Frequently Asked Questions

Published national figures put sanding and refinishing at about $3 to $5.50 per square foot (Fixr) and an average job around $2,000, with a range of $300 to $8,000 (Today's Homeowner). Stain, heavy repairs, stairs and lots of small rooms push the price up. We give a written price after seeing the floor.

Most can be refinished. Pull a floor register or look at a threshold edge: if there is still a solid layer of wood above the tongue, the floor can usually take another sanding. Boards that are worn down to the tongue, split, or badly water damaged need replacing, often just in one area.

Heated winter air is dry, and wood gives up moisture and shrinks. Many flooring manufacturers ask for about 35 to 55 percent indoor humidity, and a Rochester house with the furnace running can drop well below that. Gaps that close again in summer are normal; a humidifier helps. We do not fill seasonal gaps, because filler cracks out when the boards swell.

Salt does not destroy wood overnight, but the dried residue is gritty and wears through finish fast, and salty meltwater can soak into seams by the door. Use a boot tray and a mat that holds water, and wipe up salt the day it comes in. A worn entry area can often be fixed with a recoat before the wood itself is damaged.

It can be, around painted trim. The EPA's renovation rule covers homes built before 1978 and exempts only small interior jobs of 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room. Floors themselves are usually unpainted, but removing painted shoe molding across a room can exceed that. We flag painted trim at the estimate and plan the job around it.

No. We work with solid hardwood and engineered hardwood, which has a real wood top layer. Laminate and vinyl plank use a printed image of wood and cannot be sanded or refinished.

It depends on the finish. Many water-based finishes allow light foot traffic in socks after about a day, with furniture after a few days and rugs after a couple of weeks; oil-based finishes take longer. Your quote lists the product and the times for it, and cold, damp weather can stretch them.

National figures run about $3 to $5.50 per square foot for a sand and refinish, or roughly $800 to $1,600 for a 200 square foot oak floor (Fixr). Stain adds about $1 to $3 per square foot. We give a written price after seeing your floor.

There is no fixed number. It depends on how thick the wood above the tongue still is and how much each earlier sanding took off. We check at a register or threshold and tell you what is realistic.

Not always. Many people stay if the work is on one floor and they can use another. Kitchens, the only bathroom route or a whole first floor at once are harder to live around, and some finishes have a strong odor for a while. We plan the order of rooms with you.

Light surface marks often sand out. Urine that has soaked deep into the wood usually leaves a dark stain that does not, and those boards are best cut out and replaced before the room is finished.

Refinished original floors are a selling point in older Rochester homes, and a sanding usually costs far less than new flooring. If time is short, a recoat may be enough to freshen dull floors. Tell us your listing date so the finish has time to cure.

Fixr's national figures put solid hardwood at about $9 to $23 per square foot installed, with labor around $3 to $6. A 200 square foot room typically lands between $2,800 and $6,400. Species, subfloor repairs and tear-out drive the total.

There is no set number of days. The goal is moisture readings: NWFA guidance calls for the subfloor and flooring to be within 4 percent of each other, with the house at normal living conditions. We measure rather than count days.

We do not install solid hardwood below grade. Moisture from the slab can make it cup or buckle. Engineered hardwood is the usual alternative, after a moisture test on the concrete.

Usually, if we match species and board width and finish the new and old wood together. Old red oak has darkened over the years, so the whole area is sanded and stained as one floor to even out the color.

Yes. Single boards or small groups can be cut out and new ones woven in. The new wood will look different until it is sanded and finished, so expect at least the repair area, and often the room, to be refinished.

Often, once the moisture source is fixed and the floor dries. Sanding a cupped floor too early can leave the boards crowned later, so we wait for readings to settle first.

Fixr lists about $4 to $10 per square foot for board replacement, materials and labor included. Small jobs often have a minimum charge, and refinishing to blend the repair is extra.

Stop the water, soak up what you can, and get air moving with fans and a dehumidifier. Do not sand or refinish while the wood is wet. Call for an assessment once the source is fixed.

Yes. The top layer is real hardwood and the core is layers of wood or plywood. It is different from laminate and vinyl plank, which use a printed image of wood.

If the wear layer is thick enough. Thin veneers may only take a recoat; thicker ones can be sanded a limited number of times. Check the product's wear layer before you buy if refinishing later matters to you.

It is the usual wood option below grade, after the slab passes a moisture test. Basements with flooding or standing water are not suited to any wood floor.

Published ranges overlap. Fixr lists engineered at about $8 to $14 per square foot installed and solid at about $9 to $23. Product grade matters more than the type.

Fixr lists about $25 to $45 per step, and HomeAdvisor about $300 to $1,000 to refinish or reseal a staircase. Painted balusters, curves and lots of detail add time.

Often in older homes, but not always. Some stairs were built to be carpeted from the start, with softer treads. Pulling back a corner at the bottom step usually tells us.

Sometimes, by finishing every other tread and then the rest, or by doing the stairs when another route or a stay elsewhere is possible. We work that out before starting.

They can be in socks or wet boots. A satin finish, sound nosings and a runner on the stairs near an entry all help.

A recoat only scuffs the old finish and adds a new coat; it never reaches the wood. Refinishing sands through the finish to bare wood, so it can remove stains, deep scratches and change the color, but it costs more and takes longer.

Published national figures are about $1 to $2.50 per square foot (Fixr), compared with $3 to $5.50 for a full sand and refinish.

When the sheen fades and fine scratches show in traffic paths, before any wood turns gray. For many homes that is every few years, sooner at busy entries in winter.

Sometimes not. Residue can keep the new finish from bonding. We do a bond test first, and if it fails, a full sanding is the safer choice.