CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- On every home-improvement show, the host always runs to the corner of the room to be redone and anxiously pulls back the worn-out carpet, breathlessly hoping for that magic underneath: hardwood floors.

According to The Elements of Style Encyclopedia, hardwood floors in America go back decades:

"The great abundance of wood in North America brought common use of the plank floor on the main floor during the Colonial Era (1607-1780). These floors were not sanded or finished, but because they were made out of slow growth pine, they were simply polished smooth by the feet of generations of colonists."

Fast-forward to modern day.

There are tools, machines, stains, pre-finished, finish-in-place, tongue-and-groove, engineered. There's Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, northern hard maple, white oak, ash, beech, bird's-eye maple, red oak, heart pine, bamboo.

Homeowners may want to wave the white flag, surrendering to the overwhelming amount of information about installing, refinishing and caring for hardwood floors.

Installing hardwood

Hardwood costs $1.50 to $8 a square foot, depending on thickness, species and grade, according to This Old House magazine. Some pre-finished solid-wood and engineered-wood floors are DIY-friendly, but if you plan to hire a pro installer, tack on $2 per square foot, the magazine added.

Ruel Armentrout of AJ Hardwoods in Scott Depot installs new floors and said most cost between $1.50 and $1.90, depending on the width of the wood.

Some pre-finished solid-wood boards come with a 50-year warranty, although experts say any solid-wood floor can last twice that long with regular care. Warranties on the finish for engineered wood range from 10 to 30 years.

Pre-finished or unfinished? The benefit of an unfinished floor is it can be installed with a flush surface, with no grooves between the boards.

"Some of the pre-finished manufacturers are making their product with a microgroove, so it's not too noticeable," Ruel Armentrout said. "But it's typically not sealed in those cracks, so that's where the problems start."

The advantages of using pre-finished flooring are the shortened installation time and lack of dust.

Refinishing

When it comes to refinishing, the first piece of advice from local hardwood experts is to walk away from the do-it-yourself idea.

"Nobody rents the right equipment," explained David Armentrout, Ruel Armentrout's son and business partner. Most DIY Web sites list floor refinishing as "advanced" in the difficulty category.

David Armentrout should know -- he attended a school run by the National Oak Flooring Association in Memphis, Tenn., and keeps up on current trends as a member of the association. He refinishes an average of 70,000 square feet of wood flooring each year.

How often should refinishing be done?

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- On every home-improvement show, the host always runs to the corner of the room to be redone and anxiously pulls back the worn-out carpet, breathlessly hoping for that magic underneath: hardwood floors.

According to The Elements of Style Encyclopedia, hardwood floors in America go back decades:

"The great abundance of wood in North America brought common use of the plank floor on the main floor during the Colonial Era (1607-1780). These floors were not sanded or finished, but because they were made out of slow growth pine, they were simply polished smooth by the feet of generations of colonists."

Fast-forward to modern day.

There are tools, machines, stains, pre-finished, finish-in-place, tongue-and-groove, engineered. There's Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, northern hard maple, white oak, ash, beech, bird's-eye maple, red oak, heart pine, bamboo.

Homeowners may want to wave the white flag, surrendering to the overwhelming amount of information about installing, refinishing and caring for hardwood floors.

Installing hardwood

Hardwood costs $1.50 to $8 a square foot, depending on thickness, species and grade, according to This Old House magazine. Some pre-finished solid-wood and engineered-wood floors are DIY-friendly, but if you plan to hire a pro installer, tack on $2 per square foot, the magazine added.

Ruel Armentrout of AJ Hardwoods in Scott Depot installs new floors and said most cost between $1.50 and $1.90, depending on the width of the wood.

Some pre-finished solid-wood boards come with a 50-year warranty, although experts say any solid-wood floor can last twice that long with regular care. Warranties on the finish for engineered wood range from 10 to 30 years.

Pre-finished or unfinished? The benefit of an unfinished floor is it can be installed with a flush surface, with no grooves between the boards.

