Don't replace what you can renew.

When refinishing wins

• Solid hardwood, 3/4” thick: almost always refinishable. Many times.
• Engineered hardwood with thick wear layer (3mm+): usually once.
• Engineered with thin wear layer (under 2mm): not worth refinishing — replace if needed.
• Laminate, LVP, click-floors: not refinishable. Different repair pathways exist for damaged planks.
• Wood with deep water damage / structural rot: usually replace.

The honest part

We turn down refinish jobs sometimes because the floor genuinely can’t take it — the wear layer is too thin, structural damage is too deep, or the cost of refinishing approaches the cost of replacement. We’d rather tell you straight than sand a doomed floor.

What sanding day actually involves

Multi-step process:

1. Furniture moved by us to other rooms or sealed off
2. Plastic sheeting on doorways for dust containment
3. HEPA-vacuum sanding keeps dust contained — minimal cleanup needed afterward
4. Family stays elsewhere on sanding day — fumes from stains and seal coats are real
5. Multiple seal coats with drying time between (this is why refinishing isn’t a one-day project)
6. Final walk-through when seal is fully cured

Repair services

Beyond full refinishing, we handle:

• Single-plank replacement for water-damaged or scratched boards
• Sand and recoat (no stain change, just renewed seal)
• Color matching and stain consultation for partial refinishes
• Squeak repair and floor flattening

Water-based vs oil-based polyurethane

Both protect the floor; they age differently and feel slightly different.

Oil-based ambers over time — that’s where the golden warm glow on older hardwood comes from. Takes longer to dry between coats. More odor during the cure. More durable in the traditional sense, though the gap with water-based has closed in the last few years.

Water-based stays clear — preserves the wood’s natural color, especially good on white oak and maple where you don’t want yellowing. Dries fast. Lower odor, easier to live around. Slightly less durable historically, but modern formulations are very close.

We’ll talk through which is right for your floor at the visit — depends on the species, the existing finish, and how warm or cool you want the color to read.

Screen and recoat vs full sand-down

If your floor has light scuffs, dulled spots, or just looks tired but the wood underneath is intact — a screen and recoat refreshes the finish without removing wood. Faster, cheaper, less disruption.

If there are scratches you can feel with a fingernail, gouges, deep stains soaked into the wood, or pet-urine spots that have darkened the boards — you need a full sanding. A screen-and-recoat won’t fix those.

We’ll tell you straight which your floor needs at the assessment. Recommending a full sand-down on a floor that just needs a recoat is the kind of upsell we don’t do.