Photo: istockphoto.com

Hardwood floor refinishing is a big job and takes a lot of time. Knowledge of the machines and their uses, the progression of sanding pad grits, and the dust collection is a lot to keep track of. While some DIYers can handle it, the mess and effort of refinishing can make this a job that’s best left to hardwood floor refinishing companies.

There are a lot of hardwood floor finishers out there, and it can be tough to know which ones are the best. This guide will highlight what to look for in a contractor and some of the best hardwood floor refinishers to hire to take those old, tired floors to refreshed and renewed.

1. BEST OVERALL: Mr. Sandless
2. BEST AGGREGATOR: Angi
3. ALSO CONSIDER: Thumbtack

Photo: istockphoto.com

What to Consider When Choosing One of the Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing Companies and Contractors

Before hiring a hardwood flooring refinishing company, it’s important to know a few key components in the decision-making process. The following are some of the most critical considerations to keep in mind when comparing companies and choosing the best fit.

Service Area and Scheduling

Hardwood flooring companies have service areas in which they operate. After all, they have to bring a lot of equipment to the site, so they need to be in relatively close proximity to their workshops. For this reason, some companies may only operate within a 50-, 75-, or 100-mile radius of their shop. It’s important for shoppers to find a company that services their address.

On top of finding a company whose service area works for them, customers will want to consider scheduling. Many refinishing contractors are very busy and could take months to get to the customer’s project. Making sure that the contractor’s schedule works with the homeowner’s is a vital piece of the puzzle, so it may take some shopping around.

Estimate Scheduling

A hardwood flooring refinisher may be able to give a rough price for the project over the phone, but most want to see the project site before they offer an estimate. During this time, a company rep will show up on-site, take measurements, assess any challenges, and then give the customer a range of how much the project will cost. However, this involves scheduling a time that works for the homeowner.

To make this process easier, many hardwood flooring companies offer their customers the ability to schedule their estimates online. They can log in, choose a day and time that works for them, and then tailor their schedules to meet the time. Companies that don’t offer online scheduling will provide a phone number customers can call for phone scheduling. In either case, companies typically confirm within 48 hours of the requested appointment date.

Warranty

The best hardwood flooring refinishing companies stand behind their work. They offer warranties ranging from 1 year to several years, giving homeowners peace of mind that the company will set it right if any issue arises.

Potential problems that can pop up after hardwood floor refinishing include:

• Discoloration
• Peeling protective layers
• Gritty finishes
• Cloudy finishes
• Damage to baseboards, trim, thresholds, etc.

If the homeowner notices any of these issues within the warranty period, they can contact the company and have them send a representative to the site. The fix may require stripping the floor back down and starting over in the damaged area, which is anything but convenient; however, the finished results really matter.

Our Top Picks

To help make shopping for the best hardwood flooring refinishing companies easier, we put together the following list. It includes some of our favorite brands that we believe could be good for any project.

Photo: mrsandless.com

Why It Made the Cut: With the company’s ability to handle a wide range of flooring types and projects, as well as a large service area, Mr. Sandless landed our top spot.

Folks looking for a company with true expertise to handle their hardwood flooring refinishing project might want to consider Mr. Sandless. This company is a franchise and has a presence in 39 states and Washington, D.C., allowing many homeowners to find a branch to handle their project. It offers refinishing, replacement, and repair services as well.

Mr. Sandless has the experience to handle a wide range of flooring projects. These projects include parquet, vintage, and historic floors, which most refinishers avoid. The company can also handle indoor and outdoor refinishing, including floors, decks, stairways, railings, and more. It is a bit challenging to find the closest option using the ZIP code search on the website, but users can click on the map to find a branch to call in their area. Also, Mr. Sandless offers a 5-year warranty on its projects, providing plenty of peace of mind for most customers.

Specs

• Service area: 39 states and Washington, D.C.
• Scheduling: Phone
• Warranty: 5 years

Pros

• Wide range of floors treated
• Vintage and historic floors treated
• Indoor and outdoor wood refinishing offered
• Floor installation and carpentry services offered
• Generous 5-year warranty

Cons

• Somewhat misleading store locator feature

Photo: angi.com

Why It Made the Cut: Angi helps connect customers with professional flooring refinishers in their area, allowing them to collect multiple quotes and compare estimates.

When it comes to widespread service areas, easy scheduling, and plenty of options, it’s hard to beat Angi. This aggregator partners with hardwood flooring refinishers all over the country and helps put customers in contact with them based on their service areas. This includes all 50 states and Washington, D.C., so finding a company won’t be an issue.

Customers who submit their information (which is required) are subject to persistent follow-up calls. However, folks serious about refinishing their floors will enjoy how easy the website is to use and the comprehensive resource center organized by project type. They can receive multiple quotes from several service providers, allowing them to choose the best option for their home and budget.

Specs

• Service area: 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• Scheduling: Online
• Warranty: Varies by provider

Pros

• Customers can filter by project and choose from local professionals
• Website is streamlined and user-friendly
• Comprehensive resource center organized by project type

Cons

• Name, phone number, and email are required to browse local services
• Persistent follow-up emails

Photo: thumbtack.com

Why It Made the Cut: Thumbtack can put contractors in touch with customers in a hurry, helping folks in a bind get their floors fixed or refinished quickly.

