What to expect during the refinishing process

Please take a moment to read this. It will answer many questions you may have
about the process, types of coatings, scheduling, dust containment, and dry times.
(For quick start see “Common Questions” and “disclosures” at the end of this document)

Client responsibilities for preparing the job site

We try to make the refinishing process as easy as possible for our clients. In preparation for our arrival, we ask that you perform a few tasks and take a moment to understand the process.

Remove all items from the floor
This is important because, unless the floor is free & clear of your belongings, we can’t sand or install it. Our staff are highly trained in the trade of sanding or installing your floor but they are not trained, qualified, or insured, to move furniture. If moving your own furniture is not possible, we have names of several moving companies that are able to perform this for you. They will generally bill you on an hourly basis for this.

Remove as much as possible from the walls, shelves, and closets
Working on floors involves a lot of blindly backing up and moving around. Occasionally we’ll bump into a wall and, if sensitive items are prone to fall, they will. Moreover, our machines are heavy and powerful so they tend to vibrate the house. Nick nacks, plants, books, and art, can begin to move around and fall as a result. Please have these items safely stored off the walls and shelves.

Consider how our team will get in
Will you be there to let us in or will you be leaving a key? Sometimes clients will provide us with a garage code as well. We can also call you when we are on our way if you’d like to meet us there.

Appliances

If kitchen appliances can be moved easily, we can slide fridges and stoves out, sand below, and return them once it’s dry. This eliminates the need to have appliances removed from the kitchen. It does leave a “seam” of polyurethane where the the two coatings meet however. We do not disconnect gas lines or water lines. If your appliances are too heavy or the connecting lines too short, we will not be able to move them.

Pets

Pets present an additional issue to be aware of during this process. Noise can scare them and fumes can make the environment unpleasant. To ensure the safety of our staff and the pets, clients need to make sure they’re kept out of our work space at all times. Ad hoc, or flimsy barriers often fail and are not permitted. Please make sure pets are adequately contained. It is the client’s responsibility to make sure pets are not around to be exposed to fumes or walk on the finish. Our staff will not be responsible for minding pets while we work, preventing them from escaping, or containing them when we leave. Damage to floors resulting from pets is the client’s responsibility.

Arrival times & setup

During the summer we will generally arrive between 8:00-8:30, and during the winter between 9 & 9:30 depending on traffic and morning conditions. Sometimes however, we may need to apply a coat of finish at another job prior to arriving to your home. In these situations we may arrive late morning or early afternoon. Our sanding team consists of 2 to 3 people, one of whom may discuss logistics with you while the others begin prepping to sand. The team leader has been informed of the details of the job but very likely has not seen it so they may ask you a few questions. These questions will generally involve gathering the scope of the job, confirming the type of coating you’d like (water vs. oil), and whether any pigmented stain is being used. They may also confirm that, if it’s possible to do so, it’s ok to apply the coatings on that day (usually late afternoon). Once coated, the floors will be wet for 4-8 hours and cannot be walked on (see “dry times’ below). Job Site Preparations & dust containment

Preparing the site

This involves unloading and hooking up the sanders, lights, and other equipment. All of our sanders have dust containment and we consider them to be about 85% dust free. However, as an extra precaution against dust, we will sometimes quarantine areas not being worked on. It is not always reasonable to quarantine every area. This generally occurs in homes with a very open floor plan, high ceilings, or, when the layout requires repeated access to an area and a plastic barrier may cause safety issues or undue difficulties for the job. If we are sanding your kitchen, we may choose to tape your cabinets shut to quarantine the items inside. Usually this will have been discussed at the time of the estimate but if you’re concerned that a sensitive area is not being quarantined, bring the topic up with the team leader. If the sanding team determine that extreme dust containment measures must be taken, additional costs may apply. Please be mindful that these preparations take time and avoid removing our site preparations in the evening. They are meant to protect your home and belongings. Modifying or removing them will compromise our containment, increase job time, and may result in additional charges. Although we clean the floor thoroughly before we leave, some dust may continue to settle on the walls after we’re done. Clients should expect some amounts of cleaning and dusting after this process. If this is unacceptable, we’re happy discuss other cleaning options that may include additional charges.

Sometimes we may remove closet or room doors to access the floor for sanding. We will label them with blue tape and store them in a convenient area. We will re-hang them after the job has been completed but it may not be until after the final coat has dried.

