What It Costs to Refinish Hardwood Floors

Per-square-foot ranges in the Triangle

Screen and recoat — abrading the existing finish and adding a fresh coat — runs $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot. It only works if the finish is worn but not breached, and it does not remove scratches that reach the wood.

A full sand and refinish in a natural color runs $3.50 to $5.00. Adding stain puts it at $4.50 to $6.50 because staining adds a day and demands a cleaner sand. Floors needing board replacement, matching, or water-damage flattening run $5.50 to $8.50.

Stairs are priced per tread, typically $70 to $130 each depending on whether risers and rail are included.

What moves the price up

Small rooms and heavy furniture, because the cost is in mobilization and edge work, not open field. Pet stains that have gone through the finish into the wood. Prior repairs done badly. Multiple levels. Old shellac or wax finishes that gum up abrasives. Rift and quartersawn species that need finer grits.

What moves it down: large open runs, an empty house, a floor that has never been stained, and scheduling in a window that fits an existing route.

How to compare two quotes fairly

Ask how many grits and how many finish coats. Three grits and three coats is not the same job as two and two, even when the square footage line matches. Ask whether the price includes stain sampling on your floor, edge and closet work, shoe molding removal, and dust collection.

Ask who is running the machine. A quote is only worth what the person holding the sander knows. On our jobs, that is Elder.

Estimate your floor

Move the slider to your approximate area and pick the scope closest to your floor.