How to Refinish Your Hardwood Floors When Kids Live on Them

Or, How I kept children entertained outside the house for hours on end, for multiple days–including a rainy one–during a pandemic.

I’ll be upfront: If you really want to DIY refinish your hardwood floors, I highly recommend searching YouTube for how-to videos that will actually be helpful as far as the methods and materials you’ll need to use. But if your spouse is willing to do all the nitty gritty work, and you just need to keep the kids out of the way while he does, and you can’t go spend the week with relatives or in a hotel, because of a pandemic or anything else, then I might have some insight for you here!

I’ll begin halfway through, when my amazingly talented hubby admitted I was right about something for once.

Justin: I admit, this is something we probably should have done a long time ago, like right after we moved in.
Me: I asked if we could do this as the first project!
Justin: I know, I’m sorry.

But I’m so happy that it’s done now!

• 

• 

The Backstory

We’ve been in a sort of limbo for several months now wondering if we’re moving or not. Justin is up for a promotion at his job, but the company is on a hiring freeze due to Covid, so they’re in no hurry to make a decision. We may or may not be moving to Houston later this summer.

But this project needed to be done either way.

The hardwood floors were in rough shape when we bought this house almost two years ago: the finish was flaking off in several places, leaving it looking discolored and leaving tiny flakes stuck to the bottom of our feet and then ending up all over the house: on couches, in beds, in the shower…not wonderful. Now that our baby is independently mobile, and has a fully functioning pincer grip, the flaking floors are not only an aesthetic problem, but also a choking hazard. So, if we’re not moving, refinished floors will look amazing and be safer for the baby. And, if we are moving, I am certain we will make a good return on investment in home value, by refinishing the floors, when we have to sell the house.

Justin’s company also announced that everyone needed to use at least half their paid time off by the end of May, or it would be forfeited. Justin decided his vacation-time-during-which-we-can’t-go-on-vacation would be well spent by refinishing the floors. He couldn’t have known that the week he chose would have rain in the forecast all week long, but we were determined to get this done on a DIY budget, so we got to creative thinking. From Justin’s research, he thought he could do the whole job Monday-Wednesday-Friday, with the in-between days for letting things dry fully. We made arrangements with a couple of friends with whom we mutually decided we’d be okay having contact playdates together with. Things didn’t go exactly to plan, sometimes negatively, but sometimes positively. Enjoy the saga!

Day Zero: Prep

Friday. It turned out that it was not supposed to rain on Saturday, so we decided to move up the flooring plan. In preparation, we enlisted the kids to get all their toys out of the living room, TV room, and hallway (all the places where we have hardwood flooring). We squeezed all the furniture from said areas into the entryway, sunroom, or a corner of our bedroom. We vacuumed all the wood floors, and most of the rest of the house, too, to avoid cross-contamination and make Justin’s job easier. He rewatched the relevant YouTube videos to make sure he knew what he needed to do, and went to the store to get the necessary supplies. We went to bed with clean feet and a big to-do list for the next day.

Day One: Stripping the old finish off

Saturday. We’d already promised the kids some Daddy-Luke and Mommy-Miryam-Cecily time, so we made good on that, first thing. Luke got his first real bike lesson with Justin, and Miryam got reading and snuggle time with me. After that, the kids and I were still able to make it out of the house by about 10:00am.

We drove to the church, unpacked bikes and helmets, arranged the baby on the picnic blanket, applied sunscreen, ate lunch, and then had a nice long bike riding session. Since it was still Luke’s first day on his big bike, I ran beside him with my hand on the back of his seat for a while. As he gained more confidence (he certainly had the ability already!), I took my hand away. After a while, he required my assistance only to get started again each time he stopped, because his feet just barely reach the ground. I was glad Justin had recommended that I wear tennis shoes instead of sandals for bike riding time! I got some cardio for the first time in ages. My usual exercise is just walking.

When they were ready for a break from their bikes, the kids agreed to pray the Rosary with me. Our blanket was set up in the shade beside a statue of Mary in the prayer garden, so it seemed appropriate. They requested that we sing all the prayers! Their attention lasted for only one decade, but at the singing pace, I thought that was decent. I hope the angels and Jesus enjoyed their sweet voices and sincerity as much as I did.

Cecily got fussy (“I’m tired!”), so we loaded everything back into the minivan and went for a drive. Cecily was out within minutes. Luke was also out within a few more minutes. I asked Miryam to stay quiet so her siblings could sleep, and she complied. I turned on a podcast. I stuck to highways that I was familiar with, and we drove in an hour-plus loop around the city. We ended at Chick-fil-a, back in our part of town, just as Luke was waking up. We took our second-lunch/early-dinner to the library, which is still closed for pandemic reasons, and sat outside on a bench in the shade to eat and hope for a train to go by.

