Should I refinish a hardwood floor before I paint the walls?

I'm going in the opposite direction of the other answers.


I prefer to refinish my hardware floors before painting.


My reasoning is because of all the sawdust and debris that you will be creating with the sander. Much will end up on the walls no matter how careful you are. Get the messy sanding done, stain and polyurethane them -- if that is in your plan.


When you have finished the floors, then wash your walls put down drop cloths and paint away.


If you have any drips or spills, they will easily wipe right off with a damp cloth.Should I refinish a hardwood floor before I paint the walls?
Please paint the walls first where the paint won't end up on your floors. If you did the floors first make sure you cover your floor with drop cloths. Tape them on the floor.Should I refinish a hardwood floor before I paint the walls?
I would do the walls first.





Because:


Paint splatters


Paint spills - I know you aren't planning on that, but oops





I think that no matter what the task - start at the top and work down.
If you are planning on refinishing your floors, I would paint the walls first. Reason being, you wont really have to try and cover the entire floor later when you paint. If you're already going to refinish them, then a little paint won't hurt them. You're still going to want to be careful not to tip over an entire 5 gallon bucket of paint onto your floors, but otherwise it sure would be easier not to have cover every square foot of a new redone floor.
If you're planning on doing both, the definitely start with the walls. Here's why:





Paint always splatters. It won't matter if you get it on the floors before you redo them, as it will come off when you sand. It'll be hard to get any paint off freshly varnished floors without leaving marks.





And though the sanding will create dust, it'll easily be wiped off the walls, as long as the paint isn't only a few hours old... give it a week or two between projects.





Also, you won't be able to use a ladder on a freshly varnished floor, as it will make marks... which you'll hate... and trying to do the trim up at the ceiling without a ladder... well, unless you're the Jolly Green Giant... and even then :)





It's always a good idea to start at the top, no matter what project you decide to tackle.





Enjoy your renovations!