Although removing the small piece of trim at the base of the wall (shoe) will allow us to get closer to edge, we do not require its removal. Sometimes during edging, this trim can be scuffed by the guard on our machine. Some paint touch up may be required and is the client's responsibility. If the base or shoe are particularly sensitive, removal may be necessary and can be done at an additional charge.

Employee activity on the job site

During inclement weather we may ask to pull our vehicle into your garage
We understand that garages can be a personal space and if its a problem please let us know. However, much of our gear is staged outside, and doing so in the rain or snow is hugely disruptive. Having access to a garage or shelter is a big help and is very much appreciated. It also helps us keep our machines dry which translates to a cleaner worksite in your home.

Many people in the trades smoke
…and the flooring world is no exception. We will never smoke in your home and often get as far away from the building as possible. If it’s raining or cold staff will generally smoke in the van.

Our staff will be at your home for long hours and will need to use the restroom
Please understand that this is a necessary activity for our staff and leaving to use a “gas station” restroom is not practical. Please show them which bathroom you prefer them to use. We will provide our own hand towels.

Sanding process

Equipment hookup
We use a variety of professional quality sanders to get the best results for your floor. Our largest sander is a German made “Hummel” drum sander. It is the standard in the industry and provides superior results. Because it’s a 220 volt machine, it cannot be plugged into a regular outlet in your home. We will generally try to plug into a stove or dryer outlet first, but if these are not available, we’ll plug directly into your electrical panel. This process bypasses your home’s existing wiring and is a very common way to hook up a professional floor sander. We carry a variety of circuits, plugs, and very long chords, to accommodate our many different job site requirements.

Sanding
Once setup up we are ready to begin sanding your floor. The scope of this process is too involved to fully cover here but below is an overview of how we’ll sand your floor.

Refinishing involves starting with a heavy grit (coarse) sandpaper to remove the existing finish or to level a newly installed floor. After the first “cut” we use progressively lighter grit papers to to smooth it back out. We use a large and powerful belt sander to sand the field of the floor. For the areas close to the walls we use a powerful handheld sander aptly named an “edger”. To continue this process we use palm sanders at the edges after the edger work is completed. We use special low profile sanders to get into tight spaces such as underneath radiators or cabinet toe kicks. Corners are hand scraped. After this has been completed we use a buffer to “screen” the floor which smooths the floor to a uniform grit. Once screening is completed we thoroughly clean the floor by vacuuming and tack clothing.

Coating Process & types of finishes

The coating process will vary depending on the type of floor, type of polyurethane, use of pigmented stain, or other custom variations. We may have discussed the different types of coatings prior to our start time.

Oil based
A classic style of finish which involves a wood sealer and two coats of an oil based polyurethane. After sanding we will apply the sealer and a coat of polyurethane (both the same day). Once applied, this coating will need to dry undisturbed for 8 hours. This type of polyurethane is very fume-y and stinky while it dries. If we’re using a pigmented stain, the stain serves as the sealer and the sealer does not need to be used. Sometimes we’ll need to let the pigmented stain dry overnight before applying the polyurethane. This will add an extra day to the process. Below are common schedule scenarios for oil coatings: (Note: the schedules below apply only after sanding has been finished, these may actually begin several days into the job)

Sealer, oil, oil

The schedule for a sealer and oil based polyurethane floor may look like:

Day 1 - natural sealer, first coat of polyurethane

Day 2 - buff and apply final coat of polyurethane

Note: this doesn’t included sanding time, this applies to is the first day of coating

Stain, oil, oil

The schedule for a pigmented stain and oil based polyurethane floor may look like:

Day 1 - pigmented stain

Day 2 - first coat of polyurethane

Day 3 - buff and final coat of polyurethane

Note: this doesn’t included sanding time, this applies to is the first day of coating

Please note that during this time the house may be considered un-occupiable. Sleeping preparations must be made in advance for this. If you or your family are sensitive to fumes, or if the layout of the home requires that you walk on the floor to get through the house, you may want to consider alternative sleeping arrangements. Pets must also be kept away from the floor during this time. If this is prohibitively difficult, a water based coating may be a better option.

Water based

Another common, and becoming more common, type of finish is a water based finish. This is typically used when dry times need to be reduced, fumes are a concern, or the client would like a lighter looking floor.

