Excellent Means Of Protecting Your Hardwood Floor From Termites During Refinishing
Termites are known for their goodness in the ecosystem but also for the destruction they can cause on property. Most people with hardwood floors complain about termite attack to their floors than those with concrete floors and tiled floors. You can easily avoid termite attacks on your hardwood floors when you follow through the correct procedure of construction. This article will help you prevent risks of damage to your hardwood floors by termites.
The top step in refinishing hardwood floors involves observing the floor and paying more attention to the gaps between the floor planks. The intention for carrying out the observation is to uncover any pests such as termite control that are known for damaging hardwood floors. Termite control will be necessary if you observe any signs of termites. You should also be able to observe the type of hardwood floor used to know the care you ought to have while refinishing. The work of refinishing hardwood floors like pine and oak is a lot easier compared to refinishing mahogany, maple and walnut. You can then start refinishing your hardwood floor when you are sure that there are no termites and that you can handle the particular type of hardwood floor.
After the first step, you can then carry out an adhesion test. You will choose the perfect area where you will do the adhesion test from. It involves thoroughly cleaning the floor that you are operating on with a floor cleaner. After cleansing the termite control area, sand it with a sanding screen and wipe off the extra residue. When the area is clean from dust, you can begin coating it with polyurethane. You should wait for about twenty-four hours to elapse before checking on the area. The area where you applied termite control polyurethane coating should be polished apart from the few whiskers caused by dust. You can then know that your floor is ready for recoating when you press down on the coated surface using medium pressure and the polyurethane remains intact.
You should then collect all the necessary flooring equipment that you will use. The most of the materials that are necessary are inclusive of the hammer, nail set, pliers, edge sander, box fan, power floor buffer, polyurethane floor sealant, work gloves, hearing protection, breathing protection, industrial grade vacuum cleaner and painter’s tape. Ask your neighbor if you can termite control the above items from them and if they do not have them, buy from an online seller or from a home improvement store near you.
The last three steps in refinishing your floor involve cleaning, buffering and adding the finish respectively. By cleaning, you will be able to get rid of the gum and other gunk, as well as tough stains and deep scratches. While buffing you should know that the sanding screen will wear out after about ten to fifteen minutes. After buffering the floor, you should ensure that you get rid of any dust prior to doing the finish. The easiest floor finish option to use is polyurethane.
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