Most of you know that we moved last Dec. Our new house has hardwood floors. We decided to have them refisnished since the finish was very worn on them. After getting several bids we decided to have them just buffed and recoated. The wood is in great condition, no scratches, so there wasn't really a need to sand them. I really liked the guy we picked he was very knowledgable and was actually recommend by a friend. Well he, and everyone else that came out, never mentioned that there could be a chemical reaction when they just buff and apply a new finish. Supposedly, if any type of cleaner that is not made for wood floors was used in the past, this can happen. If only they had said something upfront. I could have told them that the people who owned the house had used something they shouldn't have on them. They looked beautiful when we moved in and after a month, they looked so worn. Obviously, she used something to make them look nice so they could sell the house. Well, Friday they showed up to do the floors. Since the smell is horrible and they can't be walked on for 12 hours, we had to stay at a hotel. They do 2 coats of finish, so we couldn't come home until Sunday morning. Well, when I walked in the door, I just cried. The floors are all "bubbled" up. They look 10 times worse then when we started. I was so upset yesterday. The owner called me back this morning and came out to look at them. He said that it is a typical chemical reaction. He NEVER told me this could happen. If he had, I wouldn't have done it. Our floors didn't look that bad. He is know saying that they will come out again tomorrow and buff them really good and then apply another coat. If that doesn't work, then they will have to be sanded. If that happens, we will have dust everywhere, beside the fact that it takes them 4 days to finish when they sand. All this time we are having to pay for a hotel. I told him that if they have to sand there is no way I am giving him any more money. He should have told me this upfront. I am just so upset. Has anyone else gone through this or had this happen??? We have never had floors refinished, so dh and I are clueless.

By John on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 01:31 pm:

This might be a case of Oil Based polyurethane being applied over a water based product and dissolving the finish.

What kind of finish did they apply?

I've never heard of someone applying a finish without sanding... No finish will stick properly if they don't sand.

Even normal dust and dirt will prevent it from sticking.

By Debbie on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 02:24 pm:

John, It was an oil based polyurethane and it is the same that was already on the floors. The previous owners left the paperwork from when they had them put in. We got 4 bids and they all said that they could either buff and recoat or sand and then recoat. Two, including the guy that we decided to use, said that there was no reason to sand because the wood itself was not scratched or damaged.

I did do an internet search and found some information about chemical reactions and it is exactly what he told me. I guess I learned my lesson, next time I will do my own research before I get work done.

By Kate on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 02:38 pm:

Debbie, I've had my whole house resanded and finished. It's not that horrible. I will write more when I get back from picking my daugher up. In the meantime, do you have any specific questions for me?

By Debbie on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 02:58 pm:

Kate, I can't think of any questions right now. I am glad to hear that the sanding wasn't that big of a deal.

John, I guess I wasn't specific enough. They do sand when they buff and recoat. It is just a light sanding, they don't sand all the way down to the bare wood.

By Eve on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 03:11 pm:

Oh no, Debbie! That stinks! I'm so sorry! I would think they need to fix it. Maybe it was just humidity or something! It will work out in the end, hang in there.((HUG))

BTW-I am going to refinish a wood floor myself! Now you are scaring me. LOL!

By Kate on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 04:04 pm:

Debbie, the sanders have bags on them to catch most of the sawdust. They aren't foolproof and one bag even BURST when they did our floors, and it STILL wasn't a big deal. Keep in mind that the SANDING PEOPLE are the ones who have to vacuum it all up and dust it clean before they can apply the sealer and finish. They can't put the sealer and finisher on until the floor is dust free, so that's most of your battle. Once they leave, just use a dust mop on the walls and ceilings (beginning with the ceiling, of course) Then vacuum or wet mop the floors to get all the dust that falls from the ceilings and walls while you cleaned them, and you're done! They tape off doorways and cupboards and such with plastic and tape. The vents, especially the air returns, should also be closed and taped off. Keep the furnace/air OFF. My other rooms were NOT affected and sawdust did NOT come thru the vents or haunt me for months. The biggest pain was moving all the furniture and curtains out, but you obviously already had to do that ANYway, just to buff and coat.

Also, we used water based Street Shoe which is a serious commercial grade that they use in furniture showroom and department store floors that are used to a lot of foot traffic and stroller traffic, so it's a really good finish. We chose 'matte' finish because while shiny looks great at first, it wears away and your floors look bad way before they should. We did our floors in stages and some of them are now seven years old and look fabulous. Also, with street shoe we did NOT have to leave the house for ANY amount of time, and we had a ten month old during the first flooring experience. I don't know what they are using, but I'd ask for a product that isn't so toxic that you have to vacate! That would scare me.

