I had hardwood floors in my house refinished last week - I asked the floor company to do three coats of polyurethane (oil-based). They said that they did indeed do three coats (first they sanded really thoroughly). But now that they are done, the floors aren't as shiny as I thought they would be. Also, already my husband and I have accidentally made a couple of very thin minor scratches on them.
How did your floors look after you had three coats of polyurethane put on them? If the floor company does a good job, should the floors ALWAYS look quite shiny afterwards, or is it okay if they aren't super shiny? And should they be fairly resistant to scratching?
I want to believe that they really did three coats and that they did a quality job, so I'm trying to find out how the floors are supposed to look and how resistant they should be to scratching afterwards, to make sure we were given good work for our money. Also, they only let the floors dry for a couple hours in between each coat, which was alot faster than I thought it would take... I'm hoping that doesn't mean it was poor quality (they got really good reviews on yelp, and I've read that the newer polyurethanes dry more quickly...
Thanks! :)
There are different levels of shiny depending on what type of polyurethane finish they used. Did you see a sample that would show you how shiny they would be?
Also, floor wills scratch easily until the finish truly sets. I've heard it advised to be very careful on new floors for several weeks.
If you're not happy with the end result, call the company who did the job and talk with them.
There is choice of flat, satin, semigloss,gloss, high gloss. What did you choose? When floors are done they should be done and allowed to cure a minimum of 7 days, careful use for first month. What does your contract.say about satisfaction and guarantee. If you have a whole house humidifier it should be off during the drying process.
Unless you picked a high gloss finish, they will not be very shiny. Our contractor had us wear socks for the first week and we did not walk on the floors at all for several days.
Yes, it can scratch. Even stone tile can scratch.
It is not, scratch proof.
The only way you would know if they really did put 3 coats, is if you supervised them each step of the way.
No, it will not necessarily be shiny as an ocean's surface nor like a mirror.
And over time, the polyurethane will need to be redone. It wears away over time.
And, if you wear shoes in the home, everyday, tiny minute dust or dirt is in the house on the floor, and this itself, can scratch a floor's surface.
When we have contractors or workmen working on our home, and we had flooring installed recently... I ALWAYS supervise them, ask them questions, and see what step they are on or doing along the way. I have.... a construction background. I know, what it entails. And I see/watch what is going on in my home.
After the polyurethane was applied and it was completely completed, it also has to cure... and completely harden. This does not happen in 2 hours. And until then, even after 24 hours, you need to tread lightly.
Hmm. Yes and no. When had our floors done last year, we were asked whether we wanted high or low gloss. My husband chose high. (The company shared that low gloss is actually the more popular choice.) We also scratched ours right away, but not since. We changed a few habits and are more careful. The part that's a little different is that the company waited longer in between coats. In general, I think that if you are not satisfied with the work, you should have the company come back for a discussion. They may suprise you!
