The finish itself also makes a bit of an impact, as every finish and sealant have their own innate characteristics. That said, you can expect about three to five years before you see sufficient wear to consider a thorough maintenance coat.
Hardwood floors can last a lifetime with the right care. Refinishing and resealing are two excellent ways to restore your floor's beauty and protect it for many more years. Whether you choose to refinish or reseal depends on the condition of your floor and the finish currently on it.
Upon exposure to excess moisture, wood flooring can stain, warp, and split. This kind of damage is expensive to repair, which is why many buyers look for any protection they can get. Sealing your engineered hardwood floors creates a moisture barrier that prevents leaks and spills from seeping into the wood.
You may be wondering how long polyurethane lasts on hardwood floors. Depending on many factors, like your lifestyle and type of finish, polyurethane can last between three to six years. However, if you see damage on your floors, it may be time to reapply a fresh finish to your hardwood.
Topical sealers usually have a lifetime of around 3 years, while impregnating sealers have a lifetime of up to 15 years.
In the meantime there's a quick way to test and see if your hardwood is sealed or not. Place a drop of water on the floor. If it beads, sits there, looks at you and says, “Whatchya gonna do?” It's sealed. ProTip, don't do this in the middle of the floor where you could stare at it for a few days.
How many coats will be applied? The standard for a hardwood floor is at least three coats. This consists of one seal coat (which may be the stain) and two coats of finish. Additional costs of finish may be applied depending on the need.
What is the Best Finish for Hardwood Floors? Polyurethane is the most popular finish for floors. It's tough enough to handle constant traffic and is resistant to almost everything. There are two types of polyurethane finish: oil-based (solvent borne) and water-based (waterborne).
The sealing process prevents moisture from sinking into the floor. Try dropping a small amount of water onto the floor and see what happens. If the droplets bead up, that means your floor is sealed. If they spread out or absorb into the wood, then it isn't.
You'll need to lightly sand the first coat of sealant with a fine grade of sandpaper to get the second coat to adhere properly. A #220 sandpaper will generally provide you with the best results. Once you've sanded the entire floor, you'll need to once again vacuum up the debris.
Most new wood floors are sealed with a polyurethane coating; they're also stained or painted to protect the surface.
Applying a topcoat sealer is not required, but a finish protects the stained wood from scratches and keeps it from fading over time. If applying a polyurethane wood finish with a brush, apply one to two coats. If using a spray can, hold 8 to 12 inches from the surface and apply two or three light coats.
'Recoating is a great way to restore the look of your hardwood without a full sand down. It's the process of adding a new topcoat of finish to an existing wood floor finish,' explains Brett Miller, vice president, Technical Standards, Training, and Certification at the National Wood Flooring Association.
You can use natural oils, floor wax, or vinegar to clean your unfinished wood floors. You can also use a whole set of cleaning and polishing products, such as mineral spirits, tri-sodium phosphate, oil soaps, chemical cleaners, etc.
Sealers are semi-permanent floor coatings that look and wear more like paints than like floor finishes. When compared to finishes, they are usually harder to apply correctly and much harder to remove. Also, the chemical makeup of most sealers is more complex than that of finishes.
Vacuum weekly. Clean heavy-traffic areas with a damp mop twice a month. Clean with recommended hardwood floor cleaner once a month. Apply a fresh coat of finish every three to five years.
Avoid Using a Steam Mop on Wood
Some steam mop manufacturers, such as Shark and Bissell, may say you can use it on a sealed hardwood floor, but Stocki recommends against it because moisture could still possibly force itself into the joints between the boards and get into the wood and warp it.
But despite the existence of these machines and the claims their manufacturers make, all of the major wood flooring associations agree that steam cleaning devices should not be used on any hardwood flooring surface. 1 There are no major hardwood providers who recommend the use of these products on their materials.
For a natural (no stain) sanding job with 2 coats of an oil based polyurethane finish, the minimum amount of time needed to complete a job of any size is 2 days, and for 3 coats of oil based poly a minimum of 3 days.
As an alternative to polyurethane finishes, natural oils like tung oil and linseed oil offer a healthier finish. Unlike urethanes, which dry on top of the floor, oils penetrate into the wood and harden. This process creates a low-sheen matte finish that brings out the grain and texture of a hardwood floor.
Restoring hardwood floors without sanding can be a great way to save time and money while still achieving beautiful results. You can easily achieve this by buffing the floor with a buffer, applying a glossy finish, and taking care of your floors with regular vacuuming, protective mats or rugs.
Use a Store-Bought Chemical Abrasion Kit
You use a chemical solution to prepare the flooring and etch the old finish so the new finish will bond. Then you'll apply a new coat of finish to restore your floor. The Rust-Oleum Transformations Floor Wood and Laminate Renewal Kit ($42) is a popular option.
Solid stains require recoating after 4-5 years, on average. Sealers do not provide any coloration of the wood, but they protect it against moisture that causes rot and splitting. Most sealers last one cycle of seasons and should be renewed each year.
We recommend waiting a minimum of 24 hours before you walk on your floors– and 48 hours is even better. Start with socks only and keep pets off the floors for a few days. Wait at least two days for water-based finishes and four days for oil-based finishes before carefully putting furniture and back into the room.
It takes a full 24 hours for most wood sealers to dry completely, but many experts recommend it dries for a full 72 hours before using the deck. Check the weather before you start to make sure there's no rain in the forecast and temperatures will be fairly warm, so it will dry completely.