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A lot of people call us ready to replace their floors and end up keeping the wood they have. A standard 3/4 inch solid board can be sanded and refinished several times, so scratches and an old orange finish usually aren't reasons to tear it out.
Signs a refinish will do the job
If the damage sits in the finish or the top of the wood, sanding handles it. That covers pet and chair scratches, gray traffic paths, worn spots by the sink and a color you're tired of. Once it's back to bare wood, you pick a new stain and fresh coats of polyurethane go on.
A quick test: drop a little water on a worn area. If it beads up, the finish is still holding. If it soaks in and darkens the wood within a few minutes, the finish is gone there and the floor is due.
Signs you probably need new boards
Some problems go deeper than sanding can reach:
- Boards that are soft, spongy or black from water damage
- Cupping or crowning that's still active because moisture under the floor hasn't been fixed
- Wood that's been sanded so many times the tongue is showing at the edges
- Engineered flooring with a thin wear layer that's already been refinished once
Often it isn't all or nothing. We replace a few bad boards near a door or dishwasher, then sand the whole room so the patch disappears.
What about engineered floors
Engineered hardwood has a real wood top layer over plywood. If that layer is thick enough, it can be sanded at least once. If it's very thin, a screen and recoat may be the only option. Pulling a vent cover usually shows us what you have.
The cost side
Refinishing costs a fraction of new flooring and there's no tear-out, no disposal and no waiting on material. Our refinishing runs $2.25 per square foot and includes sanding, stain and three coats of polyurethane. Most rooms are back in use within a few days.
If you're not sure which way to go, send us a few photos or book a free in-home estimate. We'll tell you straight if the floor can be saved, even when that means a smaller job for us.