Waterbased finish relative to oil is:

Lower VOC (a “greener” product with fewer fumes)
Clear drying and does not give an amber hue
Drys in ½ the time
Is more expensive (generally ads $.52 sf)

Sometimes, to have the benefits of the water based finish and the amber color of an oil based finish, we’ll use a combination of the oil based sealer or pigmented stain, and water based finish for the protective top coats. Below are common schedule scenarios for water coatings: (Note: the schedules below apply only after sanding has been finished, these may actually begin several days into the job)

Sealer, water, water

The schedule for a sealer and water based finished floor with water based sealer may look like:

Day 1 - water based sealer, first coat of polyurethane

Day 2 - final coat of polyurethane (sometimes this can be done on day 1 as well)

Oil sealer (to mimic the oil finish look, or stain (to change the color), water, water

The schedule for a pigmented stain (or oil based sealer) and water based finished floor may look like:

Day 1 - pigmented stain (or oil sealer)

Day 2 - first coat of polyurethane

Day 3 - final coat of polyurethane (sometimes this can be applied on day 2)

While a water based finish dries, its odor is relatively inert and other portions of the house can generally be easily tolerated. Because of it’s rapid dry time, clients can usually get back into the house with stocking feet within 4 hours of application.

Dry & cure times

Drying and cure times will vary depending on the type of product we have used on your floor. Many times, to facilitate drying, we will increase the heating temperature of your home, run dehumidifiers, or increase the function of your central air conditioning. This is a very important step because if conditions are too humid or too cool, the coatings will not dry and adhesion problems may result.

Please note:

To avoid raising dust during dry times, we generally do not run fans.

We will also close all windows. Although the fumes will be more concentrated, this prevents dust and rain from blowing in from outside and allows us to manage the temperature and humidity of the job site.

Because we work our way out backwards and need light during this process, often times we cannot turn off the lights and they’ll need to remain on until the coating is dry.

Below are the general guidelines for timing. Note: these times may vary based on temperature and humidity.

Water based

Drying time: The floor may be walked on after 4 hours, and furniture replaced after 24 hours, but the floor is susceptible to scuffing or marring prior to completion of the curing time.

Curing: The curing process takes approximately 7 days (75% after 1 day, 90% after 3 days). Do not replace walk-off mats or throw rugs until finish is fully cured. Do not drag or slide furniture. Do not clean with water or detergent during the curing process. Use only a dry cloth for cleaning during the first two weeks

Bona recommends using their Bona care cleaning systems which can be purchased at Home depot or Menards and generally consists of a microfiber cloth and wood safe spray cleaners. Additionally, the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) recommends the following care tips to care for your floor.

Oil Based

Drying time: The floor may be walked on after 8 hours, and furniture replaced after 24 hours, but the floor is susceptible to scuffing or marring prior to completion of the curing time.

Curing: The curing process takes approximately 14 days. Do not replace walk-off mats or throw rugs until finish is fully cured. Do not drag or slide furniture. Do not clean with water or detergent during the curing process. Use only a dry cloth for cleaning during the first two weeks.

Pigmented Stain

Dry Time: 8 hours

Curing: none

Pigmented stains are oil or water based pigments that are designed to change the color of your floor. Treating your floor with stains can add an exciting change to the appearance of the wood but also presents additional challenges to the job. These issues and limitations of staining are important to understand. When staining a wood floor, it’s important to acknowledge that wood not a synthetic product. It’s made up of cells and became what it is by growing naturally. Although this lends itself to the beauty of the floors, it means that it may have an inconsistent physical properties such as varying densities, colors, sap content, knottiness etc.. This means that many times, regardless of the technique used to stain, the color and appearance of the floor may not be uniform in nature. Other factors affecting the way your floor looks after being stained are its age, history, water damage, sun exposure, thickness of the wood, and application of previous stains. Because of this, it is impossible to completely control how the floor looks when applying stain. The appearance of the floor may vary within the boards themselves, room to room, and area to area.

Color matching

Matching the existing color of a floor may be impossible
Because time changes the appearance of stain, wood, and finishes. A new floor, sanded, stained, & coated, using an identical process may look completely different than the same floor refinished 6 months ago.

Species related issues when using pigmented stain
Certain species of wood present special issues when staining because of their unique properties. The most common is Maple which has a very dense cellular structure. Because of this, it takes stains unevenly and some boards may be very dark, while other remain almost unchanged in color. Wetting the floor with water prior to staining is a technique called “water popping”, & is used to pop the grain of the wood to allow more stain to penetrate. Even when using the “water popping” technique, a stained maple floor can appear less uniform in appearance than other types of wood. It can still be a beautiful floor though! It’s just important to know what it may look like going into the process. Birch, Pine, & Fir, may also take stain unevenly and look blotchy. Darker and lighter hues may exist throughout the these floors and any previous water damage on the floor tends to be a dark area.

