How Much Does It Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors?

Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Costs

Hardwood floor refinishing costs anywhere from $3 to $8 per square foot depending on what you need done and the method they employ. Location, accessibility, and condition affect the price more than anything. You can also choose between a couple methods, including:

• Traditional methods tend to run $3–$6 per square foot, including moving furniture, sanding, recoating, and cleanup.

• Dustless methods tend to run $5–$8 per square foot. Pros use advanced commercial vacuums to keep all dust from the rest of your home.

The common steps in a refinishing project are:

• Sanding: A wood flooring contractor uses a power sander to sand down the hardwood floor, removing blemishes and the surface layer until it looks like unfinished wood. 

• Stain: The floors are stained using wood stain in the coloring of your choice. 

• Topcoat: Applying two to three coats of topcoat finish with a roller adds the final touch. 

Cost to Sand and Refinish Hardwood Floors

Cost to Stain Hardwood Floors

After sanding, it’ll cost an additional $1 to $3 per square foot to stain your floors. Prices range due to both varying labor rates and the quality of stain you use.

If you like the color of your floors currently, skip this step. It generally requires several applications in addition to sanding or using steel wool between coats.

Finishing and Coating

Recoating costs $1 to $2 per square foot, quite a bit less than the $3 to $5 per square foot average refinishing job cost. Recoating skips sanding, saving you hundreds. It’s great for reasonably level floors without too many scratches or gouges in them.

Polyurethane, the most common type of coating, resists nearly everything and can withstand heavy traffic. They come in two types:

• Oil-based: $20–$40 per gallon. It will turn an amber color over time. takes around 24 hours to dry, and it's easy to fix mistakes along the way with this type of finish.

• Water-based: $25–$50 per gallon. It will remain clear, keeping the wood the same color over time. Water-based finish dries faster, which can be a bonus if there's a time restriction or deadline.

Less commonly, an acid-cured finish leaves an exceptionally tough coating through a two-part process. As a bonus, acid cured finishes dry extremely fast, so it's possible to apply two coats in a single day. However, most brands produce a volatile odor that forces you out of your house until it’s done.

Talk to your local contractor to find out which works best for your area and wood type. But first research the different durable hardwood floor finishes before you call.

Cost Factors

Some of the most common factors that increase the cost of a refinishing project include:

Materials

The materials required for this job include a paintbrush, stain, sandpaper, paint rollers, roller covers and extension pole, painter’s rags, knee pads, trash bags, plastic sheeting, and coating.

Labor

Labor is a crucial factor when calculating the cost to refinish hardwood floors as a pro will have to perform any necessary repairs to the flooring and sand, stain, and apply the topcoat. The cost of labor for this project varies widely depending on the region in which you live. Get multiple quotes to get an idea of how much it will cost.

Size of Room

The more square feet included in a project, the more it will cost for materials and labor. The cost of refinishing an average 15-by-15-foot (225 square feet) room is $675 to $1,125, or anywhere from $3 to $5 per square foot. Refinishing stairs costs extra, at about $25 to $45 per step.

Supply Chain

The COVID-19 pandemic hugely impacted the availability of lumber, and the cost rose dramatically in 2020. Thus, you may notice an increase in the price of home improvement projects—like replacing flooring (depending on the type of wood)—that require lumber. Refinishing your hardwood flooring is less costly than replacing it, and you’ll get to enjoy the look of freshly stained wood.

Labor Costs for Refinishing Floors

The cost of labor for refinishing hardwood floors will depend on the region in which you live. First, a wood flooring contractor must prepare the floor for refinishing, including performing repairs. Replacing wood boards, cleaning, and dealing with water damage may be necessary, depending on the condition of the flooring.

The quality of the previous finish and existing gouges and scratches also affect the cost of labor. If the finish isn’t good, it will be completely removed, sanded, and redone. Some exotic woods will have extreme reactions when their moisture levels change, while others can burnish during sanding because of their hardness.

Other factors that impact the cost of labor include the size of the room (larger square footage will be more expensive), the complexity of the project (if the flooring is difficult to access), and additional work to move furniture that’s in the way.

Cost to Refinish Wood Floors by Type

You’ll pay somewhere between $1,000 to $4,000 for most hardwood refinishing. The type of hardwood you have doesn’t affect the cost to refinish them. The processes, tools, chemicals, and time remain constant across all types of hardwood.

Oak and Other Hardwood Floors

The cost to refinish oak floors doesn’t differ from any other type of hardwood. Oak, cherry, and other types of common hardwood floors all cost $3 to $5 per square foot on average to refinish.

Engineered Hardwood Floors

Refinishing engineered hardwood costs exactly the same as any other wood floor. However, you can usually only do a light sanding to most with a wear layer of 2 millimeters or less. Higher quality engineered floors with thick wear layers can get a deep sanding to remove gouges.

Do not attempt this DIY. It’s easy to ruin an all-natural hardwood floor. It’s even easier to ruin an engineered hardwood floor with a sander.

Parquet Floors

Refinishing parquet floors costs the same as any other type of hardwood floor, or somewhere around $3 to $5 per square foot. You’ll need to use a professional since the grains run in different directions, it's a little easier to ruin your parquet floors than a traditional design.

Why Refinish Instead of Replace?

When you look at all the scratches and marks to repair in your hardwood floor, you might think it's easier to replace them rather than taking the time to refinish them. However, there are a lot of benefits to refinishing. These include:

• Cost: It costs 2–3 times more to replace than to refinish. The cost to install a wood floor is about $2,500–$6,800 more than refinishing.

