How Much does it Cost to have my Hardwood Floors Refinished?

Posted by Aaron Schaalma

This is a topic that gets asked a lot but hard to find the answers online. So we are going to dive into this a little and give you some baselines of what it cost to have an average hardwood floor refinished. Here at Signature Custom Flooring we currently have a $1,600 minimum charge because it takes the same amount of equipment to sand and refinish 100 square feet as it does 1,000 square feet. Now, there are many different factors that go into the overall cost of having your hardwood floors refinished such as the layout, type of wood, condition of the floor, and the look you want achieved through use of different finishes, stains, dyes, and reactives. We are going to take a look into these factors to give you an idea of the typical cost associated with installing or refinishing a hardwood floor in 2019.    Layout You may be wondering how the layout of your house could affect the cost of refinishing your floors. If the areas that need to be refinished are small, or have a lot of different angles, we have to use smaller machines such as an edger to sand the areas, or hand scrape to get where the machines can’t. This adds more time and use of product to the job which can lead to higher costs. Species of Hardwood The variance in the cost of different species of hardwood has more of an impact on total cost if you are looking to have hardwood flooring installed as opposed to refinished. However, if you are looking at having an existing hardwood floor stained or dyed, certain species of hardwood require additional sanding to prep them for this process. Condition of the Floor The condition of an existing hardwood floor can play a big part in what it will cost to have your hardwood floors refinished. If the floor is in relatively good condition there won't be as much sanding to be done (this will only require more of a normal sanding). Other floors may require a lower grit sandpaper to remove an existing coating, or, if there is glue on the wood floor from old carpet or tile, a special tool is required to remove the adhesive. Depending on the severity and condition of the existing hardwood, this can add an additional $.50-$2 per square foot above normal refinishing costs. Achieving a Certain Look Hand Scraping The beauty of hardwood is that you can create many different looks without having to rip up the wood floors and start over. If you want a distressed look, that can be acheived by hand scraping the floor. This technique is very labour intensive, as it is all manual labor using a scraper to remove wood from the floor to create varying textures throughout the floor. This can add an extra $3-$5 per square foot over the normal price of having your floors refinished Wire Brushing Wire brushing a floor is a great way to give the floor a little texture. Now, you can't do it to every floor, because the species of wood must contain soft grain that can be removed by the wire brushes in order to create the textured effect. This textured effect is created by using a machine that has special brass wires that spin and remove the spring wood (soft grain wood) from the floor. This will cost $1-$1.5 per square foot above the cost to have the floors refinished. Different Finish Systems We offer 4 main different finish options, each with their own benefits and price ranges. First, is a single component water based finish. This finish will help protect your floors in normal traffic areas or for people without pets and kids. To have your floors refinished without stain would be $3.25 per square foot. Our second option is a hardwax oil which definitely has some unique properties to it. Hardwax oil finish actually penetrates into the hardwood instead of sitting on top of the wood like a film finish. It also has a lower sheen to it so it allows you to see more of the natural beauty of the wood. It is also very friendly to work with if future repairs are needed to the flooring as the finish can be blended in and sanding of the entire floor is not required.This finish is very green from an environmental standpoint, and is used in both commercial and residential applications. Cost for this finish without stain ranges from $5-$7 per square foot. Thirdly, we offer a commercial grade finish. This is by far our most popular finish option choice due to the amazing balance between versatility and affordability. This finish system is great for people that have kids, pets and in high traffic areas due to its higher scratch, and chemical resistance. The cost for this system without stain is $4 square foot. Fourthly, our newest offering is a UV cured finish. Now this is our top of the line finish and it comes with some unique benefits. Here are a few benefits of UV finish, very low odor, it is a s durable as the commercial grade finish, and there is  no waiting to move furniture or rugs back in the house due to the instant curing by UV light. The cost for this system without stain is $5.50 per square foot. Staining When staining a floor, it takes a bit more sanding to achieve a consistent look and provide an even color across the entire floor. There is a lot more detailed sanding involved to make sure the floor looks great with stain. All the edges get sanded with a special sander to blend the edges in with the field of the floor. And we also sand the floor with a higher grit to ensure the scratch marks are not visible from a standing upright position. The cost to stain a floor varies depending on the species of wood. It ranges between $1-$1.75 per square foot. Dyeing This is a great way to add another layer of color to a floor, or change an existing floor color. That being said, they can be tricky to apply while trying to achieve an uniform color across the floor. However, we have developed a unique way to prep and apply the dye where we have this process down to an art. The cost to have a floor dyed is $1.50 per square foot. Reactives Reactives are a solution that is applied to hardwood to achieve a certain look. It reacts with tannins in wood and changes the color of the wood. It can vary board to board based upon the amount of reaction that happens which can provide a very unique final look. The cost to apply reactives is $1.50 per square foot. There are many different options that can be done to a hardwood floor to tailor it to your preferences and add your personal touch to it. These are just some of the priced services we offer when you consider having your floors refinished. If you have any questions feel free to contact us!

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