Hardwood Floors - how hard it is? non-voc products? - DIY Chatroom

irishgem@ymail. · 06-30-2009, 08:10 PM

Hi, I'm 30 years old trying to fix up a 30 year old hardwood floor that's in pretty good condition (indoors).

I can't figure out what the exact steps are.. I know that I need to strip the hardwood floors. How hard is this to do?. I went to Home Depot but the man in the flooring area didn't help much. Is it easy to stain the floor?

Also, I am sensitive to chemicals and I was wondering if anyone on here has worked with non-VOC stains.. I have found a few but they all seem to be available by order only, Bioshield, Safecoat, Monocoat, etc.. None of these are available in any stores near me (and I'm in Los Angeles).

Even if I don't end up doing the floor myself, which I really want to TRY and do, I still need to be careful about which products to use. Does anyone have any suggestions? Again, Home Imporvement didn't have much of a selection.

Bob Mariani · 06-30-2009, 09:24 PM

the floors are stripped by sanding them. The stores you mentioned will rent you the sanders. The type with three orbital heads is very DIY friendly and you can do it yourself. Any stain and poly sold in LA is low VOC by state law. They may not know this, since it is all they sell and may not even realize that is what they have. Sand the floors. Vacuum well. Apply stain with a brush. Wipe with a cotton cloth. let sit 24 hours. Stain again if you want it darker. (stain is optional) Apply a sealer. Sand lightly. wipe clean and vacuum. Apply two or three coats of poly with a foam pad applicator.

irishgem@ymail. · 06-30-2009, 09:47 PM

Thank you!

I am still looking into doing this myself, however... I contacted a man today who works out of his house.. He said, like you, that a stain is not nessary unless you want to change the color of the wood. Is this correct?

Right now the wood in the house is oak and we want to keep it the same color.. So, can we get away with not staining it?

Also.... I went to a paint store the other day who said that "Water-based" sealers are good if I am chemically sensative, but the guy today that came out said Oil Based sealers are better and last longer.

Which is better to use?

Bob Mariani · 07-01-2009, 07:30 AM

water based is all you are allowed to use in CA. Oil is better since it has 50 years of science behind it for improvements and water only as 15 or so. But water based is fine. Use very thin coats and use at least three top coats. For the oak floors you will not need to use any stain. Just sand, clean seal and top coat.

irishgem@ymail. · 07-01-2009, 11:46 AM

Thanks! Because of my chemical sensitivity, I may need to order a product to use. The ones at home depot are just awful smelling.

Has anyone heard of Monocoat? (www.monocoat.us) It claims to have been around 45 years, all Natural Oil based. It has ZERO voc.

Here is the thing I worry about, they CLAIM that I would only need ONE layer. Here is what it says on their website:

"All the colors of Monocoat Natural Oil Finish produce a complete, extremely durable one-coat finish for wood floors. Monocoat contains no volatile organic compounds (VOC), nor does it contain other harmful chemicals.
Compare

1 liter of Monocoat Natural Oil can cover an average of 400 sq. ft. of floor with one application.

V.S.

3 gallons (11.4 liters) of Conventional Finishes and three applications are needed to achieve the same result."

irishgem@ymail. · 07-01-2009, 04:33 PM

I have a question for those who do their own hardwood floors.. When sanding and sealing, what do you do with large furniture? Do you work on one room at a time?

Bob Mariani · 07-01-2009, 06:29 PM

Depends on the areas I work on. In any case the room needs to be cleared. Any built-ins are sealed off with plastic. The dust will go everywhere. Proper exhaust is required. If doing many rooms I have the client rent a storage trailer and we clear the entire floor of everything to avoid dust contamination. (larger high end jobs)