What to Expect When Refinishing Your Hardwood Floors

The room is cleared and sealed off, vents are covered, and the crew sets up dust containment. Sanding happens in grit stages — coarse to fine — to remove the old finish and flatten the wood without gouging it. Edges and corners the big sander cannot reach are done with an edger and by hand. This is the stage where skill shows most.

If you are staining, the pro applies a sample on your floor for approval first, because the same stain looks different on red oak, white oak, and maple. Once approved, stain goes down evenly, then two to three coats of protective finish with sanding or buffing and cure time between coats.

Light foot traffic in socks is usually fine within a day, but the finish keeps hardening for days to weeks. Move furniture back only when your refinisher says it is cured, use felt pads, and wait on area rugs so the finish can fully off-gas and bond. Rushing this is how brand-new finishes get marred.