Changing Hardwood Floor Colors - Mailbag

Question- We have ten year old hardwood floors that was stained very dark. I think they call it Saddle. Can they be brought back to new with a color that's not too dark? It also has these big bevels in them. How do they sand those?

Reply- You'll have to have someone come in and remove all of the darker stains. That will require a drum sander starting with a heavy sand paper grit. For the bevels and depending on how deep they are they will have to be scraped completely by hand.

Question- I hope you can help! We had some water damage in one area of the house and the installers came in and replaced it while we were at work. When I came home I was horrified because it did not match. It doesn't even look like the same wood. If it makes any difference it was a Cherry floor.

Reply- If it's a natural Cherry there's no wonder why it didn't match. Cherry changes color quite a bit over the years. Even over a period of a  few weeks, it can darken. As for trying to fix someone may be able to tint the new area to a color that closely resembles the exiting older area, but it will never be a perfect match. If you want the job done right a complete redo would be the best solution.

Question- How hard is it to change a white colored floor without a stain? This old white floor is driving me nuts and is in shambles.

Reply- I'm assuming you want to bring the older white floor to it's natural color? Well, one thing is certain, changing from white to natural is easier than going from a dark color to a light color.  Depending on what types of cleaners were used over the years, the floor will need to be completely sanded to bare wood. Once that step is completed any choice of finished is used.

Question- I've been learning so much from your website. We are installing hardwood floors in our kitchen, dining room, entry and hallway. It's a very open area. Our kitchen cabinets and woodwork are a medium golden oak. The big decision at this point is if we should match the cabinets, go lighter with a natural color, or go with a darker stain. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated! Also, we're leaning toward Bruce prefinished hardwood with a beveled edge

Reply- Color is more of a personal taste issue than anything, though I would vote for a natural hardwood floor. True beveled edge floors can be a cleaning nightmare and there are better places to shop for hardwood floors than the big boxes that have limited selections.

Question- I am looking to refinish my hardwood floor in the living room and dining room of my newly purchased house, appears to be the original and has never been repolished or refinished (about 15yrs old). How much does it generally cost to refinish, $/sq ft?. Size is about 13x15 and 13x11. I live in South Jersey by the way. Thanks in advance.

Reply- That's hard to say as it depends on each and every floor refinisher. There are some guys that use absolute dust containment for those that suffer with allergies that are caused by airborne dust during the refinishing procedure. Expect these guys to be far above the others. You can get some more ideas by visiting our page on refinishing older hardwood floors at the link below.