Knowing the right time to refinish your hardwood floors will protect their beauty and integrity
Refinishing hardwood floors adds beauty, home value, and more.
Scratches and dullness are signs that it is time to refinish.
Refinishing, recoating, and resurfacing have different uses.
Hardwood refinishing usually costs $1.50 to $7 per square foot.
You can only refinish a floor a certain number of times.
If you have ever been in an old house with wood floors, you probably noticed just how good those floors look despite their age. Natural hardwood is one of the most durable surfaces you can have in your home, able to last for decades with proper care.
As it ages, however, hardwood flooring can get scratched, dulled, and worn down by spills, dirt, furniture dragging, pet claws, and more. This damage is not permanent, and this guide will teach you how to tell when it is time to refinish your hardwood floors and restore their former beauty. Here is what to know before refinishing hardwood floors:
Hardwood flooring is beautiful, desirable, and adds value to homes. So it makes sense that you would want to maintain it to keep it looking and functioning at its best. When daily maintenance and recoating are not enough, refinishing can restore floors to their original glory. Here are some of the biggest benefits of refinishing hardwood floors.
Beauty: Few home features can compete with the beauty of hardwood flooring. At its best, hardwood floors are radiant and eye-catching, and their natural beauty adds warmth and character to even the simplest home. But dents, scratches, dullness, and discoloration can have the opposite effect, making the whole home appear unkempt and worn. Refinishing restores that natural glow and beauty to the floor and every room it is in.
Saving money: Replacing flooring is expensive, and with most hardwood flooring, there is no need to do so when you can refinish. The cost to refinish hardwood floors can still be high, but it is usually less than the cost of replacement—and it can be a smart financial move when you consider the long-term investment of installing hardwood flooring and that the floors can last a lifetime with proper care.
Retaining your home’s value: It is no secret that hardwood flooring is a desirable feature on many homebuyers’ lists; however, hardwood floors that look battered and unmaintained may not be a draw. By refinishing your hardwood floors when needed, you can maintain their value and, by extension, maintain and even increase your home’s overall value.
Saving time: Refinished hardwood flooring can save time in more than one way. First, it is easier to maintain floors that have an even, smooth finish. Sweeping and mopping go faster, and you will not have to waste time addressing individual minor scratches or surface damage. Refinishing also takes much less time than replacement.
Safety: Damaged floors are more than just ugly—they can also be dangerous if gashes or dents leave exposed splinters, nails, or other safety hazards. Refinishing eliminates these problems and protects feet, children, and pets.
Home integrity: Unfinished flooring or flooring with uneven finishes, gaps, and gouges can invite pests. Creepy-crawlies like ants, termites, and wood-boring insects can be attracted to damaged flooring and cause even further damage. Refinishing limits their opportunities for intrusion.
There is no set answer to this question. It depends on the type of wood you have and how much wear it experiences. Most floors start to show age after about 10 years, but floors that get a lot of foot traffic or sunlight may need to be refinished sooner.
While refinishing hardwood floors is a great way to give them a fresh appearance and new color, refinishing too frequently can diminish their beauty. It can also shorten their lifespan, as hardwood floors can only be refinished a certain number of times before they need to be replaced. Refinish only when your floors truly need it, not simply for the sake of changing things up.
How do you tell when it is time to refinish your hardwood floors? Look for the following signs.
The look of distressed hardwood flooring is currently very popular, appearing in trendy farmhouse looks and other contemporary room designs. However, there is a key difference between “distressed” and “scratched.” The former is purposeful, with some installers or homeowners even wire-brushing floors to achieve a consistently distressed look.
Real scratches affect the integrity of your floor’s sealant, making it vulnerable to damage from moisture. If you notice an excess of scratches or particularly deep gouges in certain areas, it may be time to sand and refinish.
If you have a lot of natural sunlight regularly pouring through a window onto your hardwood floors, those specific spots may become sun-bleached. This is not a problem that can cause serious damage, but it does create an uneven pattern of coloration.
If you notice a dull gray hue, however, this is a potential sign of moisture damage. In this case, you will want to refinish your floors to protect the wood from further damage that could lead to the need for replacement.
Hardwood finishes offer a variety of looks, including glossy, satin, matte, or brushed. Regardless of your floor’s style, you may notice the finish starting to take on a dull appearance in certain areas over time. This creates an inconsistent look that makes your floors look worn and neglected. Refinishing can help to restore their original sheen.
Severe water intrusion can cause irreversible damage to boards or entire floors, and if your hardwood flooring is buckled, cupping, crowning, lifting, or misshapen, chances are good that you will need to replace rather than repair.
Whether you decide to seal grout or install a water-resistant vinyl, waterproofing your flooring is crucial, especially in rooms like bathrooms or the kitchen. A flooring pro can recommend the best materials for specific areas, install new flooring, and ensure it will stand up to water.
Damage such as staining—particularly when the staining is limited to the surface of the boards—can often be repaired by sanding and refinishing. If stains are deep in the wood, you may need to sand aggressively to get out all of the discoloration, but it can still be much more affordable and faster to refinish rather than repair. You should have an expert evaluate water-damaged hardwood floors and recommend replacement or repairs.
Hardwood floor refinishing is a cost-effective way to renew the beauty of old hardwood floors. You may have also heard of hardwood “resurfacing”—a term sometimes used interchangeably with refinishing. These are actually separate processes, and it helps to know the difference when searching for a flooring professional to help restore your hardwood.
To restore flooring that has moderate to severe surface damage, you will want to refinish. Refinishing involves sanding the top layer with a drum sander. This also gives you the chance to change the color of your hardwood with a new stain and lacquer.
Wondering how to refinish hardwood floors? While it is possible to refinish hardwood yourself, the heavy equipment involved and the precise technique required may be best left to a specialist.
