This is a great post on the risks of trying to refinish hardwood floors on your own. Over the last 2 months, I have seen 4 really botched up jobs done by amateurs - either do-it-yourselfers - or worse, amateurs claiming that they know how to do this. These jobs were HORRIBLE and all needed to be redone. Further, in some places, the wood was really worn down where they had the machine on too long, so now their hardwood has fewer sandings left.
Sanding & refinishing is not that expensive. In fact, most of my customers are pleasantly surprised by the cost since it's usually less than they thought it would be. Given its low price, it's really not a place that you should attempt to do-it-yourself. The cost savings for do-it-yourself is minimal and the quality difference is HUGE. It will look better and last long w/ a professional
For all you hardwood refinishing needs in Westchester NY and Stamford CT, give us a shout.
Should I Sand the Wood Floors Myself or Hire a Pro?
While your gender shouldn't affect your ability to sand a hardwood floor, your lack of training will. You just cannot pick up the floor sanding trade on a weekend. Suffice it to say I cannot teach you how to sand a floor in this blog. It is a strictly hands on training. And I doubt that the rental places will give you a course on sanding and finishing your floor. The "toy" floor sanders they rent at all the tool rental shops will not, in any case, do a decent job of sanding your floor.
By "toy" floor sanders, I mean the 110 volt drum sanders, that you will find in most all rental yards. Yes, these plug right into the wall outlet, but lack the weight and power to sand a floor well. The machines we pros use cost up to $10,000 and weigh in at about 250 pounds. They have powerful 3 - 7 HP motors that are designed especially not to stall when encountering a tough floor. The weight and balance of these professional machines keeps them steady as they pass across the floor. With a well-maintained heavy-duty floor machine, and a well seasoned pro at the helm, your floor will be quickly and evenly sanded the first time.
Many old floors cannot handle any mistakes made by amateur floor sanders. I have see this too many times! The floor may become too thin when sanded badly, and you may find you have permanently ruined an expensive hardwood floor. I pity the home owner who does this, as I think they are being duped by the tool rental trade.I strongly advise you hire out the sanding part of the job. NOBODY I know that has sanded their own floors will EVER do it again. In most cases they have used far too much rental time and
sandpaper. And in the end the results were from barely passable in low light, to downright butt ugly floors. It has lowered the value of the property in some cases. Potential new buyers may realize that the badly sanded hardwood floor now needs replacing, at great expense. Not much money saved here, when they discount the replacement price of the hardwood floors off your asking price for the property.
The rental machines are light duty, and will leave pronounced chatter (machine vibration) marks in your floor. You will not be able to see this until you apply the stain or the finish. The chatter marks show up as stripes or waves going against the grain of the wood, and are really obvious on a stained floor. But by the time you are applying the finish it's far too late to start over. What an EXTREME disappointment !!Mark Woodward, Floor Coverings International, serving Morris, Sussex, Bergen, Passaic and the surrounding counties. 973-975-5446
Feel free to download our free flooring guide. Or, visit our flooring selector - almost 2,000 options for hardwood, carpet, tile and more.
"We bring the store to your door."
Hardwood Flooring - Carpet - Tile/Natural Stone - Laminate - Refinish Hardwood - Backsplashes
Debbie Gartner, President and Owner
"The Flooring Girl"
Floor Coverings International Westchester County
You can download our free flooring guide. Or, visit our flooring selector - 2,000 options.
We install hardwood floors, carpet and runners, tile flooring. Call us for a free estimate 914-937-2950.
"We bring the store to your door."
If you enjoyed what you are are reading, feel free to 
to my blog.
WC19920-H07, HIC619252
I believe that this is something I would leave to the experts. That would be pretty eye catching if you messed up.
That is really sad when people take this on themselves and really botch it up. I have seen the worn sections Debbie you talk about. Usually in corners where they just sat the machine too long.
Hire a pro, sometimes the problem is not as big as you think or bigger than you think!
Lizette - Yes, it is very obvious when someone botches this. And, often, they don't allow enough drying time between coats, so then the poly has bubbles. Plus, it starts to peel.
Stan - Yes, it often does happen in the corners, but I've seen plenty in the middle of the floors and in many places.
Yvette - Yes, you're right. I know everyoe is trying to save money these day...believe me I get it. But, this is not the area to do it in. it's minimal savings.
I can pick a DIY sanding job out in about 2 seconds! Really, no kidding. Some have little valleys at the edges where the sander stuck for too long. Sometimes these valleys are so deep a, well, the round part of a small child's head could fit into it! Plus you can see where they go at various angles to, and not with, the flooring direction. I can only imagine the mess that must have been created during the DIY process.
I do most everything myself. I would NEVER tackle that job.
nice post thank you very much for sharing information about hardwood floor sanding !!
Jay -I know, I've seen way too many of them too, and they go too deep in the wood, so they've often wasted several times where the floor can be redone and hence shortened the life of the wood.
Hardwood Floors Sanding - You're welcome.