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Is it a sin to paint over hardwood floors?
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Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:45 am ]
Post subject:  Is it a sin to paint over hardwood floors?
The hardwood floors in the bedrooms and the hallway were ruined by the previous owner who did not put tarp down when painting the walls....the floors are covered in paint splatter.
I am in the process of scraping of the biggest globs, but really, its so much and so smeared that there are four options: refinish them, cover them in carpet, paint them, or leave them as they are.
I want the house to look nice....carpet is out of the question. Refinishing them is not in our budget any time in the next couple of years with a baby on the way.
Just wondered if anyone has painted hard wood floors before and what you thought. Also, if, in a few years we want to refinish them, will sanding off the paint be any more of an issue than normal?
Author:  Hopwin [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:49 am ]
Post subject: 
Yes it is a sin.
Author:  DFK! [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:52 am ]
Post subject: 
I pulled up carpet in one room of my house because the carpet was awful, and looking in the corner it appeared the hardwood was in good condition.

It was in mediocre condition, and had paint splatter everywhere. I intend to re-cover it at a later point with carpet. If yours is in good condition though, I'd merely re-finish at a later point.
Author:  TheRiov [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:55 am ]
Post subject: 
never paint a floor. ugh.
Author:  Dash [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:58 am ]
Post subject: 
I dont know if it's a sin but I also dont know if it would look any good. Actually, check that, I do know about my 3rd floor which is hardwood and painted. It's not good. It's still sticky to walk on with bare feet and looks cheap. That said, I think the previous owners of our house bought the absolute cheapest paint they could find and chose all the colors that other people must have thrown out.

Maybe just try and take up the paint splatter a bit over time? Area rug?
Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:03 am ]
Post subject: 
DFK, that's exactly what we did. The floor is the original from ca.1950 and it needs to be sanded and evened out if its to be refinished.
I just hate the idea of carpet. Our house is just too small with too much traffic and pet hair for even daily vacuuming and monthly shampooing to maintain carpet.

Dash....*sigh* I read up on it and going the cheap route gives results like you mention. If its to look good, apparently I have to sand off the splatters and old varnish and smooth it all out before painting and use a high-quality paint and 3 coats of urethane. If I'm gonna do that, I might as well refinish the dang things....which is just not feasible right now.
Author:  Nitefox [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:03 am ]
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No painting the floor.
Author:  Hopwin [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:05 am ]
Post subject: 
If you paint over it you will never get it out of all the nooks and crannies. If you can't live with the way it looks and cannot refinish it then you should cover it with a rug/carpet.
Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:07 am ]
Post subject: 
Why are there no quick fixes in home repair?? Everything costs an arm and a leg to do right.
Nitefox, can you live with one arm and one leg? I'm gonna need the other set.....
Author:  Ladas [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:23 am ]
Post subject: 
There are quick fixes, but to major components like wood flooring, any quick fix will only look good for a very small amount of time, likely less time than for your current nesting impulses will last, and will only cost more money to fix correctly later.

As for cost, its relatively, but I just finished a project with 6,000 sq. ft of heartwood pine flooring from 1852. A movie company had leased the house for some of their filming, and as part of the prep, painted the floors brown. Removing that paint and refinishing with the original bees wax finish cost $10,000, or a little over $1.60 sq. ft. which considering the work to be done, was a steal.

You could do the work yourself for considerably less, if you feel up to the manual labor of using an orbital sander.

There are even some low VOC varnishes on the market that would be compatible for this application, eliminating the major health risk for someone in your condition.
Author:  Ladas [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:26 am ]
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And just as an aside, I redid the oak floors in our house, only about 900 sq. ft. worth, in 5 days, including drying time on the finish.

2 days, about 6 hours each day doing the sanding (used an orbital sander with varying grit papers to fine tune the sanding), then the finishing, 3 coats, with 24 hours between coats.
Author:  Taamar [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:29 am ]
Post subject: 
You are coming up against the rule of three: "Cheap, fast, good.... pick any two"

cheap/fast: area rugs
cheap/good: refinish by hand
fast/good: hire it out

Sadly my old standby of 'invite the girls over for a margarita DIY project' isn't really an option here.
Author:  Lalaas [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:31 am ]
Post subject: 
I think we got the hw floors redone in our house for ~$0.80/ sq.ft., though that was about 10 years ago. Sounds like it was similar to yours, LK - no major paint, but careless painters.
Author:  Monte [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:35 am ]
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Sand it down, refinish it. Do it yourself. It's a crapload of work, but you will feel a lot better about it.

In the mean time, if you're just to busy with other things, find some nice throw rugs and deal. :)
Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:36 am ]
Post subject: 
Ladas, I wouldn't mind sanding the floor myself...just would need to check with the doc regarding the dust, vibrations, and noise.
My only prob with the DIY version is the finish. We live in a humid area and I have heard so many horror stories about bubbling and peeling...I'm just concerned that since I'm not a pro I wouldn't be able to get it right.
Logistically, could I do one room at a time or would I need to do all 3 rooms and the hallway at the same time so it looked seamless and matched?
Author:  Micheal [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:47 am ]
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Is there a time of year when the humidity is relatively low? Can the project wait until then, and as suggested, you use throw rugs (not slippery ones) until then?

