{"id":21353,"date":"2021-01-28T16:27:34","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T00:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=21353"},"modified":"2021-01-31T16:36:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T00:36:37","slug":"cost-to-refinish-hardwood-floors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/cost-to-refinish-hardwood-floors\/","title":{"rendered":"Refinishing Hardwood Floors: A Cost Guide for This \u2018Solid as Oak\u2019 Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daily traffic, scratches and marks, and discoloration from the sun can cause your hardwood floors to look a little beat up as the years go on. Because flooring sets the tone for your whole home and hardwood remains a top wish list item<\/a> among buyers year after year, this is not a beloved home feature you should let fall into disrepair.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, hardwood is like a cat with multiple lives to live. Industry hardwood floor leader Bona estimates you can refinish your hardwood floors four to six times<\/a> before you need to fully replace them. Since it\u2019s recommended that you refinish every seven to 10 years, you can probably squeeze, at a minimum, 28 years out of your existing hardwood.<\/p>\n

Refinishing, however, isn\u2019t as simple as taking a bucket of top coat and sloshing it around with a mop. It involves a multi-step process to sand, stain, and finish the floors with a polyurethane coating for shine and protection. And it requires technical training for the best results.<\/p>\n

As you set out to restore your flooring to its full beauty (and resale value!) we\u2019ve put together this budgeting guide on the cost to refinish hardwood floors, including insights from a professional floor refinisher on how he typically puts together quotes for the job.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
<\/a> Source: (Julia Kicova \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Floor refinishing cost overview<\/h2>\n

Variables like how damaged and old your flooring is will alter the scope and cost of your individual refinishing project. However, for planning purposes, it can help to have a ballpark range in mind so you can budget accordingly. We collected estimates from the web\u2019s most trusted remodeling cost sites, which aggregate project quotes from actual homeowners across the U.S.:<\/p>\n

Source: <\/b>HomeAdvisor
\nAverage cost to refinish floors professionally:<\/b> $1,750<\/a>
\nAverage cost refinish hardwood floors DIY: <\/b>$500-$1,000
\nAverage cost per square foot:<\/b> $3-$8
\nLow and high-end refinishing range: <\/b>$600-$4,000
\nMethodology: <\/b>Over 16,000 self-reporting users collected HomeAdvisor\u2019s cost data for refinishing hardwood floors.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/b>Thumbtack
\nAverage cost to refinish floors professionally:<\/b> $1,500<\/a>
\nAverage cost per square foot:<\/b> $3
\nLow and high-end refinishing range: <\/b>$450-$4,939
\nMethodology: <\/b>Thumbtack tracks and collects professional quotes for projects and used 200,000 professional quotes for refinishing projects in the past year.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/b>HomeGuide
\nAverage cost to refinish floors professionally:<\/b> $1,550<\/a>
\nAverage cost refinish hardwood floors DIY: <\/b>$900
\nAverage cost per square foot:<\/b> $3-$5
\nLow and high-end refinishing range: <\/b>$540-$3,118
\nMethodology: <\/b>HomeGuide tracks millions of user-submitted project estimates and correlates them with local professional estimates to deliver an accurate national average.<\/p>\n

Cost breakdown by component<\/h2>\n

Each floor refinishing project will look a little different cost-wide, but here are the main items you\u2019ll end up paying for:<\/p>\n