redo-ing hardwood cheaply

lost_punk · 12-09-2012, 07:53 PM

I have an area about 6x8 at the top of my steps that needs to be redone. we are moving in spring(i hope) so i don't want to spend a ton of cash on this. Is there something that we can do cheaply to redo the floors? they were stained and finished at one point but after years of use they need to be redone. i don't want to hire a pro because i'm trying to be cheap. also this is the access to our bedrooms and to the only bathroom in the house so anything that needs to sit for hours at a time won't work. planning to do without the bathroom won't work because of my young kids. thoughts suggestions? don't want to carpet it because the realtor said to leave some hardwood exposed. went with laminate in the rest of the house

**oh'mike** · 12-09-2012, 07:57 PM

Cheap I can do--a belt sander and a palm sander will get it back to raw wood---then stain--and varnish with a water based floor finish---

You ask the impossible,however, if you want to do this without staying off it for several hours---

What have I done · 12-09-2012, 08:19 PM

I agree. No way to do it without staying away for at least a few hours for water based Poly. Post some pics. How bad is it.

If not to bad, scuff it vacuum it real well and just before bed brush on a coat of Poly- i prefer Oil based for durability, but it stinks.

By morning it will be dry- repeat the next night with a second coat

Fairview · 12-10-2012, 01:43 AM

I'm trying to visualize why sanding the 6x8 area and varnishing half of it at a time wouldn't work, but without a floor plan or pic I'm having trouble seeing a problem with that. Inconvenient for a couple of days? Probably, but isn't most home repair.

lost_punk · 12-10-2012, 06:40 AM

Ok here is a VERY crude drawing of my area im working with. If my kids were older this wouldn't be a big deal i think. I don't want one of them waking up at 2:30am to go pee and walk right thought the freshly stained area. I just wasn't sure if there was some cheater type stuff that would work ok. I'll try to get a decent picture of the floor tonight posted so you can see what i'm working with exactly.

SuperJETT · 12-10-2012, 09:00 AM

It sounds like an overnight stay at a hotel would be the best bet or multiple sleepovers for the kids.

Fairview · 12-10-2012, 10:19 AM

I showed this to my wife and she mentioned giving the wife and kids a short vacation.

I think the kids would enjoy cat walks for a couple of days.

Awoodfloorguy · 12-10-2012, 11:36 AM

Since this is such a small area you could get it done by renting just an edge sander. Then you would sand over it with a 36 grit, then again with a 50 grit, and finally with a 100 grit. Then you may want to even take a palm sander over the entire area to make sure you get out any swirls left by the edge sander. Then wipe down with water, let dry and apply stain using a deck pad. The stain will take the longest to dry, but you could just plan for this to where it is during a least inconvenient time. Then use a waterbased finish such as Bona traffic, and you can do all the coatings in just a few hours... Another option might be Rubio Monocoat, it is color and finish in one application. Check them out here http://www.rubiomonocoatonline.com Hope this helps.

lost_punk · 12-10-2012, 05:35 PM

ok here is a picture of the floors. this was not taken by a professional or even a decent camera. this was taken by my phone camera. Thinking about hiring a local handyman to do the work for me during the day.

Awoodfloorguy · 12-10-2012, 05:38 PM

I would hire a hardwood floor guy rather than a handyman. Every handy man thinks they can do it, but few can do it right. It is such a small area that the cost would be minimal. My guess would be $300-$500 to do it which is about what it would cost to rent all the equipment to do it the right way.