The other day, I met a guy who spent ten years of his life doing flooring installations. This prompted me to confide in him my dream (bordering fantasy) to have ebony stained wood floors in my home. Was it worth the effort to stain my natural gold oak floors myself? His response, “Absolutely! And I’ll tell you how.”
With his step by step tutorial and insider tips, he gave me the confidence that my dream floors could become reality. Then, I had to encourage my fiancé that together we could accomplish it without hired help.
All around the same time, I received notification from our vendor that the custom sectional we ordered two months ago was ready to be delivered. Well, if we are going to stain our floors, we should do it before the arrival of the sectional.
We were advised to review these videos for visual clarity and to instill even more confidence in ourselves as the only DIY project my fiancé and I have ever done together was painting.
First and foremost, we needed to check if we have enough wood flooring to sand down and stain. We were able to find some cut wood by removing a heating register.
That looks like about 1/4″ thickness of wood. Should be enough to sand down.
Supply List
To Remove Base Trim:
• Crowbar
• Spray foam
• Acrylic caulking
• Caulking gun
To Fill In Nail Holes and Cracks:
• Wood putty
• Putty knife
• Hammer
• Nail set
To Prep Your Space:
• Newspaper or rags
• Plastic sheeting
• Painters tape
To Sand The Floors:
• Sandpaper blocks and paper: 60 grit, 100 grit, 120 grit
• Wood scraper
• Extra wood scraper blades
• Knee pads
• Goggles
• Face masks
• Drum sander (rental)
• Edge sander (rental)
• Buffer (rental)
To Clean Your Space After Sanding & In Between Coats:
• Tack cloth
• Vacuum cleaner or shop vac
• Paint thinner (if using oil-based stain and/or varnish)
To Stain The Floors:
• 2 paint trays
• 2 applicator pads
• 2 extension handles
• Cheesecloth
• Plastic gloves
• Hair nets
Now… let’s get started!
Step-by-Step
Step 1
Move out all the furniture.
Step 2
Tear out base trim. The video says this isn’t a necessary step, but I’m glad we did. There were a few times we weren’t too careful and smudged some stain on the wall. Even when we were careful, it was difficult to manipulate the applicator so it wouldn’t touch the molding. Plus, we wanted to replace all the trim anyway so this was a mandatory step for us.
Step 3
Caulk air leaks. Again, this an optional step, especially if you’re not removing any trim. Seeing as we have air leaks throughout our old home, we decided to caulk these areas to make our home more energy efficient. It’ll save us from having to caulk the base boards when we reinstall them.
The saga continues on Day 2!
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Great advice!