Can Painted Hardwood Floors Be Refinished

Our home editor sounds off on how she saved herself 7 500 and got a better look in the process.

Can painted hardwood floors be refinished.

The answer is almost always yes but the site finished or pre finished flooring needs to be solid hardwood. Experience skill time and labor costs money. First look at your floors to see how widespread the issues are. With quality materials and proper preparation you can revitalize your painted wood floors and preserve them for many years to come.

This of course depends on they quality of the wood thickness of top layer and installation method see below. Preparation is everything restoring a painted wood floor is time consuming so be sure to set aside several days for completing the necessary steps and several more for your room to be off limits to traffic. As a general rule solid hardwood can be refinished but most engineered hardwoods can not. If it s floating meaning that it s not attached to the floor.

Refinishing a hardwood floor is a costly endeavor. Average cost depends on your area but you can expect to pay at least 3 or 4 per square foot. Most wood floors can be painted yes even expensive teak flooring if you dare. All but the most severely damaged hardwood floors can be refinished.

One of the best things about hardwood floors is that after they start to show signs of age wear and tear they can be refinished rather than replaced. That makes it easy to upgrade the look and feel of your whole home without the expense or hassle or total floor replacement. Indications that your hardwood may be engineered. The wood is stripped sanded repaired and then finished and all of this requires significant time and labor.

Your best bet is to test the wood that you wish to paint. It also requires a specific skill set and it s a rare diyer who can execute a professional worthy wood floor refinishing project. Although pre finished wood floors can technically be refinished you may not be as thrilled with the results as you were with the factory finish. If you have an engineered hardwood installed that is damaged due to traffic dented and scratched before sanding down at it there are a few things to consider.

If you want your floors professional refinished you can find local contractors using several online services like yelp or angie s list. However you shouldn t never paint directly onto a glossy finish as this usually comes out looking bad. If the flooring is something called engineered hardwood then more than likely you will not be able to refinish the flooring. Many customers are surprised to learn that engineered hardwood can indeed be refinished once and sometimes more.