White Washed Floors
HOW TO DO IT
I have said it before but I will say it again: This project was a “toughey.” Like the rest of the world, we were up against two very big and very real obstacles, time and budget. So, when it came to choosing new hardwood floors for this project I was stuck between product availability and a raise in cost for those products. (For the record, I really wanted to save the old floors original to this house, but when you rip the roof off a house in July in Pittsburgh it is guaranteed to rain and those pretty old floors wouldn’t make it.) Originally, I was imagining a very subtle white oak for the space but as I mentioned… time and budget. I turned to my friends at Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Floors for advice and they told me about a pretty red oak they had in stock. It was ready to be installed, but it was a product they had never tried before but had a hunch would work. All I had to hear was ready to be installed and I was ready to experiment. And guess what… it worked! Here's how we did it…
Here’s the process:
Materials:
Hardwood Floor Sanding Supplies
Rolling applicator with a long handle
Broom and dust pan
First and foremost, you will want to thoroughly clean and remove any debris or furniture from the space. Think blank slate, you are preparing your canvas!
Before really diving in you will want to fully sand down the floors to make sure they are smooth to the touch and ready to be sealed. Reference this video for tips.
Pour the contents of the Bona Nordic Seal product into your rolling tray.
Dip the roller into the tray and full coat it with sealant .
It’s time to apply your first coat! Starting in the corner of your space and working with the grain of the wood pull and spread the sealant evenly from edge to edge of the room. Lining up each coat perfectly with one another (a bit of overlapping from time to time is ok)
Repeat until the entire room has received one coat of the sealant.
Allow to dry for 24 hours
Repeat steps 3-6 to apply 2nd coat
We applied 2 coats total on these floors. Keep in mind the more coats you apply the whiter the floors will become.
Pro Tips:
If you make a mistake you can sand the layer just applied and start over again
Do not allow coats to dry for more than 24 hours between applications or you will need to sand down and begin again
Embrace the imperfections
Remember to always leave yourself a pathway out
Notify anyone living/working in the space in advance that they won't have access to the space