When time is of the essence, hardwood owners might look to Thumbtack. This aggregator can put customers in contact with contractors rapidly, with online scheduling and instant booking available for customers’ convenience.

Thumbtack is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Customers can choose from a few contractors to compare prices, with Thumbtack’s premier contractors designated as top-rated professionals (a mark the company claims only 4 percent of its partners get). While customers cannot contact service providers directly, the ease of scheduling helps cut out the time it takes to book a pro.

Specs

• Service area: 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• Scheduling: Online
• Warranty: Varies by provider

Pros

• Top-rated professionals recognized and highlighted
• Instant service-provider booking available

Cons

• Users unable to contact service providers directly

Our Verdict

In our opinion, Mr. Sandless is the best overall choice. Because the company is so experienced and can handle a wide range of projects, customers can feel confident that Mr. Sandless will deliver. However, for folks who struggle to find a service provider, aggregator Angi can help get them in contact with potential contractors.

How We Chose the Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing Companies and Contractors

To make sure we were suggesting only the best floor refinishers, we assembled this list of top picks. We wanted to make sure we were suggesting only the best floor refinishers. First, we considered the experiences of both DIYers and customers to pick out the most important considerations to remember when choosing a company. We considered scheduling, services, and warranties. Then we performed extensive research to find the top companies and aggregators in the hardwood refinishing space.

Once we had a list of eligible companies and aggregators, we compared them based on their strengths and weaknesses, service areas, scheduling, and work-related guarantees. Those that made the cut by offering enough value were given awards based on their strengths.

Before You Hire One of the Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing Companies and Contractors

Hiring a refinishing contractor may seem like a good way to make life easier. But in some cases, there are alternatives (or even necessities) that customers will want to consider. For instance, not all hardwood floors are able to be refinished. If the wood is too severely damaged or has been refinished too often (up to 10 times), the floors might need to be replaced, not refinished. In that case, it’s better to look for one of the best hardwood flooring installation companies instead of a refinisher.

Also, for floors that have seen better days but aren’t quite to the point of needing refinishing, one of the best hardwood floor cleaners might be a better fit. This is a less time-consuming and much less expensive route.

Finally, for folks who just want new floors over their existing hardwoods, a floating floor could do the trick. Floating floor projects are relatively easy, but they take time, so customers may want to consider hiring for this project.

Cost of Hiring One of the Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing Companies and Contractors

Hardwood flooring refinishing costs an average of $1,800 per project. This is just the average, as the actual range stretches between $600 and $4,000, depending on the floor, project size, and other variables. While that’s quite a bit more than the cost of dinner and a tank of gas, it’s much less than new flooring.
The ability to be refinished is actually a selling point of hardwood flooring. While hardwood flooring is expensive to install, it can be refinished up to 10 times, saving money over installing new floors in the long run. Rather than replacing floors every 10 years, users can refinish their floors and save money.

The Advantages of Hiring One of the Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing Companies and Contractors

The best hardwood flooring contractors know how to handle various flooring types and styles, including historic floors, parquet floors, and other challenging patterns or materials. Leaving these complex projects up to an inferior company is a bad idea.

Also, homeowners will want to consider that using one of the best hardwood floor refinishing services is still less expensive than replacing floors. On the high end, folks can expect to pay around $4,000 to have their floors refinished. Conversely, $4,000 is around the low end for new flooring, depending on the materials and installation required.

Finally, refinishing floors isn’t just about looks. It can boost the home’s value, make the floors safer to walk on, and even seal out pests that like to make their homes in hardwood flooring, and experts know how to deliver these benefits.

• The best flooring contractors know how to handle a variety of floor materials and styles.
• Hardwood flooring refinishing is less expensive than replacing flooring.
• Experts know how to boost the home’s value, make the floors safer to walk on, and seal out pests.

FAQs

Even with all of that background on the best hardwood floor refinishers, there may still be some questions that need nailing down when searching online for “floor refinisher near me.” The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about refinishing hardwood floors, so be sure to check for the answers to these questions listed below.

Q. What is the best finish for floors?

There’s no one best finish for hardwood floors. The most popular finish for hardwood floors is satin. Satin has a nice shine but is also easy to keep clean. As the light disperses off of a satin finish, it doesn’t show all the dirt or imperfections in the floor, making it one of the best oak hardwood floor finishes and for other hardwoods, too.

Q. Do refinished floors scratch easily?

Refinished hardwood floors are as durable as newly installed hardwood floors. While the wood planks may be thinner after sanding, the finish coat applied over the floor is the same.

Q. How long do refinished floors last on average?

Hardwood floors generally need refinishing every 8 to 12 years, so on average, once a decade. And hardwood floors can be refinished up to 10 times before needing replacement.

Q. Is it cheaper to refinish or replace hardwood floors?

It’s much cheaper to refinish hardwood floors than replace them. As long as extensive hardwood floor repairs aren’t necessary to refinish the existing floor, replacing hardwood floors almost always costs more.

Q. How much does it cost to refinish 1,000 square feet of hardwood floors?

Refinishing 1,000 square feet of hardwood flooring costs between $3,000 and $8,000. This includes the cost of sanding the existing floor, applying finish to the hardwood floor, and sealing.

Q. How often should you refinish hardwood floors?

It’s best to refinish hardwood floors every 8 to 12 years to protect the material and get the most life out of a hardwood floor.