Painting Hardwood Floors

Most homes have hardwood floors, which look distressed and outdated over a period of time. If you feel the need to spruce up the look of your floors, you don’t need to purchase new ones because you can change your home’s appearance. You can do this yourself or hire a professional who’s an expert in painting hardwood floors. But hardwood floors are not ordinary surfaces, and it is not easy to do the job yourself. Hiring a professional for painting hardwood floors is your best option.

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Why you need to hire a professional

English: Tigerwood flooring from Brazil, offer...

Tigerwood flooring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A professional who has performed many tasks of painting hardwood floors has all the items for the project. These materials are floor paint, floor primer, paintbrushes, paint rollers, painting poles, floor sealer (polyurethane), wood filler, sandpaper (fine grit), detergent and bleach. Industry-grade equipment such as a palm sander is also needed, and only a pro in painting hardwood floors has this equipment on hand.

How professionals are painting hardwood floors

If you’re an amateur, chances are you’ll go painting hardwood floors unsystematically. This chaotic work can lead to ugly floors. If you want beautiful floors, then you need a professional who paints with such system:
1. The first step in painting hardwood floors is lightly sanding the surface. This is important, especially in floors which were painted or stained. By sanding the surface with fine grit sandpaper, the paint will adhere to the floors better.
2. Before painting hardwood floors, a professional will clean the surface first. He will make use of water and detergent to get rid of the dirt, grime and dust on the floor. Should there be mildew or mold growth on your hardwood floors, he will make use of bleach and water solution with a ratio of 1:3.
3. He will then inspect the floors for cracks, holes, and crevices before painting hardwood floors. A professional has a trained eye, which can see even the littlest of holes. He will then apply wood fillers to the cracks and sand the surface after so that it’s at the same level with the floor.
4. Before painting hardwood floors, he will apply primer to the surface. Primer specifically made for hardwood floors works by making the paint more adherent to the floor. It also conceals the stains and irregularities that might show up even after coats of paint.
• The primer that he will apply in painting hardwood floors will complement the paint he’s going to use. This is the common mistake of DIYers because they don’t know the difference between the types of paints and primers.
5. Now the professional will go ahead painting hardwood floors. He has better idea as to which is the best paint for your needs. For example:
• If you want your floors to be glossy (or semi-glossy,) he will use latex, polyurethane or alkyd paints.
• For a satin look, he will apply latex paint on your hardwood floors.
• Apart from latex and alkyd paint, he can also use oil-based colors for painting hardwood floors.
• If you want to make your room look bigger, he will make use of bright and light colors for painting hardwood floors.
6. Painting a hardwood surface needs to be done in a special manner. An expert will begin this with the outer corners of the floor. After finishing edges, he will work his way into the middle.
7. Lastly, he will apply a floor sealant after painting hardwood floors. If you want to maintain the beautiful appearance of your floors for at least 5 years, a professional can paint 2 to 3 coats of polyurethane sealer specifically made for doors.

Hardwood floor designs by professionals

old blue. (Photo credit: ancient history)

Another great thing about hiring a professional is that he can help you style up your floors. You can tell your contractor to add designs when painting hardwood floors. The styles, of course, will have to depend on the room and its traffic.
The floor on the foyer or entryway will make a lasting impression to your visitors. For this area your contractor can incorporate intricate designs when painting hardwood floors.
The kitchen and the living room are high-traffic areas so when painting hardwood floors in these places, he will not use light colors. Food and beverage spillage frequently occur in these rooms, and white a light floor paint staining is bound to occur. If you don’t want to hire an expert in painting hardwood floors more often than not, make sure to clean the floors immediately after spillages.
If you would like the contractor to go painting hardwood floors in the dining room, he will make use of the paint a shade lighter or darker than the majority of the furniture in the room. Any of these colors will greatly complement the room.
If you want to make the space look bigger, he can use a lighter shade when painting hardwood floors in the dining room. But if you want to him to use a darker color, make sure you maintain it regularly as this is fast to show signs of wear, tear, and traffic.
For the bedroom, light or dark shades go great for painting hardwood floors. No matter what hue you pick, the professional will take care of the floor by attaching blue tape on the wheels of the chairs, TV stands and other wheeled materials.
If you’re thinking of painting hardwood floors in your office, it is better you don’t DIY as again you may mar the appearance of the office floor. An expert will know exactly what to do.
Most likely an expert will favor a darker shade. This will make the room more formal; however, it will make your room look smaller than it really is. Again he will place blue tape on the wheels of swivel chairs and other wheeled furniture in order to protect the floors from scraping and what not.
Painting hardwood floors with a dark shade will need regular maintenance. If you don’t have the time and money for the needed maintenance, place walk-off mats at the entryways so as to decrease the obvious signs of heavy traffic.
Painting hardwood floors is complicated, so it’s best left to the hands of professionals. Call an expert now to beautify your floors right away.