I was thrilled we made it that far! As soon as Luke finished his french fries, he announced that he needed to go potty. Honestly, so did I. So we backtracked to the parking garage, into the minivan, and drove around the corner to a favorite coffee shop, which thankfully was open. We all went potty. I got myself an iced coffee. We drove to Sonic. We got half price drinks at 3:57pm. We drove back to the library. We settled again on the same bench. The kids used the empty bike rack like a jungle gym. We sipped lemonade and limeade. We did see a train this time, which delighted all. The baby was cheerful. The wind was quite strong. I called Justin to get a progress report. He requested that we not come home until bedtime. Oh boy. I geared up for three more hours of staying out.

The kids were playing nicely, until they weren’t. One bit the other, so it was time to go. Into the minivan. Back to the church. We had pretty limited options! Few places were open; few friends were up for indoor/contact play dates, so I was saving those that were for the rainy days of staying out that lay ahead.

More bike riding; a makeshift supper of strawberries leftover from first lunch and some chicken leftover from second lunch; reading all the books that happened to be in the minivan; having a six-feet-away conversation with some church friends who happened to be driving by and saw us; watching the dogs some other people brought to the church yard to run around; yet more bike riding… It was 7:30 or so when I called Justin to make sure it was okay to come home. Yes, the volatile chemicals were done being used.

The air conditioning had been off all day, because the windows were all open. So, it was something like 85 degrees inside the house when we got home. Everyone was sweaty, so the kids got a lukewarm bath to get clean and get cool, while the A/C worked to bring the house back down to comfortable. A quick rendition of the bedtime routines, and everyone was asleep. That was a LONG day.

Day Two: Coming to terms with the need to do Day One’s job a second time

Sunday. I was emotionally worn out from Saturday. Justin revealed that one day worth of stripping the floors didn’t get all the old finish off. Apparently the last person who “refinished” the floors here had taken the shortcut of painting a new layer of polyurethane on top of an old one, without stripping and sanding beforehand. Yay. I consulted with our non-social-distancing-playdate friends and adjusted the rest of the week’s schedule.

Day Three: Stripping the rest of the old finish off

Monday. It was pouring down rain. We got up and got going as fast as we could. We drove up a few towns to the Bass Pro Shop. We looked at the waterfall, the fish in the aquarium, and a large assortment of fishing poles and fishing gear. The kids were OBSESSED with all the choices for bait. Not to mention the Thomas the Train and Minnie Mouse fishing poles arranged right at their eye level. I didn’t mind. It killed time. We did our best to maintain social distancing from employees and customers. I almost typed “other customers,” but we weren’t buying anything, so I’m not sure we counted as such. Ha! I asked if the kids could climb on the boats “just for fun.” To their delight, the sales attendant said it was fine. We spent the better part of an hour checking out every boat and ATV on the show floor. This was almost as good as a playground–all of which were still closed at the time–plus it was still raining outside.

Now, every Bass Pro Shop I’ve been to has a restaurant inside it. This one did, too, except the restaurant was closed for renovations (and maybe also for Covid, but the sign said “updating the dining experience”). I wanted to put off going back out into the rain as long as possible, so we found some comfy recliners near the toy area, discreetly got out what provisions I’d fit in the diaper bag, and had a little snack. This gave me time to nurse the baby and figure out where to go for an actual lunch. I was thinking that if we had to go through the rain, into a restaurant–I needed a full sit-down dining service place to take as much time as reasonable for my staying out job–it might as well be a local place. I found something, I dragged the children away from all the super cool toys they suddenly reeeeeally wanted, and we traversed the downpour back to the minivan.

Lunch was pleasant and uneventful. It felt weird to eat in a restaurant again! The kids were particularly well-behaved, which was a relief. We took our time, without dawdling, went potty…and got back in the car.

I called Justin for an update. He still needed more time. We drove to the nearby mall. I thought we could park in a parking garage, walk not-through-the-rain inside, and just walk around and not touch anything or go into stores. Well, this mall had no parking garages. So, we drove to a different mall, closer to home, that I knew had parking garages. I parked in the first one we arrived at. We unloaded. We walked to the door of JCPenney. That door was locked. Perhaps they were counting people as they went in and out, at one door only.

I was not thrilled about needing to load and unload everything–kids, stroller, diaper bag, water bottles–again. So, instead, I let the kids run around and jump in the abundant puddles inside the parking garage. They were wearing their boots anyway, and there was very little traffic. Cecily was entertained watching them splash. They got completely soaked. I had a change of clothes for Luke stashed in the van still from his potty training days, which were a bit snug now, but more comfortable than the wet things that fit. I found some dry socks (mine) for Miryam, but she was stuck with very wet pants. We buckled up. We drove to the parking garage on the other side of the mall. I made sure I saw someone go in through that door before we got out. We went into the mall. We walked. We avoided people. We sat down at one point so I could nurse the baby. We killed time. I called Justin. We got the okay. We walked back to the parking garage. We drove back home. It was smelly from the chemicals, again, but at least the temperature was pleasant when we got home this time, due to the rainy, cooler weather. Bedtime ensued.

Day Four: Taking a break while the floors fully dried

Tuesday. Guess where we ended up, as a family? Retracing our steps from the day before. Justin wanted to spend at least one of his mandatory vacation days actually doing something fun as a family. The kids begged to go fishing, inspired by their exposure to the equipment yesterday, and Justin conceded, as it was not raining. We went back to Bass Pro Shop, got everything we needed, then went to a catfish-stocked lake in the same town as the second mall we’d been to. It was a nice cool day, and even though none of us caught anything, we all enjoyed the family time.

