Gym floors require refinishing every 8 to 10 years even if the floor has been properly maintained. Refinishing involves sanding the floor down to the bare wood and applying seal, paint, and finish; this is to restore the luster and shine of the wood floor surface. But what are the steps to a flawless gym floor refinish?
Refinishing is described with a lot of different terms like sand, refinish, resurface, etc. But they all mean the same thing.
This article is going to dissect the steps to give your gym floor a perfect refinish, this must be followed meticulously if you want to achieve a beautifully refinished gym floor.
Steps To A Perfect Gym Floor Refinish
Table of Contents
Determine Size Of Work Area
Certain factors like square footage, facility events, spring breaks, and more play a vital role in preparation for your gym floor refinishing.
Knowing the square footage will enable you to have an accurate knowledge of how much area will be refinished. This, in turns, enables you to know the amount of product needed for the project; depending on your application techniques, certain finishes can cover anywhere from 200 to 800 sq ft per gallon.
However, estimating using the price per gallon is not always accurate, so you need to know your product and break it down to price per foot. This will ensure that you get the accurate amount of product for your project.
Read: How long does it take to wax a gym floor
Adequate Preparation
Before you begin refinishing, you need to have a working strategy and prepare accordingly; the last thing you want to do is having to walk through your freshly finished floor because you accidentally blocked yourself in.
Know where to begin refinishing and where to end. Also, tape off any access points to the floor using caution tape or bright orange hazard tape; this is to prevent anyone from walking across the floor while you work or before it is dry. Locked and blocked.
Prepare adequately for the project by bringing all the product and tools you will be using for the job to one central location that is easily accessible to you and your crew. This saves a lot of time that would be wasted when you have to leave your job in the middle of an application to get a tool you need.
When the refinishing job is finished, you can place flyers on the doors explaining how long the facility will be closed.
Read: How to make gym floors less slippers
Check the Weather
Yes, the weather has an impact on your finish application; most finishes usually come with recommended waiting time between coats. This is to allow the finish to dry, but do not wait that exact time and begin another coat application.
You need to take into account the humidity and temperature of the room as both factors can lengthen or shorten the dry time. You can test whether or not the floor is ready for another application by placing a piece of paper on the floor in front of you and move it across with the floor gently with your hand.
If the paper moves smoothly, then it’s ready for another coat, but if it is sticky or moist, allow the floor to dry some more, then perform the test again.
Read: How to get scuff marks off gym floors
Request a Helping Hand
When applying floor finish on larger surfaces such as a gym, you should always get a helping hand as the work might be too much to be done alone.
Have a properly trained staff assist you in the scrubbing and preparation, application, and set up / clean up. If you are using a T-bar as an applicator, you will need three people for the application process. One person gets to apply the bead of finish while two individuals pull the finish with the t-bars.
Allow the Floor Cure Completely
Although you may be able to walk on the surface within a few hours, it is advised that you allow the floor to sit for the manufacturer’s recommended cure time.
There is a significant difference between dry time and cure time, you can walk on a dry court, but activities should only resume on the court after it has cured completely. How long this takes varies between products and be anywhere between 24 hours to five days.
Conclusion
The highlighted steps mentioned above will give you a perfect gym floor refinish is followed carefully. If refinishing your floor seems quite difficult then you can hire a professional to do job for you.
