09 Oct The Reality Of MacGuyver Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Ahh, the scent of home improvement. Brett loves it more than anything. After bingeing on a few HGTV shows over the last few years, Brett knows he’s ready to tackle more projects around the house. He’s a computer programmer by day, but he’s ready to become a hotshot home improvement whiz. After installing some crown molding and hanging a few doors, it’s time for his next big project: refinishing the hardwood floors.

Brett plays loosey goosey with the directions. “How hard can this actually be?” he thinks, running a sander over his floors. But before you know it, there’s a problem.

“Uh oh,” Brett whispers before letting out a string of curse words. He’s sanded the hardwood flooring way too much, leaving a noticeable dip in the floor. After some quick thinking, he decides to feng shui the room to hide his DIY misstep with the couch.

Brett’s dilemma is a prime case against MacGuyvered or do-it-yourself hardwood floor refinishing. We know it’s tempting to fancy yourself as a Chip or Joanna Gaines, but let’s pump the breaks for a second. There’s a reason many homeowners hire professionals to do big jobs around their home. And especially for jobs on their high end hardwood floors.

Your hardwood flooring is an investment in your home. Let’s take a look at why hardwood floor refinishing might be something homeowners should leave to the pros.

It Takes Time

Is sanding and refinishing your hardwood floors really something you want to spend time on? Depending on the age of your floors and the amount of wear, you might need to refinish your floors every 2 – 5 years to keep them in tip-top shape. DIYing is just not a good way to spend your time. When you partner with a quality flooring company, they send a team of trained professionals to work on your floors. It’s as easy as coming home to a new floor after a day or two of work, no sweat equity required on your part.

It Takes Specialized Equipment

Flooring professionals use specialized equipment to do the job quickly and correctly. We’ve seen some people try to sand their floors by hand, and it looks pretty awful, both for their knees and for the floors.

When you hire a flooring professional, your floors will be treated with specialized equipment that you likely don’t have access to at stores like Lowe’s. And please don’t scrub your entire home’s floors by hand with sandpaper!

It Takes Experience

A professional will use their years of experience to do the best possible job on your hardwood floor refinishing. They can check for things you might not be aware of, like water or insect damage, that require different materials and techniques. If you care about the longevity of your floors, go with the experienced professionals.

The Bottom Line

For home improvements like installing curtain rods or hanging mirrors, we say MacGuyver away! Some things you can easily take care of as a homeowner. But when it comes to hardwood floor refinishing, it’s best for you to call pros. If you’re looking for a trusted, experience flooring company to take care of your floors, look no further than West Chester Hardwood.