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A high-quality hardwood floor is a thing of beauty. Hardwood is gorgeous and long-lasting: it can last 30 years or more if you take good care of it. Your hardwood floor may lose a little luster after years of wear and tear. Refinishing is an essential component of keeping your flooring in terrific shape. Refinishing protects hardwood from damage and keeps it looking gorgeous. But every time you refinish, you remove a tiny bit from the surface. So how many times can you refinish your hardwood before it’s time to replace it?
What Does Refinishing Hardwood Involve?
Keep in mind that starting with a top-notch installation from a reputable contractor makes future refinishing more successful. When flooring contractors initially install hardwood floors, they finish the job with a protective coating. When you refinish, your contractor uses a sander to remove the finish layer and then replaces it with a fresh coat. The sanding also allows the new finish to “bond” with your flooring.
How Many Times Can I Refinish My Hardwood?
Each sanding removes around 1/32 of an inch of your floor’s surface. Most solid hardwood planks are thick enough to be refinished up to ten times. Refinishing is essential to caring for your solid hardwood and helps it last longer. However, while solid wood can take multiple refinishing over the decades, we can only refinish engineered hardwood once or twice.
When Is It Time to Refinish My Hardwood Flooring?
Here are some of the signs it’s time to call your flooring contractor about refinishing:
- Your hardwood has faded from sunlight and foot traffic.
- Your floor turns gray as its polyurethane coating wears off.
- Your wood planks are losing their luster and becoming dull and unattractive.
- Your floorboards are scratched from pets and foot traffic or have begun to splinter.
- Your hardwood has water stains.
When Is It Time to Replace My Hardwood Floor?
Refinishing is a breath of fresh air and restores dull floors to like-new glory. You’ll wonder why you waited once you see the difference. However, it can’t fix everything. Broken boards and deep gouges may be too extensive for refinishing to repair. That’s when it’s time to think about replacement. Some signs it may be time to consider replacing your hardwood include:
- Severe warping or buckling from humidity and moisture.
- Extreme wear and tear from repeated refinishing.
- You’re ready for a room refresh or a new type of wood.
Refinishing Your Floor: Experience Matters
Hardwood flooring is a significant investment. It’s one of the more expensive flooring materials, so we want it to last. A high-quality refinishing job should give your flooring new life without stripping away too much of its thickness during the sanding process. It should also give you a flawless protective layer to restore shine and help resist spills and scratching. That’s why it’s crucial to work with a skilled professional team. Loudoun Valley Floors has refinished thousands of hardwood floors in homes throughout the region. Our experienced team understands that every hardwood floor is precious, and we treat your flooring with the utmost care every time. Plus, we do our very best to make the process easier for you. Reach out to us for your hardwood installation and refinishing needs.
