Small Floor Refinishing Job
Pete Deleon from Sparkle Floors in New Providence (maybe Berkeley Heights?) did ours a few months ago and did a nice job. We did ours before we moved in which is the ideal scenario. However, if you can move everything out of the room and have another room for sleep it should be do-able. There will be dust over everything even though you have it covered so be prepared. It seeps out no matter how well they try to seal over the room being done. Olger Fallas also does floors now. We have used him for painting and find him to be reputable and reasonably priced
Other than the cosmetic- "...looks pretty terrible" what is the condition of the floor?
I guess I would say that the structural condition is fine -- it's not uneven, no boards are broken, and there isn't any of that splintering phenomenon -- but there are lots of paint drops and smears, and there seems to be no finish. I suspect the floor was always intended to be carpeted. Pine, I believe.
If the floor is structurally sound and even- it shouldn't be sanded. It just needs to be refinished.
Try using various chemicals such as alcohol, paint stripper etc in SMALL areas to figure out what the finish is. Use lots of fans and work in small areas at a time. It could be as difficult as scrubbing a floor. Allow to dry thoroughly... A couple of days would be good. It can then be refinished. I'd use shellac or polyurethane.
Why do people assume everyone wants to do it themselves? The OP asked for names of contractors.
it could be, although in the post they asked for contractor recommendations, and that comes under home fix it as well.
Interesting! It would be wonderful if sanding wasn't necessary, as it would eliminate the worst element of the process, the dust. Hoping I can find a contractor who will handle like this.
Consider a maid service...I think it may be as easy as a serious scrub with bristle scrub brush and thorough rinse until water is clear. Allow a lot of time for complete drying as I said a couple of days- at least. There are several cleansers that don't contain harsh chess...
Check yellow pages for a fire restoration company. they're cleaning services that specialize in larger heavy jobs; someone may be able to point you in the right direction.
iwasmim said:
Interesting! It would be wonderful if sanding wasn't necessary, as it would eliminate the worst element of the process, the dust. Hoping I can find a contractor who will handle like this.
If you could post a photo of the largest visible overall surface of the floor as well as some close-ups of the most problematic areas it would help to determine whether cleaning or refinishing is needed.
One bedroom floor desperately needs work but I have deferred it because of the hassle -- moving everything out, dust, fumes, etc. But it really looks pretty terrible and I'm trying to talk myself into it. Having never gone through this before, I wonder if it will be as bad as I visualize. If you've done a job like this, I'd love to hear about your experiences (and any contractors you might recommend). Thanks!