Hardwood Floor Refinishing

As far as flooring is concerned, we believe hardwood flooring is the best. The timelessness and elegance have a way of upgrading the look and feel of your space. The organic warmth of wood floors can be made to look modern, high-end, classic, farmhouse, traditional and more.

Here at Arlington Hardwood Flooring, we see the beauty in helping you refinish your old hardwood floors. We help our clients refinish their floors so they don't have to replace them.

Signs It's Time For Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Your floors just don't look as great as the used to. (You may only need a cleaning, but our flooring contractors can assess this for you.)
Your floors are fading. If you move your area rug and you see a difference in color, then your finish is fading.
You see scratches or dents that are not just on the surface of the finish.
You can see where the finish has worn away.
Your floor has started to gray or turn really, really amber.
Water is no longer beading on your finish.
Your socks are getting caught on your floors or worse, you're getting splinters from your floors.
You floor no longer feels smooth, or you can feel tiny gaps between the boards.
Your floors look cloudy.

If your hardwood floors are in need of some good old tender love and care, then give us a call so we can run through the best options to get your floors looking good as new. Refinishing your hardwood floors extends their life and is much less expensive than installing new hardwood floors.

Dirty Floors

The reality of hardwood flooring is that when it looks good, it looks incredible. However, when the floors start to get dull and dirty they tend to look a little bit dingy. One of the things that people tend not to know is that when tracking dirty on your hardwood floors it leaves small scratch marks that get bigger over time. Without even realizing it, your hardwood floors become the prime candidate for refinishing. Fortunately for you, refinishing your floors can be relatively easy and straightforward when done by professionals like us here at Arlington Hardwood Flooring.

Which Finish Is Best For You

When it comes to hardwood flooring there is no standard blueprint for what type of wood to use or what type of finishes to apply. People have different tastes, preferences for how environmentally friendly products area, and requirements for durability. For example, your wooden floors could be a beautiful oak, or lovely cherry wood, or a deep walnut. You may have original pine floors, narrow planks, or wide planks. Your floor could be a standard design, herringbone, parquet, or even a basketball court!

The reality of it is that the type of wood you have is in direct correlation with which finish would suit it best. So if you aren't sure which finish works best for your wooden floors, then our team of wood flooring contractors would be more than happy to help you make the right choice.

Oil-Based Polyurethane

As we have established, there are different types of finishes for your floors, all with pros and cons, and all suited to different situations. For example, oil-based polyurethane is generally used commercial areas with a lot of foot traffic. It tends to be more shiny, which could be a pro or con, depending on your preferences.

One of the pros is that it is one of the cheaper options while adding a level of durability. It is also very easy to maintain and resists moisture which is a massive positive. As will all good things, it has its cons too, in that it is very slow drying, highly flammable and loses some color overtime and gradually starts turning slightly yellow or amber.

Water-Based Polyurethane

If you require a floor with a clear finish that alao dries quickly then water-based polyurethane is the right choice for you. This is a very popular option because of its low odor, and low VOC (it's better for the environment). It also offers a smooth finish which is a bit more matte and natural looking. It is also quite durable and doesn't turn yellow over time, as with its oil-based counterpart. Plus it looks amazing on Maple, gray or white washed floors. When considering the cons though, it must be noted that it doesn't last as long as oil.

How Does Hardwood Floor Refinishing Work?

All the furniture will need to be removed from the space. If you don't have a place to put your furniture, we can do the refinishing project in two parts, but it will take more time and cost a little more.
During the project we place plastic sheeting to keep mess down to a minimum.
We use dustless sanding equipment and techniques to limit the amount of dust in the area.
Once the sanding is done, the stain, if you opted for stain has dried and the finish is down
If you selected water based polyurethane you can walk on the floor with socks within 5 hours. After 3 days you can walk with shoes on, and put your furniture back.
If you selected oil based polyurethane you can walk on your floors in 24-28 hours with socks (depending on humidity). After 4-5 days pets and furniture may be on the floor.

Once your floors are freshly refinished you will want to remember to have your floors cleaned and recoated every couple years. This will extend the time you need between refinishing, keeps costs down, and extend the life of your floor.

We offer dustless hardwood floor refinishing in the Arlington, VA, Alexandria and Metro DC areas. Call or contact us today for a free quote!