Last week, Danny Lipford, the host of Today’s Homeowner, a nationally-syndicated weekly half-hour television show on maintaining and improving homes, was in New York, and I had the opportunity to chat with him about some of the home improvement projects I plan to undertake in my own home. Since Danny is a 30-year veteran in the remodeling business, I hoped to get his input from a cost vs. value standpoint on the changes I want to make. He agreed that if my floor needed improving, then upgrading it should be at the top on my list from a resale perspective. “Without a doubt the floor is a large surface that buyers are conscious of, so if it needs to be fixed that’s something you must address,” he told me.
Danny offered a lot of helpful advice on ways to go about improving my floor. The least costly approach, he said, would be to buy a small can of a floor restorer, such as Bruce’s Fresh Finish, and test it out on a section of the floor to see the effects. “It adds a little luster and evens out flaws, it’ll amaze you how much better your floor will look,” said Danny.
A more extreme option, he said, other than replacing the floor, would be to sand and refinish. “You can’t aggressively sand though, since it’s an engineered wood floor,” Danny explained, echoing the thoughts of Len Daubler, the floor expert from Armstrong I’d talked to earlier. Danny suggested getting an opinion from at least two or three wood floor experts. Since I don’t really know anyone who refinishes or installs floors, he suggested contacting the National Association of Home Builders for local contractors as a place to start. Danny’s Web site is also brimming with tons of good information on ways to improve your home, including tips on refinishing tired wood floors.