Repairing hardwood floors costs $450–$1,450. Refinishing can often stave off the need for repairs, saving even more. Even if you must fix it, it’s often still cheaper to fix and refinish than replace.

• Quality: If it's a high-end, natural wood, then you should make it last if you can.

Some situations you’ll need to replace rather than refinish:

• Water damage and structural integrity: Extreme water damage and subflooring issues require repair and replacement.

• Environmentally responsible upgrades: If you’re looking to switch to a renewable wood, if the existing floors are ready for replacement. Otherwise, it's more sustainable to preserve existing materials.

• Worn-down floorboards: At a certain thickness, it’s impossible to refinish again and you’ll need to replace.

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Costs per Square Foot

*Cost ranges for small spaces tend to run high to cover pros overhead, like fuel and insurance, which stay the same regardless of the project size.

Screen or Buffing Hardwood Floors Cost

Buffing, also called screening, tends to cost around $1 to $2.50 per square foot, totaling $200 to $250 to complete a slightly worn room measuring 15-feet-by-15-feet, or 225 square feet.

Screens are clog-resistant sanding disks, and the process of screening removes the floor finish without cutting into the wood itself. This step should only be done on a floor with a non-waxed polyurethane finish floor. Screening can only occur when the floor's finish is worn, scratched, or dull, but the wood beneath has not been damaged or stained.

Hardwood Floor Polishing Cost

The average cost of polishing hardwood floors is $100 to $300 and makes a great DIY project. Polishing uses a polish product specially designed for hardwood floors. It’s put on manually with a mop. You can do it yourself for $50 to $100. The product alone runs $20 to $50 for a gallon. You’ll also need a mop, broom, and preferably a microfiber flathead dust mop.

If you don’t want to take on the task yourself, find a local flooring pro to polish your floors.

Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors Yourself

If you go the DIY route, you might only pay $500 to $1,000 to refinish the floors. But it’s not a great DIY job. Inexperience with a sander or finishing materials can easily and quickly ruin a hardwood floor. You’ll pay two to three times as much to replace your floors as you would have to hire a professional in the first place.

It comes with many risks and potential hidden costs. For example, sanding a floor multiple times causes it to eventually get too thin for another refinishing. At that point, replace it. You should keep these hazards in mind before you embark on a DIY refinishing.

“Refinishing hardwood floors is a good DIY if you have experience and the tools, but it’s best left to professionals due to the risk of damaging your floors as well as the dust associated with a rental sander,” says Andy Kilborn, Expert Home Building and Remodeling Contributor. 

Cost to Rent a Floor Sander

Floor sander prices vary a bit from place to place, but you can expect to pay around $60 per day. You can also look for a multi-head orbital floor sander, which has less risk of marking the floor than a drum sander. However, it’s easy to ruin a floor without the right experience or training. If you must DIY, consider hiring out for this step.

• Commercial drum floor sanders cost $50–$80 per day.

• Expect a full weekend rental for $100–$200.

Other DIY Costs

Besides the obvious sander, you’ll need quite a few other things, listed in the table below.

DIY Risks

All DIY home improvement projects come with risks, and refinishing wood floors is no exception. If done incorrectly, homeowners could end up gouging their floors, resulting in paying 2 to 3 times what a pro would have charged. Some other risks include:

• Leaving an inconsistent scratch pattern with the belt sander.

• Not getting anything out of the floor due to age.

• Failing to take off the finish enough before starting to sand.

• Not filling in the cracks between the hardwood.

• Spending more money than expected on additional repairs or refinishing.

Because of the delicate nature of wood floors and the need to do the project right without making mistakes or causing damage, refinishing hardwood floors is a job that's usually best left to the professionals. Hire a hardwood floor refinisher near you today to get the job done right the first time.

Questions to Ask a Wood Flooring Contractor

Make sure to ask your contractor a few things before hiring them. Make sure to ask:

• What’s your experience refinishing floors?

• Do you have references?

• How many workers will it take to get the job done?

• Who will be doing the work?

• How long will the job take?

• Is moving furniture included or does the homeowner need to do that beforehand?

• What is the procedure for cleanup of dust and debris?

• What are the payment conditions?

FAQs

Is it cheaper to refinish or replace hardwood floors?

It’ll cost you an average of half the price to refinish a floor as it would to completely replace them.

What are the signs I need to refinish my hardwood floors?

If you’re noticing a lot of scratches, discoloration, and fading in your hardwood flooring, then it may be time to get it refinished. Scratches and gouges from daily wear and tear and moving furniture add up over the years. Sunlight streaming through the windows and water from cleaning can start to take their toll on the color of the flooring as well.

Freshening up your hardwood floors will restore the wood to its natural beauty. Plus, you can choose a different stain for a new color and look.

How long does it take to sand and refinish a hardwood floor?

It’ll take about 5 hours per 100 square feet of floor to refinish it. It also depends on how complex a layout you have and the current condition.

Can I refinish a floor without sanding?

You cannot refinish a floor correctly without sanding. To do it right, you need to remove all layers of the old finish and smooth out the surface in preparation for a new finish. You can, however, recoat a floor that’s in good shape to add a layer of protection to it without sanding first.

How much does it cost to refinish 1,000 square feet of hardwood flooring?

At an average cost of $3 to $8 per square foot, it costs between $3,000 and $8,000 to refinish 1,000 square feet of hardwood flooring. That’s an average cost of $5,500.