WOOD FLOOR STAINING
Staining is an optional step and is used when you want to change the color of the wood in contrast to its “natural color.” If desired, it’s the first step in the finishing process.
Staining a hardwood floor is a tricky process. Any mistakes made in the sanding process are magnified by staining the floor. It takes great skill and experience to apply an even, blemish-free stain coat. For this reason, we highly suggest hiring a business that has the experience and an excellent track record in staining floors.
To Stain or Not to Stain
Staining is the right choice if:
- You want to change the color of the wood apart from its “natural color.”
- You want your floor to have a more uniform look.
- Your existing wood floor has slight water or pet stains that you would like to “cover up.” Darker stains can help blend in multiple pet stains. But if your stains are severe, then repairing is the better option.
Extra Steps Needed to Stain a Floor
Below are the additional processes needed when we stain a wood floor (vs keeping the hardwood floor its natural color)...
EXTRA STEP 1Stain samples
Because it can be challenging to make a final color decision, we lay out samples of a few colors you like but are having a tough time choosing which one is for you. This area of the floor is sanded and prepared for the staining stage before we lay out the samples. This way, you’ll know exactly what each color looks like on your floor. This makes for a much easier final decision.
EXTRA STEP 2Planetary sander
After you choose the perfect stain color for your floor, we need to sand your floor one more time. This time with very fine sandpaper attached to a special planetary sanding machine called a Power Drive. We do the same with our random orbital sanders up against the walls. This sanding pass will remove the micro sanding marks from the belt sander and edger that would not be noticeable on an unstained floor but will show up once stained.
EXTRA STEP 3Mask off areas
We definitely don’t want any stain to get on your carpets, tile, linoleum, transitions, or fireplace hearths. So we take the time to mask off all these areas to prevent any damage. And while we don't mask up baseboards or woodwork because of wicking, we take extra time and care when staining around these areas.
EXTRA STEP 4Water popping
This step is essential for multiple reasons: It makes the finished result of the stain look far more even. It opens the grain and allows more colored pigment to be absorbed, resulting in a deeper color. In addition, any minor sanding marks that may have been missed get removed as the wood fibers rise. And the raised wood allows the finish to penetrate deeper across a larger surface, resulting in a tougher finish.
EXTRA STEP 5
Apply stain
Now the fun part... applying the stain. Depending on the size of your floor, we will either apply it by hand, for smaller floors, or with a buffer for larger projects. The freshly stained floor then needs to dry for at least 12 hours before we start applying the finish.
So now you see why we charge an additional cost for staining hardwood floors—it’s almost twice the work versus sanding and refinishing hardwood floors and keeping them their natural color.
You can request staining for pretty much any wood floor, although some take stains better than others. Feel free to ask us about it when we come out to look at your hardwood floors in person. You can see photos of our staining work with Fargo hardwood floors on the Photos page.
PDFs to download...
What Color Should I Stain My Hardwood Floors?
This in-depth article goes through 6 important questions you'll need to ask before deciding on a final color for your hardwood floors.…
pdf Download PDF ArticlePHOTOS from past projects
CUSTOMER feedback
We had some older hardwood flooring that needed to be refinished and we also wanted to change the color. Jim came over for a consultation and I was impressed with his knowledge of everything wood flooring and his patience with multiple questions and concerns. We had NAH do our floors and it turned out even better then we had hoped! They had great attention to detail and the process was very easy. I would recommend anyone to give Jim a call if you want your floors done right. These guys are good, fair and honest.Pete Seljevold | Fargo, ND