[Home](https://www.referralflooring.com/)/[Services](https://www.referralflooring.com/services)/Refinishing Before you replace it # Hardwood floor refinishing: a worn finish is not a worn floor. Most tired hardwood in Burlington and Hamilton houses is not worn out. The finish is. A solid floor can be sanded back to clean wood and finished again several times over its life, and a floor whose finish is dull but not worn through can often be recoated without sanding at all. Both cost a fraction of a new floor, and both are things we do. Refinishing competes with replacing the floor, not with other installers. We will tell you at the free estimate which one yours is a candidate for, including when the honest answer is that it has had its last sand. That happens, and it is better said in your living room than discovered halfway through. Three levels of work ## Recoat, sand and refinish, or repair and replace boards. ### Recoat Finish dull, not worn through - The existing finish is abraded and a fresh coat applied - No sanding to bare wood, so no dust storm and no lost thickness - Only possible if nothing has been put on the floor that stops the new coat sticking, see below - The cheap intervention, if it is done before the wear reaches the wood ### Sand and refinish Wear has reached the wood - Sanded back to clean wood, then stained if wanted and finished - Stain to match existing trim or a new colour altogether - Full subfloor screw-down first where the floor talks - Solid hardwood takes this several times; engineered depends on its wear layer ### Repair and board replacement Damage a coat will not hide - Water-damaged, cracked or pet-stained boards cut out and replaced - Replacement stock matched on species, grade, cut, width, thickness, bevel, sheen and colour[1] - Then the whole floor is sanded and finished so the repair disappears ### When we say no And mean it - A solid floor already sanded to the tongue - An engineered floor with a wear layer too thin to take a sander - A floor over an unresolved moisture problem, which will fail again whatever is done to the surface - Then the conversation moves to [new hardwood](https://www.referralflooring.com/hardwood-floor-installation), honestly The measurable part ## What the guidelines say about repairs and recoats. ### Replacement boards have to match in moisture, not just colour The guidelines require that the moisture content of replacement boards be no more than 2 percent different from the existing flooring, and if the difference is greater, the new flooring is allowed to acclimate until it is within 2 percent.[1] A patch that goes in wetter than the floor around it shrinks and shows a gap at every joint six months later. ### Why some floors cannot be recoated The guidelines warn that using a non-recommended cleaning product may ruin the intended appearance of the finish and may also cause finish adhesion problems when it is time for the floor to be recoated, and that excessive use of any wood floor cleaner can damage the floor.[1] Self-polishing acrylic waxes and products made for other flooring types are on the same do-not list.[1] A floor that has been waxed or over-cleaned for years may need full sanding purely because nothing new will stick to it. ### What decides how often Traffic, not a calendar. The guidelines describe the wear mechanism: particles have the potential to be ground into floors, damaging the finish, which is why dry dust mopping matters more than any product.[1] Recoat when the sheen goes and before the wear reaches the wood. The [care guide](https://www.referralflooring.com/cleaning-and-caring-for-floors) has the full list of what to use and what to keep off it, vinegar and steam included. ### The room after the finish A refinished floor is still solid wood and still wants 30% to 50% relative humidity and 60 to 80°F.[1] If seasonal gaps were part of why the floor looked tired, sanding does not fix them; humidity control does. See [gaps, cupping and what causes them](https://www.referralflooring.com/why-new-floors-squeak-cup-and-gap). Sources 1. National Wood Flooring Association, [Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines](https://nwfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/NWFA-Installation-Guidelines.pdf), revised 2025. Repair and board replacement matching criteria, replacement board moisture content, care and maintenance including the effect of non-recommended cleaners on recoating, and interior temperature and humidity. The NWFA publishes separate Sand and Finish Guidelines for the finishing work itself. Standards last read 9 September 2026 Related ## Read next. - [How often should hardwood be refinished, and can you skip the sandingYes, often. What prevents a recoat is contamination, not age.](https://www.referralflooring.com/cleaning-and-caring-for-floors) - [What is under the carpet in an older houseSometimes original hardwood good enough to refinish, the cheapest good outcome there is.](https://www.referralflooring.com/flooring-order-of-work) - [Matte vs satin: which hides moreMatte. And why sheen has nothing to do with durability.](https://www.referralflooring.com/which-flooring-to-choose) - [New solid hardwoodIf the floor really has had its last sand, this is what replacing it involves.](https://www.referralflooring.com/hardwood-floor-installation) Next step ## Find out which one your floor is a candidate for. The estimate is free and it happens at the house, because there is no way to judge a floor's remaining thickness from a photo. [Book a free estimate](https://www.referralflooring.com/#book) [Call 289-689-4242](tel:+12896894242) Phone [289-689-4242](tel:+12896894242) Email [referralflooring@gmail.com](mailto:referralflooring@gmail.com) Warranty 1 year on floor repair and installation. 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