A room with a hardwood floor changes the home’s overall appearance and enhances its value. Many people on house hunting mostly prefer hardwood floors as a determining factor. So, refinishing your home’s hardwood floor is important for a good impression on the people searching for homes. Changing the whole hardwood flooring is not required if it shows signs of damage. You can refinish it affordably. This article will examine hardwood floor refinishing cost and the factors influencing it.
A hardwood floor can eventually show signs of damage due to wear and tear. Once it is refinished, there is no need to look back as it lasts for more than 7 years. So, if you see any signs of damage, consider hiring a professional to upgrade the look. Signs that the hardwood flooring needs refinishing are splinters, fading, dents, stains, dull-looking spots etc.; if there are any visible signs, consider refinishing the hardwood floor. Just research the prices in the market and choose the professional refinisher that suits your budget for the desired look you need.
The type of hardwood flooring is more than just a tree it came from. Below are the most common types of hardwood floors and their characteristics.
These are the well-known types of hardwood flooring available in the form of solid wood boards. It is the most expensive and not always the best option. For example, In humid climatic conditions, it is not suitable for basements or below-grade flooring because this wood tends to bend in highly humid conditions. It is popular because it lasts longer and can be refinished more than 10 times. The most common solid wood flooring are walnut, maple, oak, and cherry. Tamarind and acacia are some of the most exotic woods.
Engineered wood flooring offers more installation and subflooring options because it has a real hardwood top layer attached to a plywood subfloor. To prevent gaps or warping in the floor, the parts split together, including an expansion area around the edge of the room. Some varieties of engineered hardwood can be refinished usually only once or twice throughout their lifetime.
Parquet flooring is made of smaller pieces of wood, similar to tiles, that are arranged to form geometric patterns like herringbone, basketweave, and checkerboard. Parquet flooring offers the same benefits as hardwood and a classic appearance. Having the parquet professionally refinished is preferable because the tiles feature wood grain in many directions.
It is not necessary to install wood flooring for a real wood-like look. There are many other options, like vinyl, laminate, and porcelain tiles, which look the same as real wood. Compared to engineered wood and parquet wood, it is very affordable to repair and install. The only drawback is that it cannot be refinished but offers the same aesthetics as wooden flooring.
The cost to refinish a hardwood floor varies based on the following factors:
The square footage of the house highly impacts the total cost involved in refinishing the wooden flooring. Generally, the cost per square foot will decrease with the increase in the project area. Contractors have their equipment ready to measure the area and give you an affordable yet negotiable quotation. Depending on the square foot, the approximate cost of refinishing a home’s hardwood floor can vary from $2000 – $8000.
Generally, the cost involved in refinishing hardwood floors is almost the same for hardwood floors. But there are some types of woods which need to be taken extra care and effort. Common woods like cherry and oak are very popular, and most contractors are familiar with them, making refinishing easier quickly. Still, certain softwoods need to be handled with care and hardwoods for which it is difficult to absorb the stain can take longer and cost more to refinish. Hardwood material costs range from $3 – $7 per square foot, depending on the wood type.
As with many other home improvement projects, the majority of the cost, around 80%, goes to the labour. Refinishing hardwood floors requires a lot of equipment, cleaning, and moving of furniture if needed. Most flooring contractors charge by area, and they can finish 100 square feet of the area in approximately 5 hours. The labour cost will be around $70-$170 in this process.
Refinishing refers to many terms, like sanding the old surface and applying a polyurethane later. Many homeowners prefer to apply whitewash or stain to the sanded wood. There are many types of coats, which are oil and water-based. There is another type, which is a wax finish. People assume that sanding is required before the refinishing, but if your floor is in good condition, you can directly stain it without any sanding. In the end, Buffing makes your floors shine and look new.
Some other factors also affect the cost of floor refinishing, which needs to be considered.
Removing Carpet or Other Flooring: As most of the areas in the room are covered by old carpet or vinyl flooring, the contractor will be charging an extra amount to remove the materials for you.
Moving Furniture: While you have decided to refinish the wooden flooring, the furniture in the room must be shifted to another place to make space for the work. Moving the furniture is not included in the floor refinishing project. Still, the contractors can handle this process if you are willing to pay an extra charge.
Repairs: During refinishing, we may find damages that cannot be fixed even by refinishing it. In such cases, the refinishing contractors will do it for you. Still, they will charge a comparatively higher fee than the carpenter or a handyman.
Cleanup: Floor refinishing is challenging, and cleanup is obviously required for our safety. You must mention the cleaning service in the contractor’s bid while finalizing the project’s total expense.
Refinishing the floor is important to maintain its look and protect it from everyday wear and tear and damage. It is advisable to refinish the floor once in five to eight years. If any damage or dents are found on the floor, it should be rectified right away. Some people find refinishing wooden floors expensive and try to do it alone. However, we recommend hiring a professional flooring expert. At Executive Touch Painters, we install and refinish all types of floors that suit your preferences. Contact us for a free estimate.
