Okay, so I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and I finally jumped in. I decided to refinish the old wooden floors in my spare bedroom. The finish was all scratched up, and it just looked dull. I’m calling it “rubber dancing birch” because, well, it’s birch, and after all the sanding, it felt kinda bouncy, like those rubber gym floors. Don’t ask me why, it just did.

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared everything out of the room. Furniture, rugs, the whole nine yards. Then, I gave the floor a good sweep and vacuum to get rid of any dust and debris. I even went over it with a damp mop, just to be sure.

The Grinding Work

Next up, the fun part (not really): sanding. I rented a big drum sander from the local hardware store. Let me tell you, that thing is a beast! I started with a coarse-grit sandpaper (like, 36-grit, I think) to get rid of the old finish and any major imperfections. I made sure to go with the grain of the wood, and I overlapped each pass by a few inches. It’s super important, no matter what you are sanding.

• First Pass: 36-grit sandpaper – real rough stuff.
• Second Pass: 60-grit sandpaper – smoothing things out.
• Third Pass: 100-grit sandpaper – getting that baby-smooth feel.

After each pass with the drum sander, I used an edge sander to get the areas close to the walls and in the corners. The edge sander uses the same grit progression as the drum sander.

Cleaning and Prepping

Once I was done sanding, I vacuumed like crazy. Seriously, I went over the floor multiple times to make sure I got all the dust. Then, I wiped it down with a tack cloth – it’s this sticky cloth that picks up any remaining dust particles. You want the floor to be spotless before you apply any finish.

Finishing up!

Finally, the moment of truth! I chose a water-based polyurethane finish because it dries fast and doesn’t have a strong odor.I opened windows to keep fresh air. Using a brush, I put on a thin layer all over, moving with the way the wood looked. I put on three layers, waiting for each one to dry before adding the next. It was a bit of a wait, but hey, good things take time, I always have trouble with it.

After the final coat dried (I gave it a full 24 hours), I lightly buffed the floor with a super-fine sanding screen. Just to get rid of any tiny imperfections. And that was it!

The floor looks amazing! It’s got this warm, natural glow, and it feels so smooth underfoot. It was a lot of work, no doubt about it, but totally worth it. Now, who wants to come over and dance on my “rubber dancing birch” floor?