Two-Tone Tables and a Microphone

Refinishing hardwood floors: you just rent a few sanders right?  How hard can it be?  Like many others, you own or bought a house, and a rewarding but challenging decision awaits you with unlocking the potential (and future monetary value) of hardwood flooring.  In this Post, I will specifically be discussing Staining & Finish.  This step is the hard earned reward in your journey, and one in which you can exercise a bit of creative muscle.

Obtaining samples and getting stain colors to look right can be a costly and wasteful process.  Typically, open/used cans of stain and paint are non-returnable at most hardware stores, unless you are extremely careful with the cans.  Even the smallest size cans (half pints) typically retail for $9.99 a piece.  Going back to the first post on hardwood floors, you may remember that TIME is also a factor.  If it’s not, then by all means, experiment away for however long you’d like!  It’s better to be right than start all over again.  

1.)  Natural floors are a perfectly fine option.

In fact, after putting in the backbreaking effort to get the floors sanded down to nothing, you will probably have fallen in love with the natural look.  This is perfectly OK, however, the natural floors may often be too light for the style of house surrounding it.  Furthermore, one of the downsides to natural is that it shows off every single flaw.  Great examples of natural floors are done by Instagram personality @danny_sandhouse  I recommend checking out his work if you are looking for examples of “keeping it natural” and watching someone refinish floors on the fly.  

2.)  Light is light, dark is dark, weird is weird, and grey is… grey. 

Like wall colors, darker flooring means the visual effect of a smaller room.  Additionally, you may want to consider what furniture you have or plan to have in the future.  Are you planning on keeping that credenza?  It’s easier to change furniture or move it to another part of the house than it is to refinish your floors over again.   Suffice to say, don’t overthink it.

Stains work well in that you can mix and darken what you already have, but it is harder to cover darker stain with lighter colors for obvious reasons, or, you also may end up creating a totally new tone or color.

There are also lots of strange colors out there like pinks, blues, and greens.  This could be your jam and would be interesting to see an example.  When getting into something like black, I have seen it work very well with accent areas, particularly things like framing and posts.

Finally, you have GREY.  With the amount of grey interiors you see on the Internet and Zillow these days, grey is… well… it lacks any personality but could be a great fit if you are undecided.  Some wood however, will naturally turn grey with bad stains and become even greyer- or worse, blotchy and grey.  Much of the grey floor you see on Zillow is engineered, and grey might not be the best option for very old hardwood floors.

3.) Overload

With the aforementioned,  the downside is that any type of wood can only accept so much stain and color.  Imagine the wood is like a sponge and once it is full, it will reject more stain.  On-the-spot blending (as opposed to blending colors in a can) will only work so many times or just turn into murkiness.

4.) All wood species are not created equal.

Pine, fir, oak, walnut… there are many types of wood as well as ages of wood which will affect the look of every single stain color and brand.  Even using a piece of pine as a sample you bought at the store will yield a different look than the pine you have in the house.  It may be best to test a small, inconspicuous area of the floor and re-sand.  Additionally, the way stains go onto a floor typically look darker and different than after you rub them off after letting them soak in.  

Finding test strips of wood is ideal but not always the case, as it was with our house, where all of the wood was already installed.  We tried maybe 3 different colors and settled with Early American: a fairly middle-of-the-road sort of brown color and nothing that will win us any major awards (except for patriotism).  Suffice to say, the color ended up looking nothing like the sample.

Similarly, don’t be afraid to try a color like Golden Oak on Pine wood.  Just because the color says one name doesn’t make it exclusive to a certain wood species.

4.)  Can’t decide?  Channel your inner Bob Ross.

Trial and error is the wrong way of going about it, especially if it means starting over with sanding.  To borrow a phrase from famous TV painter Bob Ross, “Happy Accidents” are more of what might work in your favor (or so you’d hope).  When starting out in my upstairs, the Early American stain color was coming out far too dark to continue throughout the entire house (but I wasn’t going back!)  The original front living room downstairs had no lights (just lamps), and was notoriously darker than the rest of the house.  Using a darker stain wouldn’t have helped my cause to make it lighter.  It also helped that I ran out of Early American by the time I reached the top of the stairs.

SO- the solution was on a whim, to go back to the hardware store for a lighter color to do the first floor of the house.  Worse, the big box store was 30+ minutes away while Ace Hardware was 5 minutes away.  The color selection available in gallons at Ace was much more limited.  

Worse yet, I had no time to discuss any of this with the wife!

IN EFFECT- I took a giant leap of faith and created a “two tone house”.  

 

Through a combination of Happy Accident and artistic ingenuity, I was able to quickly pivot and use two different color stains in the house. 

