Working With: Worn Out Hardwood Floors

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from one of my readers who revived her hardwood floors for less than $100.  It’s a great example of how you can still “work with” flooring that might have seen better days, even if refinishing or replacing it isn’t in the budget.

 

Here’s the email I received from Esther:

After five children, a cat, and three dogs, our builder-grade prefinished hardwoods were really "distressed". We knew that new hardwoods were not in the budget for several years, and I really didn't want to pay the money to refinish the existing floor since I was never wild about the color to begin with.

 

 

I stumbled upon a product called "Breakthrough" one day when I was on Pinterest. It is made by Porter/PPG, is water-based, and can be painted on almost any surface, even metal and vinyl flooring. The paint dries to recoat in only two hours, and dries to traffic after 24. My "Porter man" said that all I had to do was make sure the floor was very clean before I painted.  (No sanding or priming was necessary.)  He recommended two coats. I did three.

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to do all of the hardwoods a very light grey--almost white. I originally used Benjamin Moore "Fog Mist", but after using about an inch of the gallon, I had my paint guy add another dose of pigment, so it is basically a custom color now:

 

 

I did small portions of my foyer/kitchen/breakfast room/powder room over a period of about two weeks. I would take an area--about 8 ft by 8 ft or so--and vacuum it thoroughly, wash it with wood floor cleaner, and then paint a coat with a paintbrush. After two hours, I would recoat, and then add one more final coat. By doing small areas, it was easy to keep people and pets off until 12 hours had gone by. We then were able to lightly step over it until 24 hours was up.

 

 

I love the result! Actually, I am so happy with the color that I really have no desire to even put in new hardwoods! I don't think I would want to give up my light grey floor! And what is wonderful is that all of the dings and scratches make the floor look even more beautiful because it has a wonderful texture. The amazing thing is that, other than time, the whole project cost only $90!

 

So far, there are only a few small places where the paint didn't "stick". There are a few cracks in between boards in front of my stove, and I have a feeling it is because I didn't get the crud off the floor well enough when I hastily washed it.  Now I am tempted to try this paint on the vinyl flooring in an upstairs bathroom!

 

 

Thanks to Esther for sharing all of the details of her “working with” solution. 

Have you used this product? Would you ever consider painting your hardwood floors?

 

 

Don’t forget, the Working with What You Have link-up starts tomorrow:

 

 

 

I can’t wait to see your posts!