Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Finishing Hardwood Floors

My wife and I recently purchased a 40 year old home and it has hardwood strip flooring (oak, we think) throughout the entire main floor (except kitchen and bathroom). In some areas the finish is completely worn through but in some parts of the bedrooms it's not too bad.

We want to refinish all of it at once since we don't have any furniture there yet, but we've never done anything like this before.

Can you do one room at a time (there isn't any break between rooms on the floor) or does the entire floor need to be done at one time? We know we're going to have to sand, but any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Start out by reading all of the wood floors material on doityourself.com. Get familiar with the process and the sequence of steps you'll have to go through and the tools you'll have to use. I always find it helpful to have a couple professionals come in and quote the job for me - it gives me a feel for the commercial pricing and they always will take you through the process they'll use.

Be on the look out for pro's that want to replace your entire floor or something outlandish like that. The biggest dilemma you may have will be whether you wish to use the drum sander or just use the square buff. Square buff will take a lot longer, but gives less chance of causing damage on the floor like waves, etc. You can easily damage the floor with the drum but it will do the better job in less time. You'll also want to think about the finish you want - water based, oil based, stained or not, satin or semi gloss.

Just start by learning the process and all the steps you have to go through and then make your decision to start. Contract it or do it yourself. You'll love it when you are through.

For the best results, finishing all of the flooring at once is best. Go to www.finishingwoodfloors.com for the Bible on floor finishing.