Limitations of stain

While stains can dramatically change the appearance of the floor, there are certain limitations as to what can be done with them. Oil based stain will not hide the appearance of the grain. If you’d like to hide the grain, you may want to consider a water based stain. Please let us know this and we can discuss that option. Generally, the grain will darken more than the heart of the wood and become more apparent than if no stain were used. Although it’s counterintuitive, stains do not hide black spots or damage. These spots can still be seen even with an ebony stain. If your wood has a natural color to it such as Red Oak or Doug Fir, stains will generally not eliminate these colors. Red or yellow hues in the lumber tend to remain regardless of the stain. Because of the many variables affecting the appearance of your floor, matching a color to an image in a magazine, personal furniture, cabinetry or even an existing floor, may not be possible. Custom mixing stain on site can take hours, is billed hourly, and not included in the square foot cost of stain. There is no guarantee that we can achieve a specific color, and time spent mixing is charged regardless of whether a match or desired color is achieved.

Water popping

Water popping is a process of wetting the floor and allowing it to dry prior to staining. There are two benefits to water popping a hardwood floor. The primary benefit is to achieve a darker, more uniform color. The secondary benefit is to help eliminate screen marks. The water allows the grain to open up and helps the screen marks dissipate.

Trim and stain

Applying stain is a messy process that requires time and expertise to do correctly. When applying stain near walls, we use a brush to reduce transfer of the stain to the trim, but many times during the wiping phase, stain leeches into the cloth and transfers to the base or shoe. We make every effort to reduce this but there is no guarantee that we can keep base trim and shoe free of stain. If the trim is painted, it may need touch up which is the client's responsibility. If the trim is raw wood, the stain will permanently color it and will need to be replaced or sanded. Trim that has been coated with a polyurethane can generally be wiped down after staining. If the trim is sensitive and or expensive and cannot get stained, it must be removed prior to staining. We provide this service with certain trims at a cost. If the trim is old and brittle, in many cases it will crack during removal and will need to be replaced at client’s expense. This is also an issue for toe kicks under kitchen cabinets.

Clean up

If at all possible, we’ll have all clean up completed the day of the final coat. Cleanup includes removing plastic walls, garbage bags of dust etc, removal of all our gear, and wipe down of all surfaces. Although we take every effort to keep your home free of dust, the process will leave dust on walls and cabinets that you will need to wipe down afterwards. There is no true “dustless system”. Depending on the job, we may not be able to re-hang closet doors the day of coating. If so, we will return the following day to do so. We do leave blue tape on carpet transitions and other sensitive items. These need to remain on during the final coat and we ask that you remove them the following day.

Repairs

Certain stains or imperfections will not sand out and boards will need to be replaced. Generally we’ll see this and discuss options at the estimate. If we’re pulling carpet however, some stains may not have been visible or other times, stains are not revealed until after the first “cut” of sanding has occurred. In these situations we will do everything possible to get our repair team involved and keep on schedule, but delays may occur. The process of repairing floors is somewhat unsettling to watch and the repaired patch may look startlingly noticeable until it has been sanded and filled. Generally the new lumber sits higher than existing, is a different color, and cracks exist that will need to be filled. New and old lumber may not match and pigmented stains may only be of limited utility to help blend. While most repairs look great, some patches in certain circumstances may remain visible.

Cracks and nail holes

Many floors have cracks between boards due expansion & contraction of the wood. This is due to varying humidity during the floor’s life and the conditions at the time of the install. Products designed to fill these cracks exist, but will often be squeezed out when the wood expands. Because of this, we generally do not fill the cracks or nail holes. If you do want the cracks & or nail holes filled, we can do so for an additional cost, and client acknowledges that it may crack out in when moisture conditions change. The best way to control cracks is to control the humidity in the home.

Stairs

Sanding stairs is can be very challenging. Many of them retain the original shellac which is gummy and very difficult to remove. The process can involve chemical stripping, a variety of sanders, and hand scraping. Stairs are bid in two parts, the tread and riser. The riser is the vertical board connecting the horizontal treads. Risers are more difficult to sand and are often times so badly damaged that sanding may not improve their appearance. Even after full sanding, they may show dents from boots, water damage, and deep scratches. In certain cases, we may recommend you paint the risers instead of sanding. Many stair risers have a gap at the top between the tread and riser which is covered with cove moulding. This molding can be left on or removed but cannot be sanded. If left on, it may be a different color than the newly sanded stair riser. We can remove cove molding for an additional charge (note: it often cracks and is no longer usable when removed).. We do not add or replace cove molding. Areas of the tread where the spindle connects will need to be hand scrapped for an additional charge. We do not sand banisters, trim boards, cove molding or other specialty trims. It may not be possible to match stairs to the trim boards.

