite appealing. The material is also eco friendly. Therefore, it makes sense when you go for wooden floor restoration.

Even if the wooden floor is coated with a protective layer of urethane or vanish, it will get scratched over long period of time. Dirt and abrasive particles will always be present on the floor. While you walk over the wooden floor that has dirt on the floor, your foot acts like sanding pads. If the particles are large enough, it may cause damage to the protective layer of the flooring. Over a period of time, this protective layer will be eroded exposing wood underneath. We have to take steps to avoid such a situation.

You should not worry much about such damages. There are good procedures to restore wooden floorings. It is possible to keep dust to the minimum level or even eliminate it completely.

The traditional method of restoring such floors is what is called as 'screening'. A low speed buffing machine fitted with special pad lightly removes the old coat of the wooden floor. But, before buffing the floor, check it for exposed nails and deep holes. Ensure that all those nails sticking out are removed and all those holes are filled up with wood filler. Do not use wood putty to fill up such holes if the floor is made of soft wood, because the putty will come out within a few years.

Thereafter, the buffing process will be done. Before you do so, you must understand thoroughly how the buffing machine works. Before you start the process of buffing, ensure that all the doors and windows of the room are properly sealed. This will ensure that dust does not enter into HVAC system. Also while buffing is going on, HVAC system should be kept shut. This buffing will also remove any minor imperfection of the wooden floor. Be careful while using the buffing machine. Otherwise, you might damage the wooden flooring. You may require more than one run of your buffing machine to complete the task properly.

Dust produced by such buffing will be removed by using vacuum cleaner. Any dust still remaining will be removed by a rag soaked in mineral spirit. Then again a layer of urethane is applied over the wooden floor using lamb's wool pad or squeegee. After one day, it is ready for you to walk on it. After another two days it is completely cured.