A more time-consuming and expensive alternative to refinishing, resurfacing can make your floor look almost new by removing warped, bent, or rotted floorboards, grinding down uneven boards, and reinforcing planks with new nails. While resurfacing is much more of a process than refinishing, it is the best option for wood floors that are damaged beyond surface-level only but are not damaged enough to need complete replacement. The sheer investment you would have to make in both equipment and materials makes this another job best left to the pros.
Buffing, also called screening, involves sanding and recoating wood floors with a light coat of polyurethane. This does not remove any wood, but rather freshens up its look. If the scratches and wear on your floors are only surface-level, you can lightly sand them with a rented floor buffing tool and apply a new coat of finish. Note that if your floors are waxed or prefinished, you cannot just buff them without leaving blotches.
Keep in mind that each time you refinish or resurface your floors, you are removing a layer of wood. Most solid hardwood floors can take between 10 to 12 complete sanding and refinishing jobs throughout their lifetimes. If you have engineered wood floors, they typically have a layered construction with only a thin surface veneer that can only be refinished once or twice at most.
The refinishing process involves the removal of your baseboards and sanding with a heavy tool called a drum sander. Expect a lot of noise during the job. Hardwood refinishing contractors will sand your floors down to the bare wood, and they will fill in any cracks with a wood filler that has been color-matched to your wood species. Afterward, they will apply a stain to give color, followed by two to three coats of finish.
There may be dust, though many pros use dustless sanding attachments that are better for customers with allergies. Either way, they will seal doorways and turn off the HVAC system to prevent dust from circulating. Wood stain can cause strong odors, and you will need to stay off the floors for up to 24 hours while the finish cures.
Hardwood refinishing is an investment in the look and performance of your floors. Every refinishing company is different, as is every home. Depending on the extent of the services being provided and the type of stain and finish you choose, you should expect to pay anywhere from $1.50 to $7 per square foot for a typical hardwood refinishing job.
If you choose to refinish the floors yourself, you will likely pay about $60 per gallon of water-based or polyurethane finish. You will also need to factor in the cost of renting a drum sander tool from your local equipment rental service, which can cost up to $70 per day.
When searching for a company to do any type of work in your home, it is always good to start with those that have positive reviews or referrals from trusted friends. Be sure to get quotes from multiple fully licensed and insured candidates, and ask about other costs that might arise during the project.
Know their expectations for your role as a homeowner, including whether you will need to leave your home for a set period or move furniture in advance. Most jobs take somewhere between a few days and a full week. You may also need to touch up the paint on your baseboards when the job is complete.
You can refinish hardwood flooring several times over its full lifespan. Most of the time, contractors have to sand off about 1/32 of an inch of the floor’s surface during the refinishing process. Remember, though, that no two hardwood floors are the same. So, while general wisdom says most floors can be refinished anywhere between four and 12 times, the actual number of refinishes your floor can take will depend on a number of factors.
Quality of the flooring: Higher-quality flooring is almost sure to last longer than lower-quality flooring for a number of reasons, and the same goes for flooring that is installed in a professional way. Quality flooring often holds up better to wear and needs to be refinished less often and less aggressively, which adds life to its years and years to its life.
Condition of the floors: You will not get as many refinishes out of floors that have deep scratches, gouges, water damage, dents, or other extensive damage that extends down into the boards. That is because your contractor will likely need to sand more deeply into the surface, removing much more than the standard amount to get a smooth finish. Floors with structural damage may not be refinishable at all and may simply need to be replaced.
Thickness of the flooring: Most standard hardwood flooring is ¾ inch thick. Some flooring, however, is as thin as 5/16 inch or ½ inch, and original flooring in older homes or custom homes can be over one inch thick. Since the number of refinishes is based on a contractor being able to sand away the top surface of the floorboards, thicker floors will allow for more refinishes.
Type of hardwood flooring: Some types of hardwood are harder than others, and these can usually withstand more refinishing than softer types. If your hardwood floors are made of solid hickory, ipe, maple, oak, ash, beech, walnut, or cherry, you may get several more refinishes than if your floors are Douglas fir, teak, black walnut, heartpine, pine, or birch.
Past refinishing: You might take good care of your floors, but if past residents did not or if past refinishing efforts took off more than the standard 1/32 inch, you may get fewer refinishes out of your floor. The same goes for the number of refinishes the floor has had. When buying a home with wood flooring, it is smart to ask about the flooring’s history, so you can calculate how much life it likely has left.
How aggressive your refinisher is: Different contractors have different methods and styles, and some are more aggressive with sanding than others. Be sure to communicate with your refinisher and, when preparing for hardwood floor refinishing, discuss how much they anticipate needing to sand and whether they can take off less of the surface to extend the life of your flooring.
Note that this only applies to solid hardwood flooring. Engineered wood flooring, while it is made of wood, is not solid wood. Most engineered floors have a very thin veneer of actual wood on top of a composite-wood core. Some brands will allow you to refinish once or twice, but that thin veneer will not allow for much sanding before it wears away and exposes the composite wood underneath. Because this composite core is not meant to be seen, it does not look like wood flooring and you will need to replace it.
A refinish can fix any surface-level issues with your hardwood floor and is usually only needed every few decades. However, there are a few cases in which damage may be so extensive that your floors need to be replaced completely. Those may include the following:
There are deep structural issues with your subfloor, frame, or joists that require ripping up the floor to access the damage.
There is extreme movement or wiggling between boards, which can lead to gaps.
Your floor is so severely worn down from past refinishing that connections between planks are falling apart or nails are exposed.
You want a completely different look or wood species that cannot be achieved with a stain or finish.
If you are not sure whether your floor needs to be fully replaced or just refinished, your local hardwood flooring pro should be able to assess the damage accurately for you.