I don't doubt your ability to do the work, just look at the right timing for the job. That would most likely be after your baby is a year old or so. Fumes from the strippers are toxic unless it tells you otherwise, even then, don't be complacent about it.
Author:  Shelgeyr [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:54 am ]
Post subject: 
The sanding part of the job can be stretched out over a near-indefinite period of time, subject only to your (and by this, I mean the occupants of the household) tolerance of the "work-in-progress" state. The finish should be done all at one time, if possible. If that's not feasible, you'll want to break it up into the smallest number of sub-jobs possible (ie: do an entire room at once, try to do the hallway in conjunction with whichever adjoining room has the highest "seam visibility"). As for the finish - I highly recommend asking advice from knowledgable locals on best products to use, best time of year/time of day/weather conditions in which to lay it down and best application method.
Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
Micheal wrote:
Is there a time of year when the humidity is relatively low?

In Mississippi? Is that a trick question??

Micheal wrote:
I don't doubt your ability to do the work, just look at the right timing for the job. That would most likely be after your baby is a year old or so.

Yeah, but nesting instincts are going nuts...by the time February gets here there's no telling what I'll have done to this house, hahaha!


Micheal wrote:
Fumes from the strippers....


Image
Author:  Ladas [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
LadyKate wrote:
Ladas, I wouldn't mind sanding the floor myself...just would need to check with the doc regarding the dust, vibrations, and noise.
My only prob with the DIY version is the finish. We live in a humid area and I have heard so many horror stories about bubbling and peeling...I'm just concerned that since I'm not a pro I wouldn't be able to get it right.
Logistically, could I do one room at a time or would I need to do all 3 rooms and the hallway at the same time so it looked seamless and matched?

Dust is an issue for anyone, regardless of pregnancy, and doing the sanding should only be done while wearing appropriate masks, and clean up should involve a shop vac type vacuum with appropriate filters. Likewise, the noise from an orbital sander is minimal, so I don't know that there is anything special other than normal ear plugs if the sound bothers you. Vibrations for someone that is pregnant... I have no idea.

Because it is a residence in use, the best option is probably going to be do each room individually, since once the finish is applied, you will be unable to use that floor for some amount of time. However, if the hallway directly connects with of the rooms, such that the floor boards are contiguous, I would strongly consider doing those floor sections together.

Regarding bubbling and peeling, that usually occurs because people get sloppy and apply the finish in layers that are too thick, such as trying to get it all done at one shot and not even out the layer. However, humidity, especially in the wood, can cause peeling and lack of luster in the finish. Typically when putting down new wood flooring, you let the wood cure in the house for a few days to a week or so before installing, to help alleviate the problems. Since this wood has been in the climate so long, that probably isn't an issue.

There are also different kinds of finishes, depending on the climate conditions. This site gives a quick run down of the various types. However, I don't know if the 2 part coating systems come in low VOC formulas, which is very important for your pregnancy.

I will add however, that I live in SC, and humidity here is as much an issue as in MS, so I would recommend waiting until the fall.

Stripping the floor is generally not needed, or recommended.
Author:  LadyKate [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:23 am ]
Post subject: 
Thanks, Ladas.
Author:  Hopwin [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:35 am ]
Post subject: 
I am pretty sure the dust from refinishing hardwood is a health hazard. At least around here they kick you out for about 3 days while they do it.
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
LadyKate wrote:
Dash....*sigh* I read up on it and going the cheap route gives results like you mention. If its to look good, apparently I have to sand off the splatters and old varnish and smooth it all out before painting and use a high-quality paint and 3 coats of urethane. If I'm gonna do that, I might as well refinish the dang things....which is just not feasible right now.

This is exactly what I was going to point out. If you're painting it in a fashion that would end up looking at all good, you're doing all the steps it would take to refinish it, anyways. So refinish, don't paint.

Hopwin wrote:
If you paint over it you will never get it out of all the nooks and crannies. If you can't live with the way it looks and cannot refinish it then you should cover it with a rug/carpet.

This is the other reason you don't want to paint. You can sand the surface paint back off, but you'll have paint filling the seams between boards and any chips/splits that are too deep to sand out.
Author:  TheRiov [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:59 am ]
Post subject: 
Perhaps you should be aware you're nesting and try to fight the urge to redo the living space.


(Tangent but I'm still amazed this sort of instinct can be passed by genetics--this is such a complex behavior, and the fact that it can be triggered hormonally... wish I could get some of that hormone, I might clean the house more...)
Author:  Mookhow [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 11:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Is it a sin to paint over hardwood floors?
Ladas wrote:
orbital sander

Sand it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure?
Author:  Nitefox [ Tue Aug 03, 2010 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
TheRiov wrote:
...try to fight the urge...




Yeah, you don't want to go there.
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