What it costs to refinish hardwood floors

The range is for sanding the floor down and putting on a new finish. A job that adds a stain is priced higher than one without,¹ and dustless refinishing costs more than the traditional kind.²

Whether a floor can be refinished, or has to be replaced, depends on the floor. A flooring company can tell you once it has seen it. What new hardwood floors cost has more on new floors.

A federal rule sets how companies have to work when a job disturbs paint in a home built before 1978. Its definition of renovation includes surface preparation such as sanding, and floors and trim are among the parts of a home it names. So sanding a painted floor or taking off painted trim in a home built before 1978 can come under it, unless the job is small enough to count as minor repair: 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room.⁷

Where the rule applies, a power sander can be used on a painted surface only with a shroud or containment and a HEPA vacuum attachment that collects the dust where it's made,⁸ and the company has to be a certified firm.⁹ Lead-safe rules for floor work explains the rest.

If any part of your floor has been painted, say so when you ask for quotes.

• A screen and recoat. A light buff and a fresh coat, without sanding to bare wood, is a different job. The cost guides price different work under that name, so there's no range we can stand behind yet.
• A price for the whole room. The cost guides price refinishing for rooms of different sizes, so we give the per square foot range only.

Each company on this site is listed with its phone number where it has one, so you can call two or three and compare. You can also send a request through the request form.