FYI, Murphys Oil Soap is a bad thing to use on ANY wood. When you attempt to do anything to the finish afterwards it's always a disaster. A furniture guy who was touching up scratches and gouges on my used-but-new-to-me piano. I don't know if the previous owners used that, I'm just telling you in general to try and prevent this sort of thing from happening to you again in any other wood capacity.

Eve, make sure you do your homework!! It's very difficult to get a floor EVEN when you sand. It's easy to sand way too much off one area and not enough off the other and then they are not level and if you're not careful you could even sand down to the very bottom! If the sander stands in one spot for too long you are in trouble, and if you can't apply the exact same pressure with your arms/hands at all times, it will be uneven. They are enormous, bulky things that look hard to control. I'm not trying to be mean, I've just heard horror stories and refinishing hardwoods just doesn't seem like one of those do it yourself projects. Please don't take offense, I just don't want to see anything go wrong!!

Good luck to you both of you!

By Amecmom on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 04:12 pm:

Debbie,
I'm so sorry this happened to you! We also had our floors refinished - twice in two different homes. It is really not a big deal. Just make sure you cover any furniture that might get the wood dust on it. Also, you might want to consider hanging plastic from the entry ways of the rooms you are having redone so that the wood dust and smells stay in those rooms only.
As for cleaning - Bona Chemi is great! Just spray and wipe with a terry mop.
I had to stay at my inlaws overnight while the finish dried because I couldn't get into my kitchen without walking on the floors. The smell was fine.
Good luck!
Ame

By Debbie on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 05:59 pm:

I am hoping that just rebuffing and recoating will do the trick, but I am preparing for the sanding. The owner is actually going to be here with his crew tomorrow. He called a little while ago and is pretty confident that they can fix it without sanding. If he does have to sand, he will hang plastic to block off our dining room and living room. He also said that he will hang plastic to block off the upstairs. The only area that will be effected is my kitchen and family room. He will also cover the furniture and the kitchen cabinets with plastic.

Kate, if he does have to sand down to the wood, then we are going to use a swedish finish. It is for high traffic areas and will help prevent denting on the floors.

Thank you for all your responses. I am feeling a little better about things. I am just hoping that when I come home Wed., it will be to beautiful floors.

Eve, you are one brave woman!!! I would be terrified to refinish my own floors.

By Debbie on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 06:01 pm:

Also, Kate, it is funny that you mention Murphy's Oil Soap. When I told the guy that the floors looked beautiful when we moved in, but looked so worn after just a few weeks. He said that they probably used Murphy's Oil Soap to make them look nice. He said that it makes them look nice for awhile, but that it totally ruins the finish.

By Eve on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 06:42 pm:

LOL-Thanks, Kate. I would never, ever rent one of the huge sanders. I'm just going to use my Dh's small hand sander. I can handle that!

It's true about Murphy's! Our kitchen cabinet warranty is not valid if you use it!

By Shellyg on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 07:41 pm:

Eve, I did my wood floors with a hand sander in a rental that I lived in. It turned out O.K., BUT you could see all the little circles from the sander. On our house that we own now we sanded, stained, and polyurethane them ourselves. We rented the sander (it looks like a giant belt sander) from home depot. We removed all of our furniture, and started to sand. We thought it would take forever, but the whole house took only about an hour. The sander we rented was very easy to use. I thought at first "no way" but got the hang of it right away. We bought the polyurethane that dries in about a half hour... twice the money but so well worth it. It has been over a year and our floors still look great!

By Feona on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 06:47 am:

I am just guessing she used a mop and glow on the wood. Makes it shine.

By Debbie on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 10:54 am:

The guys are here now. They said they think they can fix it. They did help me cover my furniture with sheets and they hung plastic, they said they were going to generate some major dust. They are going to buff it way down. They have been buffing and lightly sanding for almost an hour already. We are going to leave in a little while before they start coating it. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

By Eve on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 03:43 pm:

Cool, Shelly! I may be emailing you. I'm wimpy with the sanders,so I'll be using the baby palm sander. LOL! Thanks for the circle tip, now I'll go with the grain the whole time!

By Eve on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 03:44 pm:

Oh, Debbie! Sorry, I meant to say...COOL about your floors. I'm glad they can fix them! Keep us posted! *fingers crossed*

By Eve on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 09:21 am:

How did they come out, Debbie?

By Debbie on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 02:29 pm:

They look much better, but they still need to be buffed and sanded one more time. They didn't bubble up this time, but the finish is slightly streaky in some spots because it didn't dry right. The owner came and looked at them this morning. He said that there are still some chemicals on the floor, which caused it to dry uneven. He is confident that one more good buffing and recoating will fix them. So, one more night in a hotel. They are coming back on Friday to finish up. The only reason I am not totally freaking out and upset is because they have been so willing to fix them and get them right. It just stinks that after all this they look about the same as when we started. . Thanks for asking Eve.