Billing

If the job cost is above $5000, email the estimate and ask for a 50% down payment. Payment may be made online from a link in the email. Once the job is completed we will send a final invoice for the remainder. Deposit checks must arrive 4 days prior to the job for down payments.

Common questions:

How long will it take?
The time it takes to complete a flooring job is largely determined by the size, type of coating, and other variables related to the job. Most floors however, take between 3-5 days.

Can we be in the house while you're working? Do we need to leave during dry times?
During the sanding process you can come and go and be in other areas of the home. Refinishing floors is a loud process though and it may not be pleasant to be around while we work. If we sand but don’t coat that day you can easily sleep in your home that evening.

How soon can I get back on the floor after you put down the finish?
You can get back on the floor when it’s dry. Once coating begins, if oil finish is being used, the fumes are very strong and the dry time is 8 hours. Many times it’s best to be away during this time. Water coatings may allow you to return sooner because they’re inert (low fumes) and dry times are only 4 hours. Regardless of the type of coating, it may not be walked on until after the dry time has lapsed and most jobs require two incidences of drying time.

Can I leave things in my closets, pantry, or shelves?
If these items on not highly sensitive to dust, or prone to falling, some items may be left on shelves. They must be at least 4 feet above the floor. Anything below 4 feet needs to be removed. We can cover certain shelves and bookcases with plastic to protect your belongings. Excessive requirements for plastic site protection may be billed hourly.

I was told you’d put a plastic zip wall up but you didn’t. Why?
We prefer to put up plastic “zip walls” to quarantine certain rooms and many times, at the estimate, we’ll suggest that. Sometimes however, once on site, the sanders may determine that zip walls are not possible due to unforeseen conditions.. This usually happens with an open floor plan, stairs, or very high ceilings. Generally in this case we’ll drape plastic sheets over furniture and other personal belongings.

What are the black lines on the floor during sanding for?
After the existing polyurethane is sanded off, it becomes very difficult to see where we’ve sanded for our second and third “cuts”. We mark the floor with black lines to help see where we’ve sanded. They do not remain on the floor.

Why is there a lighter shaded rectangle shape in my floor and will it sand out?
Floors change color with time and sun exposure. If there is a throw run near a window, the area under the rug will often be a different color than the rest of the room. Unfortunately, these don’t always sand out regardless of how deep we sand.

Why did you leave garbage bags full of sawdust in the middle of my lawn?
Wood dust from floors is a danger for spontaneous combustion. Because of this, we place bags of dust as far from your home as possible. We don’t always return to our dumpster every evening. Storing these bags in the van overnight could be a fire hazard. We generally take the bags when we’re heading straight to the dumpster and will always remove the garbage at the end of the job.

What is water popping?
Water popping is a process of wetting the floor and allowing it to dry prior to staining. There are two benefits to water popping a hardwood floor. The primary benefit is to achieve a darker, more uniform color. The secondary benefit is to help eliminate screen marks. The water allows the grain to open up and helps the screen marks dissipate.

Why do you leave stain rags in the snow or a bucket of water?
Oil soaked rags are a fire hazard so we keep them away from the dust bags and soak them in water immediately. We do not put them into the van until we’re heading straight to the dumpster.

Why did you leave the heat/A/c on?
Our coatings need specific temperatures and humidity levels to dry. Controlling these variables with your hvac system is essential to proper drying.

My pet walked on the wet floor. What can be done?
If the floor is coated with oil and it’s still wet, let us know right away. If we’re still in the area, we may be able to stop back and fix it. If it’s a water coating or the oil poly is too dry, we’ll need to scrape them out the following day and re-coat. There will be an additional cost for this.

You haven’t done the corners. Do you sand the corners?
Yes we hand scrape the corners but many times it's after the field of the floor is finished.

My water heater doesn’t work after you left. Why?
Many newer water heaters have a sensor that turns it off when it detects gas. Sometimes our oil polyurethanes “fool” the water heater into shutting down. If this happens, let us know. We have a plumber that will reset it.

I don’t have air conditioning. Will my polyurethane dry?
We generally carry dehumidifiers in the summertime and can use them to help the coatings dry.

