re-doing hardwood floors.

[sewerrat]

How hard is it do redo hardwood floors. I need them sanded and new polyurethane put on.
I got one quote and he charges me $3465. for 650 sq feet.
Is that a reasonable price?
or is it something I can tackle my self.

[Blastoff]

Rent a sander and do it yourself. YouTube has videos buy the best finish you can buy

[bessiedog]

Sanding isn’t as easy as it seems.... I’ve done three floors plus my own (which didn’t turn out great but oh well..).

If your tool handy... go for it.

[sns2]

I'd get some more quotes. Doing it yourself is not the easiest thing in the world. Like anything, the good guys make it look easy.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by sns2

I'd get some more quotes. Doing it yourself is not the easiest thing in the world. Like anything, the good guys make it look easy.

If it's polyurethane, tough stuff.

Grizz

[MyAlberta]

Just had mine done, in Calgary, same sq ft. $2k, through a reputable dealer. I had 3 quotes from 1500 - 2800. Turned out the fellow that did the actual work lived down the block, stating he could have done it for cheaper going straight through him (1500?).
I researched if I could handle it, and after pricing equipment rental, time, and the fact I was going to market with a high end home, decided against.
I would consider doing it myself in a different setting.

[calgarychef]

I redid mine, years ago. You need a good sander in good shape, rentals aren’t always like that. And for sure you need a drum sander not those big orbital ones, they don’t sand worth crap. The drum sander will take off far more wood than you need to if you let it, I’d try with the finer grits rather than starting out with the rough stuff first. My floors turned out good but I took off more wood than needed, you only Have about 3/8 of an inch of wood to work with.

[eagleflyfisher]

Every time we come to redo a floor done by a homeowner we call it the homeowner special.
U can’t rent the quality of tools we use.
Furthermore the guy standing behind the toolS needs to know how to use them.
A polyurethane in our game is no longer used.
A waterborne product made by Bona is what you are Looking for. Really the best.
You can get the guy working out of the trunk of his car...and get what u pay for.
Pricing u mentioned is well in line.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by sewerrat

How hard is it do redo hardwood floors. I need them sanded and new polyurethane put on.
I got one quote and he charges me $3465. for 650 sq feet.
Is that a reasonable price?
or is it something I can tackle my self.

You could pretty much replace the flooring for that price. Last hardwood floor we had put in, we got the Acatia solid wood planks at Home Depot on sale at 70% off for $2.50/sq and $3/sq to install. I would look for other quotes or even look at just replacing it. The labour involved in a refinish is probably a whole lot more than it is to just rip out the old stuff and install new flooring. Just like extensively renovating a house, often is is cheaper to just knock it down and start from scratch.

[MyAlberta]

Originally Posted by calgarychef

I redid mine, years ago. You need a good sander in good shape, rentals aren’t always like that. And for sure you need a drum sander not those big orbital ones, they don’t sand worth crap. The drum sander will take off far more wood than you need to if you let it, I’d try with the finer grits rather than starting out with the rough stuff first. My floors turned out good but I took off more wood than needed, you only Have about 3/8 of an inch of wood to work with.

Thing is, you need both, plus an edger. Renting adds up quickly.

[Zip-in-Z]

Had mine done when I lived in Edm. by a contractor in the west end, price was a bit less but not much than your quote for about the same Sq. Ft. Contractor suggested I could save some money by removing all the base boards and doors, which I did & repainted white & reinstalled. I had the work completed when I was traveling up north, they did the sanding remove old stain, applied new darker stain & finish coats over a 6-7 day period. They said no one could be in the house when work was being done, I wish I had put more poly up, was cleaning lots of dust that went up stairs. Do it over the summer, you don't want to have the furnace on. When I got home was very happy with the finished work ... contract it out.

D.

[MyAlberta]

And my baseboards stayed on. I had to do some spray painting after, but way less work. I went with same stain, so that probably made a difference.

[mayuan]

I just replaced the linoleum in the laundry room and planned on just replacing with just lino. The person at the store had shown me the laminate flooring (LifeProof). Gave it a try and must say, the hardwood in the rest of the house is living on borrowed time. Putting in the washer I dropped a wrench from about 4ft expecting a damaged floor and nothing, looked great.