Cost to refinish hardwood floors?

[tikaram]

Originally Posted by lucknow

Pet stains can be impossible to get out of hardwood. I found out the hard way last year when I bought a house with pee stains on the oak flooring. I sanded the floors right down to the nails and the black stains were even deeper than that. My solution wand I think it was the only one was to stain the whole living and dinning rooms ebony. It actually came out very nice and the floors are really dramatic looking. but all the work and the dust are not nice at all.

Yes, very old pet stains are hard to get out, and dark stain is good option then - quite in fashion right now, if you check out interior decorating sites. houzz.com is my fav btw!
Another option could be to bleach the floors. (think bleached oak) I don't know how well it works with pet stains, you would need to talk to the floor guys, but it's another interesting color choice for your interiors, also quite "in" on decorating sites and in magazines. Bleaching adds to your overall cost though. (extra step in a process), whereas dark staining does not.

[Bob Lanata]

I would add to this to have the first coat of oil based be a high gloss as it has more solids, then two more of whatever final coat you want on it. If you like a matte to mild gloss finish, use the first coat as HIGH gloss, then the final two as the lower gloss. It will give a glassy but not so shiny finish (hope I stated that correctly) Great advice here. As a kid, my first job was installing hardwood flooring and it was finished with varnish. (Hardly every seen these days). I could smell the oak wood as I was reading this post and it was fun to read.

[SpringMom3]

Thanks all. We did end up buying a home and refinishing the hardwood floors. I want to say it was $2/sq ft or less and they came out amazing. We luckily didnt have to deal with any stains/etc.

No problems at all while they were doing it. They set a timeline and stuck to it. I think they started on a tuesday and done by friday.

[tikaram]

SpringMom - thanks for update, and glad to hear it all worked out so well for you. I think refinished floors make huge difference, and are money and effort well spent.

[cwaggy]

2.00 SF is on the high end, 1.50 about right. Smaller jobs cost more. Anyone else is blowin smoke.

[2rg]

A couple of people have mentioned hardwood floor refinishing available at $1-2 per sq ft. Does anyone have a reference for someone in the Boston metrowest area who could do a decent job in that price range? It is for a small single-family house in Framingham, MA with maybe about 800 sq ft or so of hardwood floors (two bedrooms, dining room, hallway, and a living room). There will be no furniture on the floors and I am in the process of removing the old wall to wall carpeting now. Thanks!

[woodfloorsnh]

A good floor refinishing company costs.
$2.50-$2.75 The low end sanding price is typical of oak floors.
$4.00 is a high end price for Antique Pine with top nails or historical work.
we regularly see discount contractors out there sanding floors for a dollar for dollar fifty. These contractors are not applying the same quality finish. Sometimes will use these quick dry lacquers go out and smoke a cigarette can come back in and throw another coat on your floor. Youll know our finish is better because it takes all night to dry.

[floorpro1]

Originally Posted by woodfloorsnh

A good floor refinishing company costs.
$2.50-$2.75 The low end sanding price is typical of oak floors.
$4.00 is a high end price for Antique Pine with top nails or historical work.
we regularly see discount contractors out there sanding floors for a dollar for dollar fifty. These contractors are not applying the same quality finish. Sometimes will use these quick dry lacquers go out and smoke a cigarette can come back in and throw another coat on your floor. Youll know our finish is better because it takes all night to dry.

Agree! You usually get what you pay for. I know this is an old thread but wanted to chime in. If someone is sanding, staining and apply coats of poly for $1-$1.50 they are barely making any $ and prlly doin a very sub par job. In our area a recoat is between $1-$1.50 and sanding, staining and 3 coats of poly is $3-5 depending on color and wood condition. Refinishing is very hard physical work and really takes a toal on your body if you do it for a living...specially the edger guy.