The finish itself also makes a bit of an impact, as every finish and sealant have their own innate characteristics. That said, you can expect about three to five years before you see sufficient wear to consider a thorough maintenance coat.
With regular wear and tear, the finish on your hardwood floor should last about 7-10 years. Floors in high-traffic areas or that are exposed to a lot of sunlight may need to be refinished more often. So if we do some quick math, your hardwood floors will last up to 60 years with being refinished every ten years!
The finish can make your floor look beautiful and bring out grain and color, but it can only go so far, as your wood sustains damage from daily use. Applying sealants will add much-needed protection for the hardwood to prevent potential finish damage, especially with untreated hardwood floors.
When Should I Reseal My Deck? You should reapply wood sealer at least every three years. In many cases, you need to seal a wood deck once a year. The more foot traffic and sun exposure your deck gets, the more often you need to apply deck sealant.
You may be wondering how long polyurethane lasts on hardwood floors. Depending on many factors, like your lifestyle and type of finish, polyurethane can last between three to six years. However, if you see damage on your floors, it may be time to reapply a fresh finish to your hardwood.
Upon exposure to excess moisture, wood flooring can stain, warp, and split. This kind of damage is expensive to repair, which is why many buyers look for any protection they can get. Sealing your engineered hardwood floors creates a moisture barrier that prevents leaks and spills from seeping into the wood.
What is the Best Finish for Hardwood Floors? Polyurethane is the most popular finish for floors. It's tough enough to handle constant traffic and is resistant to almost everything. There are two types of polyurethane finish: oil-based (solvent borne) and water-based (waterborne).
We can permanently seal your log cabin or wood siding to protect it from the elements for decades. Ever-Sealed wood protects your home from the elements, but also repels wood-boring insects.
Paint Or Seal Unfinished Furniture
Bare wood, when left unfinished, keeps your furniture with a natural wood look but the risk is exposing it to harsh elements, even if it's indoors, such as light, dust, moisture and water damage, making it more susceptible to stains, warping and cracking.
Rain or shine, the elements can do a number on a wooden deck, but sealant helps protect the wood and keep it looking fresh. The cost to seal a deck is around $925 or about $0.75 to $4 per square foot for the materials and professional labor.
To tell if your wood floor is sealed, rub your finger across it. If no mark appears, the floor is surface-sealed. If a mark is left, the floor has been treated with a seal, oil finish or varnish.
You'll need to lightly sand the first coat of sealant with a fine grade of sandpaper to get the second coat to adhere properly. A #220 sandpaper will generally provide you with the best results. Once you've sanded the entire floor, you'll need to once again vacuum up the debris.
Resealing hardwood floors
Resealing, also known as recoating, involves lightly scuffing the existing finish and applying a new coat of finish. This process refreshes the shine of your floor and provides a new protective layer. It's a quicker, easier, and less expensive process than refinishing.
The sealing process prevents moisture from sinking into the floor. Try dropping a small amount of water onto the floor and see what happens. If the droplets bead up, that means your floor is sealed. If they spread out or absorb into the wood, then it isn't.
As an alternative to polyurethane finishes, natural oils like tung oil and linseed oil offer a healthier finish. Unlike urethanes, which dry on top of the floor, oils penetrate into the wood and harden. This process creates a low-sheen matte finish that brings out the grain and texture of a hardwood floor.
The last thing you want is to scrape or damage your fresh finish by rushing to get back into the room. You want to give the new finish time to harden and cure. We recommend waiting a minimum of 24 hours before you walk on your floors– and 48 hours is even better.
Leaving your floors naked and raw may feel wrong, but if they've been installed correctly and sanded smooth so you won't get splinters in your feet, then unfinished floors can be quite beautiful, and just as durable as those with a finish.
Water damages wood. Wood finish is a helpful barrier that at least prevents this a little. If a flash flood turns your house into a swamp, it probably won't save your hardwood floors, but wood finish helps protect against minor water exposure.
Sealing wood is by far the best way to protect it from water damage. Sealants are made to protect surfaces from everything from scratches to swelling, so use sealants if you can afford them to protect your wood.
There are two basic product categories for waterproofing: stains and sealants. Stains are used on wood to enhance color and make them weather resistant. Sealants protect concrete and wood from moisture but do not stop water movement through the concrete from the outside. For masonry, the sealants are the go-to product.
Pressure-treating can make wood water-resistant, but it's not 100 percent rot-resistant. Any time the wood moves, bends, or cracks, water can enter. While this may seem worrisome, the key is to keep the water away.
Hardwood Flooring Don'ts
The worst thing you can do for your hardwood floors is let water to sit on the floor for longer than one minute. Anything longer is going to damage the finish and the wood. It's very similar to putting a sweating glass on a table without a coaster.
Most solid hardwood planks are thick enough to be refinished up to ten times. Refinishing is essential to caring for your solid hardwood and helps it last longer. However, while solid wood can take multiple refinishing over the decades, we can only refinish engineered hardwood once or twice.
'Recoating is a great way to restore the look of your hardwood without a full sand down. It's the process of adding a new topcoat of finish to an existing wood floor finish,' explains Brett Miller, vice president, Technical Standards, Training, and Certification at the National Wood Flooring Association.