Even though sanding is a laborious process, this part of the restoring process is the one that can give your flooring that elegant look. And if you are looking to sand hardwood floors, the job doesn’t really have to be unpleasant; all that’s needed is adequate knowledge on how to do it right.

You’re not alone in wondering why would you want to sand your hardwood floors if doing so is such a hard and laborious process. Not only that it can be costly because you’ll have to either rent or buy special tools for sanding.

There is a good reason why sanding hardwood floors is vital despite it being a difficult, time consuming and costly process. Sanding is the part of the hardwood restoration or repair process that would truly bring out the visual quality of hardwood floors.

Knowledge of how to sand your hardwood floors and proper application of that knowledge can bring out the beauty of it. This beauty is a combination of wood grain, color tone and shine. Sanding is what helps bring out the hardwood’s grain quality. In addition, sanding makes for smoother hardwood flooring, thereby increasing the comfort value of the flooring.

Be aware that the tools you will need for sanding are not your usual power tools. You’ll have to either buy these tools from a hardware shop or rent them from a tool rental company for a few days. Between buying and renting these sanding tools, go with renting. It isn’t really cost effective to buy them if you are only going to refinish your hardwoord flooring every few years or so.

The sanding tools you’ll need are:

- sandpaper with at least three ratings (heavy, light and in between)

- vacuum cleaner

- buffer

- sander

- edger

- masks, goggles, gloves, etc. for dust protection

There is good sanding and bad sanding. It is vital that before you start sanding, you clean the floor thoroughly. There should not be any nails sticking out and the floor must generally be even.

First, you need to apply the heaviest sandpaper. Make sure you run the sander on the floor in even strokes. Take note that this process takes a while and involves expending a lot of energy so be prepared; otherwise, you’d get a bad back ache. When the heaviest sandpaper layer is used up, use the lighter sandpaper on the hardwood flooring next. Finally, use the lightest sandpaper.

The edges and corners of your hardwood flooring are hard to reach areas so you’ll have to sand them using a handheld edger.

Be warned that sanding involves dust particles flying all around so be sure to wear protective gear while sanding hardwood floors. In addition, close all vents that connect the room you’re working in to the other rooms in the house. The last thing you want is dust throughout the house. Make sure that the only vent on is the one that’s connected to the outside of your house. Close the doors in the room where you’re sanding and place wet sheets or towels along the doors to keep dust from seeping out.

Refinishing hard wood floors isn’t like many do-it-yourself projects. Mess up that new deck and you have something that can be fixed. Do a lousy paint job in the bedroom and you can still recover.

But if you decide to refinish your own hardwood floors and the job goes bad, you’re in trouble. For one thing you will have lowered the financial and emotional value of your home. That’s not fun. And it may cost you a bundle to fix, if the old floors need to be removed and replaced.

Make no mistake. Refinishing hard wood floors is a messy and disruptive task whether you do it yourself or have the pros do it.

You have to make the right decisions about what processes, equipment and materials to use. And you have to do everything right and in accordance with the manufacturer’s current recommendations.

Think about the following. Then decide if refinishing your own hardwood floors is the right choice for you.

Can you tell if your hardwood floor can be refinished? Some floors that are actually laminate floors are described to homeowners as hardwood. Laminate floors cannot be refinished.

To make things more complicated, there are some engineered hardwood floors that can be refinished and some that can’t. Attempting to refinish a floor that’s unsuitable can result in replacing the whole floor.

Sanding a floor can create a breathing hazard and cover everything inside your house with sawdust. If you’re going to do the job yourself, make sure you have the right equipment to capture the dust and you know how to cover everything effectively. Don’t forget the protective gear, too.

Speaking of protective gear, you’ll need it when you refinish your floors. That step requires the use of chemicals that can be toxic if they’re not handled the right way.

So you have to know if your floors can be refinished. You have to know which techniques to use. When you put your plan together make sure you’ve budgeted for the special equipment and the protective gear you’ll need.

Make sure that you know how to protect your furniture and other possessions during the process and that you’ve allowed enough time. In addition to the time that each step takes, you need to allow enough time for your new floor finish to cure before you start moving the furniture back.

There’s one more thing. Be sure you know how to properly dispose of the chemicals and materials you use to refinish your floor. Many jurisdictions have very strict laws about how you can get rid of them and strict penalties for violating those laws.

If you’re going to refinishing hard wood floors, make the sure job is done right, no matter buying prescription drugs who does it. And make sure the work is done using materials and procedures outlined in your manufacturer’s guidelines so you don’t void any warranties.

Your hardwood flooring means too much to the emotional and financial value of your home. If you’re going to refinish it, make sure to do the job right.