Before the shock sets in: know that this is perfectly ok in some far flung reaches of the Internet somewhere.  But, fuck the Internet!  It’s YOUR HOUSE.  Like Bob Ross also says: “There are no rules here.”

The one and only Golden Rule to Two-Toning is as follows: 

The darker color must always be on the higher floor.  Meaning, the second floor should be darker than the first (assuming you have two floors in your house).

In the end, I created a “secret” whereas, the only place that a visitor would ever notice this effect, is from the top of the stairs looking down.  Otherwise, you would probably walk through the house not ever realizing anything. 

 

Staining has its quirks and pitfalls much like anything home-related.  Two toning has one very obvious pitfall:  

1.)  When two toning, don’t mix up your stain cans and brushes.  You will actually need double the supplies.  Similarly, don’t walk from the dark floor to the light floor until you are absolutely positively sure the dark floor is dry (and vice versa).  Meaning, you will leave dark footprints on the lighter toned floor.  

2.)  Tools that might look dry (oil based products have strange ways of drying) will inevitably drip if left without protecting other floors.  I finished each day by “walking out” the front door of the house, while letting the flooring dry.  Instead of storing the deck swab (brush on a pole) in the basement and cleaning up, like a jackass I laid it horizontally over some chairs on the porch.  It looked dry!  Lo and behold, it dripped onto the porch and created a huge stain…

3.) Floors that turn grey, multiple coats, and other fun stuff.  Older flooring may, with any stains, absorb the stain and then turn an awful grey color.  (Search engine this to see).  This can be particularly problematic between rooms where there are thresholds.  It also surfaces in areas when decades ago, there was high traffic on the original flooring.  Whatever the case may be, you could try to feather in additional stain or attempt to re-sand areas and re-feather. 

5.)  Adding more stain.  This is a particularly slippery slope and in my experience, adding a second coat of stain WORKED and made the colors much richer.  That’s not to say that it would work in all cases.  Tread carefully and don’t overdo anything.

6.)  With any coats, make sure to wipe, wipe, wipe, away the excess stain.  On my second coat in the downstairs, I was so tired that I left the entire thing overnight, thinking it would dry out.  This led to the dreadful “sticky pools” that congeal over the flooring.   This now requires use of Mineral Spirits and A LOT of RUBBING.  I was actually able to use a soft pad attachment for a mouse sander, and carefully dip the pad into Mineral Spirits to work out some of the more difficult sticky areas. 

TIPS ON POLY:

1.) After stain dries, just make sure the floors are clean.  Anything under that Poly will dry and show through.  

2.)  Weather conditions and time considerations (multiple coats for Water-based). 

I personally used the Behr brand poly and it was extremely easy to use, but extremely thin.  This was also due to the fact that both Lowes and Home Depot were sold out of just about everything else, and left me with 4 gallon cans of Behr. 

3.) Poly is expensive!  Try to end up with a 1/2 can that you can use for other woodworking projects.  

In hindsight, I would rate my floor refinishing job at about a B grade.  The mistakes primarily occurred with having slightly UNEVEN FLOORS, causing the sanding to be more difficult and (more or less erroneously) use radial sanding devices, thus creating half-circles and some slight swirling in the floor. 

Also, do all of your Poly-layers (x3) for 3 days in a row and finish the job.  I got bored after Day 2 and left one of the rooms undone because I decided to move on to the walls and come back.  I finally finished that room 4 months later after moving in, and had to go through the trouble of moving everything out of it.  Once completed, there was a slight difference in sheen between the rooms, due to the fact that the other rooms had normal wear and tear.  

Best wishes to you in your wood flooring endeavors, and thank you for reading!  

The “Pro” Blogs Make It Look Easy (If You Have Picture Perfect Floors)

Refinishing hardwood floors: you just rent a few sanders right?  How hard can it be?  Like many others, you own or bought a house, and a rewarding but challenging decision awaits you with unlocking the potential (and future monetary value) of hardwood flooring.  In this Post, I will specifically be discussing Sanding.  For the Introductory Posting, please see Part 1.   

Before you go through the time and expense of attempting to refinish a hardwood floor, you may want to consider what type of “look” you are going for. What’s the difference?

After learning from a friend who did both original hardwood floors and had modern hardwood floors installed, the difference really boils down to the look (both are beautiful when done correctly).  Compare the two photos below:  1. is original refinished 1930’s yellow pine, and 2.) “modern” installed hardwood floors (and there are many derivatives of engineered vs non-engineered, and various price points, etc.)

