Answers before you call.

Most Triangle homes land between $3.50 and $6.00 per square foot, so a 1,000 square foot main level runs roughly $3,500 to $6,000. Condition, stain color, and stair work move the number. Elder measures on site and writes one price down — no change orders unless you approve them first.

Three working days for a typical 1,000 to 1,400 square foot floor: sanding on day one, then a coat a day. Stain adds a day because it needs 12 hours to cure before finish goes over it. Multi-level homes and stair work run four to six days, scheduled in writing before we start.

Most families do. We seal doorways with plastic, run dust collection on every machine, and work room by room where the layout allows. Water-based finish is low odor and dry to the touch in two hours, walkable in 24. Refinishing an entire main level at once is the exception.

Every 8 to 12 years for a normal household, sooner in an entry or kitchen with dogs and grit. The trigger is finish wear, not wood wear: once you see dull gray traffic lanes or water darkening the board, the finish is gone and the wood underneath is taking damage.

Usually, yes. We match species, cut, board width, and thickness, weave the new boards into the old rather than butting a seam, then sand and finish the whole area as one floor. Done right, the repair disappears. Seamless matching is the work clients most often call us back for.

Yes. Once the floor is sanded to bare wood, any stain is on the table — neutralizing the orange out of 1970s red oak, going pale and modern, or going dark. We brush samples on your actual floor first, because the same stain reads differently on red oak than on white oak.

Refinishing costs roughly a third of replacement and keeps the wood you already own. A solid 3/4-inch floor can be sanded 4 to 6 times in its lifetime. Replacement only makes sense when the boards are worn past the tongue, structurally rotted, or you want a different species entirely.

Yes. Elder comes out, measures every room, checks board thickness at a vent cut, and talks through stain and finish options. You get a written price within two days, and it is the price you pay. There is no fee, no deposit to schedule the visit, and no sales pitch.