We did our own floors on mulitple houses. I think you can do a really professional looking job, but you have to do some research first. 1) be sure to get the right equipment. Often times professional refinishers will also rent out their own equipment for DIYers. 2) watch videos and read a lot about how to do it right. Some big DIY mistakes are not sanding smoothly and being too aggressive, which leaves gouges in the floor. A good DIY job will require mulitple passes over the floor with increasingly higher grits. We first used a drum sander with 50 & 80 grits (higher grits if it’s a pine floor) and then an orbital buffer with a sanding screen with 80 and 120 grit. (You also use an edger for the first 2 passes, and those are a beast to handle. I personally do the big drum sander and my husband does the edger, because it takes a lot more upper body srength). 3) You have to be really meticulous about vacuuming really well between sanding passes and again between coats. 4) Buy the same finish that the pros use. This last house that we refinished, we couldn’t get the good stuff and used in-stock poly from Home Depot. I’m not super impressed with it so definitely research what the pros use and buy that. Bottom line: you can DIY especially if you find a refinisher who’s willing to rent you the right equipment and share their expertise. You’ll save a lot of money, but it will take quite a bit of time. I second the recommendations to first have a refinisher see if it just needs a scratch and recoat. Good luck!
Eldora says
That’s a wehlutlo-ght-out answer to a challenging question
Reinaldo says
We did our own floors on mulitple houses. I think you can do a really professional looking job, but you have to do some research first. 1) be sure to get the right equipment. Often times professional refinishers will also rent out their own equipment for DIYers. 2) watch videos and read a lot about how to do it right. Some big DIY mistakes are not sanding smoothly and being too aggressive, which leaves gouges in the floor. A good DIY job will require mulitple passes over the floor with increasingly higher grits. We first used a drum sander with 50 & 80 grits (higher grits if it’s a pine floor) and then an orbital buffer with a sanding screen with 80 and 120 grit. (You also use an edger for the first 2 passes, and those are a beast to handle. I personally do the big drum sander and my husband does the edger, because it takes a lot more upper body srength). 3) You have to be really meticulous about vacuuming really well between sanding passes and again between coats. 4) Buy the same finish that the pros use. This last house that we refinished, we couldn’t get the good stuff and used in-stock poly from Home Depot. I’m not super impressed with it so definitely research what the pros use and buy that. Bottom line: you can DIY especially if you find a refinisher who’s willing to rent you the right equipment and share their expertise. You’ll save a lot of money, but it will take quite a bit of time. I second the recommendations to first have a refinisher see if it just needs a scratch and recoat. Good luck!