Wood Floor Refinishing Contractors in Riverside, CA

Riverside Wood Floor Refinishing

Located only 60 miles east of Los Angeles, both the county and city of Riverside, California, have long been havens for commuters looking for more affordable homes and suburban lifestyles than what L.A. has to offer. However, the Southern California housing market has been incredibly inconsistent in the 21st century, enjoying the best and the worst effects of the real estate bubble and 2008 recession. Sitting on the picturesque banks of the Santa Ana River, real estate in the City of Riverside is beginning to balance out. Employment numbers are up, as are home sales, with a variety of new builds and resales hitting the market at a median price of around $325,000.

Homeowners in Riverside have several distinct advantages, including great weather, access to the major city centers of Los Angeles and San Diego, and easy drives to both the mountains and the beach. Sellers in Riverside are presented with a relatively even market, making maintaining essential features such as wood floors, and refinishing them, quite important.

Local Cost for Wood Floor Refinishing 

Refinishing the wood floors in a Riverside home costs $1,423 on average, with most homeowners paying between $824 and $2,002, according to real cost reports based on data for a project that involves a floor space of about 300 square feet. These numbers are slightly below the national average for wood floor refinishing jobs, which cost $1,552 on average, with most projects reportedly costing between $1,000 and $2,137.

Licensing and Qualifications Needed 

Contractor license requirements in California are among the strictest in the country, and include several aspects:

• A valid state license from the Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB)
• A minimum of 4 years of experience
• Fingerprinting
• Background check by the FBI
• Bonding

These requirements allow contractors, including flooring contractors who must obtain a C-15 Flooring and Floor Covering license, to work anywhere in the state. Homeowners can check on the status of a contractor or contracting company's license through the CSLB website. 

Other Projects to Consider 

Sometimes the process of sanding floors down, re-staining them, and sealing them with a polyurethane coating is not enough to make an impression. Other times, it is too much. Homeowners should carefully consider whether or not refinishing is the right choice or if they should recoat or replace their floors instead:

Recoating Wood Floors- In newer homes or those where floors were recently refinished, the sanding process may not be needed. Instead, adding an additional polyurethane coat to the top of the existing floor may be enough, and it costs significantly less.

Replacing Wood Floors- If time or outside factors such as flooding or fire have destroyed or damaged your wood floors, you may need to replace them rather than just refinish them. Sometimes, simple spot-based repairs are enough. Other times, the entire floor needs to be taken out and re-laid, costing three to four times the amount of refinishing them.

Prominent Neighborhoods in Riverside, CA

There are 28 official "neighborhoods" in the City of Riverside that represent diverse cultural and economic populations and offer homebuyers different home types and prices. The city was founded in the 1870s, so there’s also a number of older and historical homes. In addition, there is a variety of Midcentury single-family residences alongside newer homes built during the real estate booms in the 1990s and early 2000s. There’s even a handful of new constructions popping up in the midst of the recovery.

Among the most popular Riverside neighborhoods are the walkable Downtown, diverse Canyon Crest, and the more exclusive Hawarden Hills, each of which offers different home types that are worth noting:

• Downtown
  Noted for its walkability, Downtown Riverside includes the Historical District, including the famous Mission Inn. There is a number of older homes built in the late 19th and early 20th century along with a variety of Midcentury single-family homes here, many of which feature aging wood floors that impart a sense of bygone charm.
  
  

• Canyon Crest
  With a diverse mix of both topography and culture, Canyon Crest is a sought-after neighborhood noted for its outdoor recreation, modern subdivisions, and accessible apartments/condos. Wood flooring represents a more upscale design element here.
  
  

• Hawarden Hills
  The centrally located Hawarden Hills was mainly developed in the 1970s through the 1990s. It includes a variety of subdivisions with single-family homes as well as many estate-sized lots. This neighborhood is also home to Victoria Avenue, noted for its early 20th-century homes that require specialized maintenance and upkeep, particularly when it comes to their wood floors.