Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors really enhance the appearance of your home, and also add to the house's value. However, after a substantial amount of time, the hardwood floor becomes dull and loses its shine. Worn or bare spots and dirt are likely to appear over time. In such a situation, the best way to get the shine and smoothness back as it was before is to refinish the hardwood floors.

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

Refinishing hardwood floors is generally taken as a part of the home improvement project. If you are thinking of getting your home's floor refinished, you can either give the task to a professional or can consider it a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project. If you prefer to do the task yourself, you can surely save a lot of cash on the contract expenses which mainly include the labor charges that may differ from locality to locality. However, for doing it yourself, you would need certain tools and equipment like the drum sander, a buffer, and other essential materials.

Generally in refinishing hardwood flooring, it is recommended to get the job done by a professional contractor. This is because the project consists a lot of dust work, which if done by you, can cause harm to your health. Professionals have specific systems that take care of the air quality of your home during the hardwood refinishing. These equipment are known as dust extraction systems. Some professional contractors might use conventional sanding systems which have bags attached to the equipment. However, this is not an effective measure of getting rid of the dust present indoors throughout the refinishing procedure.

Average Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors

When you think of getting the hardwood flooring refinished, you most importantly need to consider the cost. There are several determinants to be considered in order to get a general estimate of the cost. The overall expenses of the project count on aspects such as the condition which the floor to be worked on is in, the typical and additional services you opt for, the location where you stay, what kind of a professional contractor do you choose, the labor costs in your neighborhood, and similar others.

If you hire a contractor, the cost of applying a re-coat on the floor can be around a dollar per square foot. So, if you want to get a 15x15 feet room re-coated or screened, you would need to spend approximately $200 to $250. But if the floor to be worked upon has worn out considerably, you may be charged a little extra. The average cost ranges from $2 to $4 per square foot. So, for refinishing a 15x15 feet room, you would need to spend $350 to $900. The refinishing procedure usually consists of sanding down the wood and applying 2-3 coats of finish. If you hire a top quality professional, the aggregate expenses of the total project can go up to $900 to $1,200. In hiring a professional contractor, you need to note that most part of the overall expenses is the labor charges. In some cases, the labor charges may even be around $3 to $4 per square foot.

If you consider the cost in a DIY project, the expenses can vary according to what type of tools and materials you use. You would generally need to rent a sander, a floor buffer, and other necessary items. Renting a sander may cost you about $150 to $250, whereas renting a buffer might cost you approximately $50 to $100. You also need to note that these rental charges may increase depending on the duration the project.

If you consider the refinishing as a DIY project, you may save on the overall cost to refinish hardwood floors, but you also need to think about the dust being present in the home's indoors till the project gets over. You might even need to take the help of professional cleaning services for getting rid of all the dust and dirt.