 

Set aside the fact that one image isn’t a picture perfect stock photo, the point is that that original hardwood floors give off a certain look and feel of being much more “historic” (for lack of a better word).  Wood ultimately comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and there is no shortage of examples online.  The real point being, that an older original floor will likely show flaws, dings, dents, etc., that can potentially cause you a number of headaches.  However, if you like that “non perfect” look, that is where you will likely end up.  Some people call this “character”.  However, don’t confuse total dog shit with “character”.  I have seen people try to pass off poor workmanship etc., as “character”.  There is a big difference!  

Imagine a 1960’s Fender Stratocaster guitar versus one from 2023.  Both look similar, but the rarity and age of the 1960’s can never be re-duplicated.   There are only so many forests in the world (going backwards in time).  

So you’ve pulled up some carpet, ripped out tile, and discovered that you have acceptable original hardwood flooring.  You’ve read a few Blogs and Step-by-Step Instructions and made your checklist of materials.  Great!  Now comes the hard part: all wood has variables. 

Assuming that you have removed all of the staples and nails, and removed everything from the rooms,  you’ve gone to a big-box hardware store to rent (at least) your Drum Sander, and your Edging Sander (heavy aren’t they!)  Don’t forget to also buy an ample supply of 36, 60/80, and 100/120 Grit Drum Paper, as well as a very ample supply of Edging Sander Discs.  (Tip: return anything you don’t use). 

Remember also to set aside at least 3 days worth of time to complete the work- and the time is ticking on those Rentals!  (More days= more $$$).  

Let’s take a look at some examples of “non perfect” original hardwood floors, after a pass or two with the Drum Sander (on 36 and 60, working of course, with the grain):

After multiple passes at this, you may be scratching your head wondering why you have streaky floors, still with varnish and the old floor color? 

This is due to varying levels and inconsistencies with the wood, as well as “cupping”.  Cupping is a moisture imbalance in the wood that may be caused by decades of varying weather conditions and/or moisture in the home.  Using a disc or orbital sander on cupped floors will inevitably create swirl marks and circular patterns on your floors, even when done carefully or with fast movements.  Similarly, sanding something like that by hand or with a palm sander with large rooms would wear your patience to the bone.  

What is the solution?  Working diagonally “against” the grain.  Note, that the word “against” is in quotation marks.  You are not really sanding “against” the grain, it is just a sort of half-counter measure.  For this, I would recommend using a 60 or 80 Grit, to be on the safe side and test the result.  For particularly difficult rooms, you might lower back to the 36 Heavier Grit.  

An excellent and more professional and scientific explanation can be found watching this “epic” Australian guy here.

BUT: a very important point to note, is that once you go diagonal, you then need to re-sand your floors straight with the grain.  If you continue onwards to sanding and varnishing, you will have diagonal lines in your floors!  

This means that you have now Drum Sanded your floors upwards of potentially 5 passes.  (2 regular, 1-2 diagonal, and 1 more time to take out the diagonals).   

(Not exactly how they show you in the picture-perfect videos and blogs…)

EDGING AND CORNERS

Edging Sanders are very heavy and cumbersome, but with a little bit of practice, you will begin to find a rhythm to it.  Edging (like the name implies) will allow you to get as close to the walls as possible, but you want to avoid creating a major level change, even with the later addition of baseboards.  

While trim is a “final touch”, it is not a means to cover up everything, and having a level-changing “squiggly”  line below your walls can ruin the linear-ness (visual lines) of the room.  You may have to add additional quarter-round trim, and even then, level changes can be seen in the trim.  

Watch especially not to Edge a deep circle into the corners of the rooms.  The corners can be a delicate procedure, and must be hand-scraped using a wood scraper or cabinet scrapers, and the like.  Making a deep circle into your corners with an Edging sander will make a higher level change, causing you more work to level it down.   

GOING INTO ORBIT?

You’ve done the work of Drum Sanding and Edging but trickier yet, some of the “cupping” diagonal areas will be harder to “set back to straight” due to the same sorts of wood inconsistencies.  This is where you have one of two options:

1.) Go back to the big-box store and rent a Random Orbital Sander (for possibly now your final pass using a lighter 120 grit paper)

2.) Get down on your hands and knees and use a palm and/or belt sander to touch-up inconsistent areas.  Do this without grinding into the floors.  Vacuum, and look really fucking hard at everything 

In the case of the 1930’s original floors, I ended up having to do both of these!  The Random Orbital was OK, (work fast and without stopping), but then left some light swirl marks in the high/low areas.  You then have both the swirls and the diagonals to contend with!  

 Be prepared to “finish” the sanding with an orbital and/or palm sander, to smooth out the remaining inconsistencies (and chances are you will lose your mind before getting all of them, and the lighting needs to be tip-top!)  