"Some of the pre-finished manufacturers are making their product with a microgroove, so it's not too noticeable," Ruel Armentrout said. "But it's typically not sealed in those cracks, so that's where the problems start."

The advantages of using pre-finished flooring are the shortened installation time and lack of dust.

Refinishing

When it comes to refinishing, the first piece of advice from local hardwood experts is to walk away from the do-it-yourself idea.

"Nobody rents the right equipment," explained David Armentrout, Ruel Armentrout's son and business partner. Most DIY Web sites list floor refinishing as "advanced" in the difficulty category.

David Armentrout should know -- he attended a school run by the National Oak Flooring Association in Memphis, Tenn., and keeps up on current trends as a member of the association. He refinishes an average of 70,000 square feet of wood flooring each year.

How often should refinishing be done?

"The first time, it might just need to be buffed, not sanded," David said. "That will take out light scratches." He added that it depends on how much traffic the floor sees as to how often it will need to be redone.

Because the sanding process can remove a lot of surface, floors need to be at least 3/4-inch thick. If the floor is thinner than 3/4 inch, hiring a professional will help the homeowner avoid accidentally sanding down to the subfloor. A tongue-and-groove floor cannot be sanded as many times as a plank floor. Some newer floors are as thin as a quarter-inch and cannot be refinished.

According to Lowes.com, "The drum sander is the first tool you'll use. It's not a part of most homeowners' tool collections. If you've never used a drum sander, you may be in for some surprises. It's large and rather noisy. One of the most common mishaps of do-it-yourself floor refinishing is gouging the wood with the sander. A few seconds is all it takes to do the damage."

To redo or replace?

Is it always worth refinishing a badly stained, marred floor?

"I haven't seen one that I can't do," the younger Armentrout said. "I usually get 70 to 90 percent of the stains out." He can replace badly damaged parts, and then restain the entire floor, leaving little trace of the patches. He said pet stains are the hardest to remove.

The refinishing process can take up to four days, if there is other material over the wood. Less time is needed if the floor is not stained.

Some carpet pads can be difficult to clean up and a special remover might be needed to remove the carpet adhesive. A resilient floor laid over hardwood can be removed, but it may be difficult and dangerous. Older resilient floors (up to the 1970s and 1980s) made from vinyl or linoleum may also contain asbestos. Do not sand if unsure -- contact an asbestos removal company.

After removing whatever is over the wood, Armentrout sands. He uses a dust-containment system that helps hold down the mess, and he recommends homeowners turn off their heating and air conditioning systems before the sanding. Changing furnace filters after the entire process is finished is beneficial.

Staining is the following step. Contrary to popular belief, residents can walk on the floors the evening it is stained. "In socks, not shoes," David said. "Then comes the polyurethane. The first coat takes about four hours to dry. The next two coats take eight to 10 hours. We do three coats of poly."

Armentrout uses PoloPlaz, a polyurethane coating that was developed in the 1950s at Union Carbide in South Charleston. The finish is used on most NBA and NCAA basketball courts, in commercial buildings and in residences. The Armentrouts sand between the second and third coats of polyurethane.

The average cost for refinishing is $2 to $2.50 per square foot, depending on if the floor is stained and if repairs are necessary. Stairs are more expensive, as they are mostly done by hand, with an average cost of $30 per stair.

AJ Hardwoods will create custom inlays and patterns for customers. "We can do anything, just give us a picture. We'll take it from there," Ruel Armentrout said.

Floor care

Once the floors are installed or refinished, care is simple.

The experts at This Old House magazine suggest fighting the finish's biggest enemy -- abrasive dirt -- by vacuuming regularly and laying runners and doormats near entries.

"Take a bucket of water and add a cup of white vinegar. Then damp mop," Ruel Armentrout said. "You can use one of those dry Swiffer type of mops, but don't use the wet ones. It will take the finish off. And the National Oak Floor Association says 'no' when it comes to steam cleaners. They are hard on the floors."

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.