Deciding if your wood floor needs to be refinished and improved can be a dicey business. Scratches, finer dents and discolourations don’t automatically mean that your floor is in emergency and extreme need of professional refinishing service. And a surface that looks smooth and glossy might need some touching up. Then how tell if your wood floor needs to be refinished? Of course, asking specialists for help is usually the best thing you can do. Contact your local experienced and knowledgeable contractors and ask them for their opinions and recommendations. It would be even better if they visited you at an inconvenient time and inspected the floor. Make sure to remove all the rugs, mats and light furniture pieces out of the way, so the specialists can quickly and effectively inspect the floor that you feel faces some hard times and problems and let them explain the situation. However, if you don’t want to or cannot ask the professionals for their opinion, today we will share with you a few simple ways to inspect and examine your wooden floor by yourself. Remember that if your floor does need to be refinished, you don’t have to be a procrastinator and deal with the problem right away, otherwise, the issue may go more in-depth and cause major issues and challenges.
To start, locate the section of the floor that gets the most daily traffic and everyday use. Usually, this is the section of your floor, where the protective finish wears off quickly and where your floor will be facing wear and tear the most. Frequent traffic in busy areas is certainly the most common reason for wear and tear and the damaged finish.
Pour a tablespoon of water onto the section of the floor. If little drops are formed on the surface, then the finish is in good condition and it doesn’t need refinishing. If the water soaks into the wood slowly, the finish is already starting to wear thin and you have to consider re-finishing service soon. The water quickly penetrates the wood and leaves a darker mark, then your floor is in big need of re-finishing.
If any water remains on the surface, wipe it away with a paper towel because spills and liquids have to be removed immediately from the tops of wooden floors. You can repeat the water test on other areas if you want and that will give you a better idea of the entire floor.
Find two boards that meet imperfectly with a groove between them. Then insert a business card or something else with similar size and thinness and push it as far as it will go, then mark with a pencil the place on the card where the top of the floor hits.
With the help of the business card, you can measure the depth of the crack. If the mark on the card is less than 3-4-inch, then the best thing you can do is hire a professional to refinish your floor and if it is less than 3-4-inch thick, then the professionals will do the sanding job the best with fewer issues and problems during the process.