I was fortunate enough to have my old folks make runs back to the hardware store for me to buy additional sand paper for various machines.  Again, plan wisely.

END RESULT

Should you have spent the time and labor to sand the floors adequately, you should have an extremely “bare” appearance, void of any varnish and coloration.  Don’t confuse wood grain with coloration and try to sand your way to China.  Obviously, grains have some color, as you should NOT try to sand those away, and NOT OVERSAND the floors.  Know when to stop and enough is enough.   ALSO- BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL with your bare floors, as anything can now scratch or discolor them, including things like Shop-Vac wheels, dirt/oil on your shoes, etc.

The appearance should look something akin to this: 

 Be prepared for the “imperfect” and accept rolling with the punches in terms of getting creative with sanding, while not over-sanding!   

Chances are the floors will still not be “perfect”- remember, they may be a 100+ years old and were cut and installed by workers with far less advanced technology (or was simple more advanced…?)  

Part 3 of this Blog series is coming soon, discussing the floor staining and polyurethane (clear) coating.  

The “Pro” Blogs Make It Look Easy (If You Have Picture Perfect Floors)

Refinishing hardwood floors: you just rent a few sanders right?  How hard can it be?  Like many others, you own or bought a house, and a rewarding but challenging decision awaits you with unlocking the potential (and future monetary value) of hardwood flooring.  I am here to share with you my experiences as an “artist”, and although I am not a contractor or woodworking professional, you are likely in a similar situation. As an artist, I will try to show you how to “have fun with it,” and to use your ingenuity and imagination.  I will fill in parts of the story with working advice that I learned searching dozens of blogs and videos.  One preliminary note: if you plan to do a new floor or discover that your floor is not salvageable, you may want to look elsewhere or hire a contractor. 

Start by boiling everything down to:

1.) Conditions 2.) Time/Money 3.) Other Factors.

CONDITIONS

Conditions can include both life conditions and and the physical condition of the space or spaces you are working with.  Having a wife in late stages of pregnancy and needing a larger future space for our new family, we were fortunate enough to have found a beautiful, semi-original, 1930’s home (in about a “C” condition), in January 2024.  The entire house had been done wall-to-wall with wallpaper, musty old carpeting, and thick beige tiles throughout the dining room.  Sure, you can lift up a carpet corner during the home tour, but, you really don’t know what you are truly getting into, especially if you plan to move fast.  With closing delayed to the very last day (February 20th), we had less than 3 weeks until the baby due date to get the essentials of the home into working shape, as well as potentially fumigated for things such as oil-based coatings.  (Disclaimer: we still lived in a nearby apartment until the lease expired in April, however, there is a loss of renovating time 2-3 weeks, due to the newborn).  SO- time is ticking (daddy…)   

Immediately upon closing February 20th and getting the keys, we began removing all of the carpeting and wallpaper (and glue!)- FAST.  By Friday the 23rd (3 days later), we had worked from upstairs to downstairs and reached the thick layer of tile in dining room.  On a whim, we chiseled out a piece of the tile and struck pay dirt:  there was a layer of plywood between the tile and the original hardwood floors.  Therefore, it was confirmed that we had the potential for restoring the original floors throughout the house for the sake of continuity.  Fortunately, the rest of the floors beneath all of the carpeted areas were in decent shape, with the exception of the stairs (which can be done separately).  The dining room tile removal you will see below.

On Saturday the 24th, my folks brought over their general contractor (maybe you will have a similar “guy” or professional), and he began to layout three things:  1.) the floors had uneven spots; therefore 2.) sanding would create all sorts of headaches; therefore, 3.) hire us to put in “dustless” brand-new wood floors.  Without getting into the details, you could ballpark this for about $5,000-$6,000 for approximately 900 sq. ft.  With everything going on in our lives- there just isn’t that kind of extra money laying around! 

With a professional, you are really getting two things: 1.) the speed/time of having a crew (if they are competent); 2.)  brand new modern flooring or pro-refinishing (if they are competent).  

Ask yourself: with decent/good original wood floors, why would I spend $5,000+ to have someone install a floor on top of an existing floor?

The advice of a friend of mine who did both a refinish job and hiring someone (two different houses), his advice was “pick your poison”: the results are both equally as beautiful and rewarding.  (This is of course, unless you screw up refinishing the floors yourself, and/or the material quality of the modern flooring you are potentially installing.)  

 

Time can involve a number of things. For starters, if you pulled up your carpeting and your hardwood is trashed, you may be forced to move in on bad floors if you don’t have the luxury of multiple thousands of dollars (and fast turnaround time).  Or, you will work like serious hell to fix the floors, with no guaranteed result, meaning, that after the grueling level of work, going back to the start is your worst nightmare.