Hardwood flooring
Hardwood Floor Sanding and Refinishing
Worn, scratched or dull floors sanded back to bare wood and finished again.
A solid hardwood floor, and many engineered floors with a thick enough wear layer, can be sanded back to fresh wood and finished again. Refinishing removes scratches, worn traffic paths and old stain, and lets you change the color while you are at it.
Our photos on this page follow the work in order: sanding, edging, bare wood, stain, finish coats and the finished room.
Sanding, step by step
The main floor is sanded with a large sander in several passes, each with a finer grit, to remove the old finish and flatten the surface. An edger reaches the margins along the walls, and the corners and tight spots are finished by hand.
Between passes the floor is vacuumed so grit from one pass does not scratch the next. Gaps and nail holes are filled before the final pass.
Stain and finish coats
If you want a new color, we make samples on the sanded floor first (see stain and color matching). The finish then goes on in several thin coats, with a light buff between coats so each one bonds to the last.
We plan the work so rooms are closed off while coats dry, and we tell you when the floor can take foot traffic, furniture and rugs.
Recoat or full refinish?
Not every tired floor needs to go back to bare wood. If the finish is dull but the wood underneath is not scratched through, a screen and recoat — a light buff of the existing finish and one fresh coat — can bring it back with less work and less downtime.
Deep scratches, worn traffic paths, water marks or a change of colour need a full sand to bare wood. We look at the floor and tell you which one it needs before you decide.
Licensed and bonded — CSLB #625535
How we run the job
- 01Move or protect furniture and seal off the work area.
- 02Sand the main floor in passes, finer each time.
- 03Edge along the walls and hand-scrape corners.
- 04Fill, vacuum and apply stain if chosen.
- 05Apply finish coats, buffing between each.
Our work
Sanding & Refinishing: job photos
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Can every wood floor be refinished?
- Solid hardwood almost always can. Engineered floors can be refinished if the wear layer is thick enough; we check before quoting.
- How long until we can use the room again?
- It depends on the finish and the number of coats. We give you the timing for foot traffic and for furniture in the written estimate.
- How is sanding and refinishing priced?
- Describe the job with "Get your estimate". You get a ballpark from our own price list before the site visit, then a written estimate once we have measured and seen the floor.