Project Recap: Lee’s Summit Hardwood Flooring Makeover

This home in Lee’s Summit was ready for a new and improved look. When the homeowners decided that hardwood flooring was the best option to replace their old, dingy carpets, they called SVB Wood Floors to do the job. Our project consisted of three different parts.

First, we were to repair, sand and restain the existing hardwoods in the kitchen and entryways. Second, was to tear out the worn carpeting in the living room and add all-new hardwoods. Third, was to refinish throughout by sanding down the dated, honey-stained wood floors leaving this home with gorgeous, chestnut flooring.

Preparing for Hardwood

Before starting the job, we weren’t sure what we would find underneath the living room carpet, but we knew the homeowners wanted the whole room to have hardwood floors that would blend into the current floors they had in their kitchen areas.

So, we went to work. We removed the quarter round, pulled up the dingy carpet, tacked down and prepared the plywood underneath , and finally, installed new hardwood floor boards. To ensure that the whole room’s flooring pattern matched from wall to wall, we replaced the shorter entry area boards, next to the carpet, so that no one could tell there was ever carpet there. After the floor was installed, it was time to sand everything down.

Related Read: 10 Stunning Hardwood Floors to Inspire You

Sanding Away Old Stain

To get rid of the outdated honey stain in the kitchen and dining room, and prep the living room for staining, we used our dustless sanding system in each room. In order to make sure we sanded down every inch to be stained, we removed the quarter round, or what we also call base shoe. This allowed us to get right to the edge of the floor. Once we were done sanding, staining and coating, we put the base shoe right back in its place.

Traditionally, sanding floors means sealing off rooms, and extensive dust cleanup after your floors are finished. However, SVB uses Bona’s Atomic Dust Containment System, meaning our customers don’t have to worry about the dusty mess that occurs with other hardwood sanding services! This system takes the dust from sanding directly from your floor to our truck.This means that we can get the job done faster and the air in your home stays clean. Not to mention, the family doesn’t have to vacate during the process!

Staining & Sealing the Floors

Once the floors were sanded down, it was time to stain! Though we usually know what kind of stain our homeowners are looking for when we begin, stains look different on the various kinds of hardwood, and they can seem to be a different color once they are on the floor with the specific room lighting. We always show our customers what the stains look like on their floor before we start staining so that they are satisfied and love the finish!

This Lee’s Summit couple had several colors in mind, so we stained small sections of their flooring. Since the room’s flooring and lighting altered their first color choices, they asked for additional samples to choose from, nine total.  They settled on Chestnut stain and asked us to use a technique called “Water-Popping”,  which allows the stain to penetrate deeper into the wood and expose the beautiful, natural grain patterns.

Another bonus to using the dustless sanding system is that there is less cleanup, which means we can start staining sooner. We went to work and after a couple of coats of stain, the hardwood on the first floor looked seamless! The rooms that had once looked disconnected, now flowed as one visual throughout the space. We finished staining by adding 3 coats of our commercial grade, polyurethane.

These final, quick drying layers, means easier care and maintenance for our homeowners, and a gorgeous floor for many years. To ensure that the homeowners know when it is safe to walk on the floors, we leave a note with the expected dry time of the floors. Because our polyurethane is water based, it dries within 2-3 hours after we are finished! It’s minimal down time compared to traditional wood floor finishing techniques and services.

Finish Up for Perfect Wood Floors

Even though we were done with the floors, we weren’t quite finished with this project. We’re pretty concerned with details at SVB. As we mentioned before, we needed to replace the quarter round we had taken out. We had stained the new trim to match the floors, and once the floors were dry, we installed the molding.

You know those ugly metal floor vents that are often rusted, dented or painful to walk over? Well, we replaced those too!  We installed eye-appealing wood vents that are flush with the floor, so there was no more tripping over them or wasted walking space. It only made sense to replace those, ensuring that the entire floor looked custom-finished. All that was left was to pack up our tools and let our homeowners enjoy their beautiful new floors!

Thanks for checking out our latest project! If you’re ready to add new “dream floors” in your home, give SVB Wood Floors a call at (816) 965-8655. We’re ready to take whatever project you’ve got and help you create the home you want.