Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY) February 18, 1989 REFINISHING SCHOOL CARE NEEDED WHEN RESTORING HARDWOOD FLOORS Author: MAUREEN NOLAN In the 1960s and early 1970s, vacuum cleaners roared mightily nationwide; in those decades, wall-to-wall carpet was everywhere. But in the last 10 to 15 years, hardwood floors have gained popularity. They now are found in foyers, kitchens, living rooms and stairways in old and new homes nationwide. Local builders say floors of oak, and increasingly, birch, are in demand in the Syracuse area, in particular in higher-priced homes. Dan Oot, president of Ashbury Homes and president of the Home Builders Association of Central New York, said ``just about every house'' his company builds has some oak flooring. ``The first place would be in the dining room,'' he said. But you don't have to build a new home to get a hardwood floor. Homeowners who wonder if the wood floor buried under their carpet is salvageable are likely to find that it is. Just about any hardwood floor can be restored, according to Steven LeBeau, who has installed and refinished fl! oors for a living for about 20 years. An exception would be softwood floors, such as a pine floor, or a floor that is too thin, he said. On average, LeBeau charges $1.40 a square foot, including materials, or about $175 to refinish an average room. When thinking about redoing a floor, consider the durability factor as well as the aesthetic appeal. ``This floor will outlast that carpet 50 times,'' said LeBeau, standing in an oak foyer leading to an oak stairway, one room away from a spacious oak-floored kitchen, in a new, upscale DeWitt house. Hardwood floors can take a lot of abuse, Oot agreed. But even the protected wood can be damaged. ``The big thing is you can't drag anything heavy or sharp across it,'' LeBeau said. These days, hardwood floors are coated with a polyurethane finish that doesn't require waxing, LeBeau said. A new coat of polyurethane to protect the wood may be needed every three or four years, depending on use, he said.! ``If you add a coat every once in a while, you'll never have to sand it again,'' he said. But LeBeau cautioned against homeowners trying to refinish a floor themselves, and Ron Frey, a former home builder and principal of occupational education at the Thompson Road Ononadaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES, concurred. Frey, who has worked with a variety of woodworking equipment, said some people can do a passable job with rented equipment. ``But if I ever do hardwood floors, I'm going to have a professional do it,'' he said. Mistakes can happen in a blink of an eye, according to Frey and LeBeau. ``I've seen novices use the machine incorrectly and put deep gouges in their floor that are almost impossible to remove,'' Frey said. LeBeau said he gets calls every day to finish up jobs for do-it-yourselfers who sand themselves into desperate corners. The equipment is heavy, the job is dusty, and even applying the protective coating is ``not just a matter of slapping it on,'' Frey said. It takes time, proper eq! uipment and ventilation, he said. A good professional will get the job done relatively quickly and will who stand by his work, Frey said. On the other hand, Thomas Pileski, manager of Taylor Rental Center on Onondaga Boulevard, said homeowners should not necessarily be scared away from doing their floors themselves. Even with the cost of renting the machines and buying materials, supplying your own labor can save you money, Pileski contends. ``There are a lot of horror stories. Some are true and some aren't,'' Pileski said. ``The results will depend on how well you prepare yourself for it.'' In other words, don't plan to refinish a floor on the spur of the moment, beer in hand, during halftime. It takes thought, work and time to bring a floor back to life, according to Pileski. First, assess the amount of work that needs to be done, he said. Do you need merely to remove the finish, or do you need to work on the wood itself? The folks at T! aylor will help you decide, according to Pileski. They also will also give you a how-to pamphlet, published by a sandpaper manufacturer. There are a few things you have to do to a floor before you even can think about sanding it, Pileski said: Empty the room of furniture and do the entire room at one time, while it's empty. Fix any loose floorboards or nails that stick up. Remove excess dirt and wax. To reach the wood, a do-it-yourselfer needs a heavy-duty sander, weighing about 100 pounds. At Taylor it rents for $45 a day, plus sandpaper. Also required is an edger, a kind of sander which rents for $19 a day. Very few people rent the equipment for more than a day, Pileski said. ``I would say 90 percent of the time they made out fine with it,'' he said of his customers. If only the finish needs to be sanded, and not the wood, the equipment to rent is a ``vibe sander,'' for $29 a day plus sandpaper, Pileski said. The smaller machine is less powerful and has a wider sanding surface, which means its weight! is less concentrated, Pileski said. It removes less of the surface than its big brother. And an edger is not needed, according to Pileski. Once the sanding is completed, vacuum the floor with a heavy-duty ``shop'' type vacuum. Also, clean the floor with tack cloth, a gauzelike material impregnated with a sticky substance that picks up sawdust. Refinishing the floor after sanding requires applying the polyurethane finish, which generally costs between $10 to $25 a gallon, Pileski said. The price will vary depending on quality and whether it's on sale, according to Pileski. Read the label to determine the ratio of the active ingredient to applicant or thinner, he said. It should be at least 40 percent active ingredient, he said. Cheaper brands may have less. While you are applying it, ventilate the room well. The fumes can make one's eyes water, LeBeau said.

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