Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Refinishing is the process of sanding your existing hardwood floors down to bare wood, then applying new stain and finish coats. It removes surface scratches, discoloration, and worn finish, restoring the floor to like-new condition. It is different from recoating, which does not involve sanding to bare wood.

Hardwood floor refinishing in the Triangle area typically ranges from $4.50 to $9.00 per square foot depending on floor condition, stain color, and finish system. We provide detailed written estimates with no hidden fees after a free in-home assessment.

Most refinishing projects take 4 to 5 days from start to finish: two days to sand, half a day for stain (if applicable), and two days for finish coats and curing. We will give you a specific timeline during your free assessment.

If your floors have deep scratches, significant discoloration, water damage, or a finish that is beyond recoating, refinishing is typically the right call. If the wood itself is structurally compromised or the wear layer has been sanded too many times, replacement may be necessary. We assess this during the free consultation.

Yes. Refinishing is the ideal time to change your stain color. We water pop the floor first to open the grain, then apply sample colors directly on your floor so you can see exactly how each stain looks on your specific wood in your specific lighting before we commit to the full floor.

We use the Lagler Hummel, Bona PowerDrive, and Lagler Flip sanding systems paired with Festool HEPA vacuums, dust separators, and air scrubbers for a virtually dustless process. We hang plastic where needed to seal off doorways, keep vents open so conditioned air continues to circulate, and run air scrubbers with external filters on your air returns to capture fine dust before it travels through the system.

Solid hardwood floors can typically be refinished 5 to 8 times over their lifetime depending on the wear layer thickness. Engineered hardwood varies by product. We measure your wear layer during the assessment to confirm refinishing is the right option.

Yes. Historic hardwood restoration is one of our specialties. Original heart pine, wide-plank oak, and other old-growth species found in Johnston County and Triangle historic homes require a different approach than modern hardwood. These floors have finite wear layers that cannot be oversanded, absorb stain differently, and often need assessment before any sanding is recommended. We refinished the original heart pine floors at the Hometown Realty office in Historic Downtown Selma. We assess every historic floor individually for wear layer thickness, board stability, and previous finish layers before making any recommendation.