Day Five: Sanding the floors

Wednesday. Today we needed to be out of the house to avoid breathing in dust particulates from sanding. We went to a friend’s house. These friends have kids the same ages and genders as all three of ours. The girls had missed each other and played together SO cooperatively for hours. The boys had both matured noticeably during the few months it had been since they’d seen each other, and they played together, or separately, or with the girls, almost flawlessly, too, for hours. The babies did their baby thing. Watching big kids, clinging to moms, nursing, sleeping, clapping. My friend fed us lunch and snacks. She and I got a healthy dose of adult female-to-female conversation. It didn’t rain that day after all, so we were able to spend part of the day out in their backyard, which was fun for everyone, even the little babies. I had already planned to take my kids out to dinner, so our friends wouldn’t have to feed us more than one meal on the same day, so we got out of their hair around 6:00pm.

I called Justin for an update. He said to stay out as long as we possibly could; the sanding was more exhausting and time-consuming than anticipated. So we went out to our favorite sit-down chicken place. We took our time. When we had finished, I let the kids play on the funky chairs and old dime-operated moving toys on the patio waiting area, which was deserted besides the gentleman counting people going in and out. While we had sunlight, we stayed out. Finally, home. To bed. Very late for the kids.

Day Six: Mopping

Thursday. Sanding creates a lot of dust, which, of course, then settles back down. I took the kids out for bike riding so Justin could wipe up all the dust, then wipe down everything with mineral spirits, just to make sure it was super clean. Any dust left would mean the polyurethane coat would be sticking to dust, not to the actual wood, which would not be ideal for a long-lasting finish. We didn’t have to stay out too long this time, thankfully. We got everyone to bed on time, and I finished some laundry and suitcase packing. Earlier in the week, we’d decided to give the finish a good long time to cure by driving to see my family for a few days as soon as the last coat was on. We would need to get started ASAP in the morning!

Day Seven: Putting down polyurethane and skipping town

Friday. I had all the travel stuff, the kids, and myself, into the car and out of the house before 8:00am. Justin had his work cut out for him today. He did the final, no-more-dirty-feet-on-the-floor wipe to maximize smoothness. Then one coat of sealant; drying time; the first coat of finish; drying time; the second coat of finish; drying time…and as it turns out, it needed a third coat of finish.

Meanwhile, I got the kids donuts for breakfast and we drove around for a bit, because our friends for the day weren’t expecting us until closer to 9:00. When we got there, my friend had already made coffee to share, and the kids immediately went to the backyard, after I insisted on slathering them with sunscreen, of course. Delightfully, it wasn’t raining today, either, after all! I got to sit in my friend’s comfiest chair almost all day. We actively supervised the babies, passively refereed the bigger kids, and caught up on everything in life we couldn’t cover through texting while parenting eight kids between us, over the previous couple of months.

It is truly a blessing to have friends to whose homes I can invite myself, for an indefinite amount of time, with all of my children and our hungry tummies, even during a pandemic.

Around afternoon snack time, Justin called to let me know that he was going to have to put a third coat of finish on the floors. With the second coat’s drying time plus the third’s application time, that pushed us back a couple more hours. I pushed back making my kids clean up the day’s messes. Everyone’s energy was low, as it was Rest Time time for both families, but when friends are together, resting isn’t a thing. So, we all had a snack. We played and talked some more. I kept my phone handy for more updates from Justin. I got the 30-minute warning.

All right, kids, time to clean up! Go potty. Shoes on. Water bottles are refilled. Say thank you for letting us come play. Say good-bye, we’ll see you soon. Back to the car. Five minute drive home. I set the kids up with car snacks while Justin finished the last room with the last coat of finish. I admired how spectacular the already-done floors looked, and speculated how much more magnificent they would be all dried and cured when we got back home in five days. We finally pulled out of the driveway to begin the 8 hour (before counting stops) trip to see my family, whom we hadn’t visited in almost a year. When I had a baby last August, I had no ambitions to make that trip with all 3 littles by myself. But during a pandemic, when Justin works from home 95% of the time, he could go with us without taking days off. We got in very late, which is a story for another day, but the floors got done!!

Day Twelve+: Admiring our handiwork

Wednesday. We got home to some beautiful floors, nice and dry! I am so thrilled with how they turned out, so impressed with my husband’s labors, and so validated in the time and effort I spent keeping the kids out of the house so he could do it. Over the next couple days, we put felt protectors on the feet of our couches and end tables, and moved all the furniture back where it belonged. I dusted up-facing surfaces and replaced decorations.

We still don’t know if we’re moving or not, yet. For now, we are thoroughly enjoying having these nice floors. We may get to enjoy them for a few more years! Say a prayer for us for an easy decision when/if the other job options we’re waiting to hear about actually materialize.

Have you DIY’ed any major interior house projects, or do you have one planned? How have you kept kids out of the way? Tell me in the comments below!