My heat isn’t working. Can you still coat the floor?
No. Unless it’s above 68 degrees the polyurethane won’t dry. If it’s cool outside we must be able to control the temperature.

I want my floor to be perfect. Is this possible?
This is not possible. “Perfect” is a subjective term. A floor may appear to have “character” to one person and appear flawed to another. We’ll make sure the work is completed to the highest standard but a natural product like wood will always have imperfections.

Do you fill the nail holes along the perimeter of the room?
Generally we do not unless you specifically ask. Often times the holes are from nails that have oxidized and left a small black ring around the hole. If we fill it, it appears to be a white dot with a black ring. If you’d like us to fill the holes, please let us know and we will let you know the cost to do so.

I’d like a finish that can withstand any situation including dog nails, water, chairs, high heels, etc. Which do you finish do you recommend?
Unfortunately this is not possible with a wood floor. We use the highest grade oil and water finishes but under these circumstances most coatings suitable for residential use will scratch.

Notes and disclosures:

Install quotes:
Assume no underlayment exists unless specified in the bid. If specified that MHW is removing it, price assumes underlayment or floor is nailed down and not glued. If glued down, removal will be performed at time and materials at $30 per person, per hour. Alternatively, wood may be able to be installed over the particle board but only if suitable substrate is below it and particle board is 1/2" thick or less. New lumber may be higher than existing. Time and materials amounts are estimates only and may change.

Refinishing quotes:
Unforeseen repair work, (such as pet stains or water damage that do not sand out, or are hidden beneath carpet) to be bid separately. Burned discolorations due to area rugs & sun may not sand out. Floors to be free & clear of debris before arrival, staples (removed or set), tack strip etc. unless otherwise specified in this estimate. Furniture & appliance items to be moved by owner. Price includes 1 sealer coat & 2 coats of Bona Woodline oil based polyurethane. Pigmented stain & or water based polyurethane available at an additional cost. If matching existing stain colors, or, old & new lumber, an exact match may not be possible due to differing conditions of the lumber & polyurethane. Refinished color may not match existing stair trim (rake board). Deeper scratches and discolorations on risers & treads may still be visible after refinishing. This is also is true for any repairs. Client understands that exact matches may not be possible. Lumber prices are subject to change as market conditions fluctuate. If base or shoe are added, bid includes color putty in nail holes. Staining, spackling, priming, or painting are billed separately. This quote is valid for 6 months from date of creation. Square footage subject to confirmation, client agrees that errors & omission in sf calculation can be corrected.

Beveled floor disclosure

What is a beveled floor?
Beveled floors are often seen in prefinished types of lumber but can also be found in site finished lumber. They are a small angle cut at the top of the lumber, usually along the length of the board. They come in a variety of sizes but are usually considered to be micro or standard. Bevels tend to help define the individual boards to the eye and break up the monolithic appearance of the floor.

Why does this matter during refinishing?
Because the top layer of wood is removed when sanding a floor, the consequences of that, in relation to the bevels, needs to be considered. Depending on the depth of the bevels, and the amount of wood required to be removed, they may be reduced in size or disappear completely. At times, both of these scenarios occur on the same floor. If you have bevels in your floor and would like it sanded, you should be prepared for this. If it happens that some of the bevels do sand out, you may want us to continue sanding until all of them disappear in order to have a consistent appearance on the floor. This requires additional time and materials & will generally increase the cost of the job.

Can you sand less so that they don’t come out?
Sometimes we can other times we cannot. We need to remove enough polyurethane and wood to get down to raw, attractive lumber. If we don't remove all of the current coating, our new polyurethane will not adhere to the floor. Prefinished floors generally have an aluminum oxide coating that is very difficult to remove. Heavy grit sandpaper is required to abrade it off and, in the process, takes more wood with it. Often times too, stains, scratches, and discolorations are deep enough that we have remove more wood to get them out. In addition to stains and scratches, we try and flatten out any cupping in the wood which can also increase the amount of sanding needed. These factors determine how much sanding is required. The amount of wood we remove isn’t up to us as much as it’s up to your floor!

What is the Impact of bevels on stained floors?
If you're planning on changing the color of your floor during the refinish, the bevels will have to be removed. During normal sanding, bevels retain their finish because they rest below the plane of the floor. Our machine sands right over them. If they are not removed through additional sanding, the polyurethane coating will remain in the bevels. This layer of polyurethane prevents penetration of the new stain color and causes the bevels to have a different color than the field of the floor. This issue can arise when changing from a stained floor to a natural floor or vise versa.

Michael BonebrakeJuly 1, 2018