One of the reasons why people don't start home improvement projects because of the presumed cost of the project. Refinishing your wood floors doesn't have to be expensive. As a matter of fact, if you have some time, you can save yourself several dollars over what professionals will charge you.

Starting the project begins with the easiest part: remove all furniture, mats and rugs that are on the floor. A quick sweep of the floor and you are ready for the messy part - sanding. Get your dust mask ready as you're about to create one big mess.

Your goal in refinishing your hardwood floors is to turn back the hands of time to when your hardwood floors were first installed. In order to achieve this feat, you will need to start by renting a heavy-duty sander to smooth out any rough spots and to remove the current stain that is on your floor. Move the sander in the direction that moves with the lines on your hardwood floor, paying particular attention that you do not apply more pressure anywhere. It's important to make sure that you apply equal pressure to all parts of your floor as you want to avoid creating 'pits' in your hardwood floor, which will require more sanding. Do not move across the hardwood floor lines, especially if you have small grooves or beveled edges.

Once you've finished with your initial sanding you must sweep and vacuum the dust from your floor and lightly wash it. This part is often not given the proper care it deserves and is very important when refinishing hardwood floors. The reason it is so important is that the tiniest speck of dirt and dust will show up when you stain the floor. It is also important that you use only a damp mop for washing the floor rather than a wet mop. If there is too much water in the floor that has been sanded it will cause stains.

which comes in high gloss or low lustre. Another rule of thumb is that the more coats you add, the more gloss your floor will have. Important to remember as well is not to apply another coat until the previous one is completely dry.

While refinishing hardwood floors is time consuming, you do not have to move out of your home in order to accomplish it. The stains and protective coatings do not have harsh fumes so they are not dangerous to breathe. You do want to take care not to walk on your floor until it is completely dry. If you do not wait you will have wasted all that time and effort and have to either start over or try to hide the footprints.

Thinking of refinishing your floors? Find out more about installing engineered hardwood, how to clean hardwood flooring and how to refinish hardwood flooring before you start your project.