Refinishing hardwood floors – how long does it take?
Hardwood floor refinishing – Length of time
One of the most common questions is I get is “How long does it take to refinish hardwood flooring?” Smart customers ask this question and plan ahead; others don’t realize the length of time and therefore need to postpone the project as they have not planned well.
First, it all depends on what type of polyurethane you use - oil based polyurethane vs. water based polyurethane (read this article for more info). The quick synopsis is that oil based polyurethane takes longer and importantly LASTS LONGER (and more people prefer the look of oil based poly and it’s less expensive. So for these reasons, I think it’s usually ideal to allow enough time to do oil based polyurethane.
Oil based polyurethane – length of time to refinish hardwood:
In general, it will usually take 3-5 days to refinish hardwood floors with an oil based polyurethane (+ drying time), pending on whether there is a stain/how dark the stain is/how humid it is and how many coats of polyurethane you apply. Often, when, it natural (no stain), with 3 coats of polyurethane, it can be done in 3 sequential days (allowing 24 hrs for each coat to dry) when the weather is dry/not humid. Each coat of polyurethane usually needs 24 hrs to dry and a stain will need 24 hrs to dry…but if it’s a darker stain, it could take 36 or even 48 hrs for the stain to dry. So, in the case of a dark stain that needs 2 days to dry and if you apply 3 coats of poly, you are up to 5 days.
Most places can sand up to 1000 sq ft per day, so if you have a large area (e.g. 3,000 sq ft), you may add up to 2 more days. Alternatively, sometimes we can double up on the crews to reduced the elapsed time frame.
Please note that this general timeline can vary based on many factors, including the weather (if it’s humid, it will take longer for each coat to dry), the species of wood (pine and maple will often take longer and require a conditioner and sometimes even another coat of stain), type of wood (e.g. herringbone and parquet can take longer) and whether any other additional work is needed (e.g. repair work, steps, ripping up carpet/tack strips/staples, etc).
Drying time after the floors are refinished:
After you’ve refinished your hardwood floors, you need to wait before walking on them and/or moving (or returning furniture). At a minimum, you should wait at least 24 hrs before walking on the floors; for hours 24-48, it’s best to wear socks only (no shoes, no bare feet). Ideally, you should wait a total of 4 days before moving furniture back. This is to allow enough time for the floors to dry and cure. Can you move furniture back after 2 days? Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Because the refinishing process takes a while and the areas to be done and you can not have access to these rooms/nor move furniture in (and because the process is a bit messy and it smells), most people opt to refinish their floors BEFORE they move (ideal) or else wait until they will be away on vacation (for at least a week).
If you understand the process, you can plan ahead. We work with many new home buyers, and it is ideal if you can get the flooring contractor in BEFORE the closing, so that you can get an estimate and plan for the work to start a day or two after closing. And, it’s critical that you plan ahead so there is time AFTER closing and BEFORE you need to move in. Many are able to schedule these estimates with their buyer agent when there are already planned events (e.g. inspection, appraisal, walk through). Other times, floor plans and square footage are enough to do an estimate. (It’s ideal not to burden the real estate agent with additional trips). It’s unfortunate when someone calls me right after they closed and they tell me they need to move in just a few days later…it’s usually not possible to do the work and allow for proper drying time. But, if they had planned ahead, we might have been able to solve and save them money.
Water based polyurethane – length of time to refinish hardwood:
The largest benefit to water based polyurethane is that it dries faster. So, if you are in a huge rush, sometimes this can solve your time challenges. It usually only takes about 2 days to refinish hardwood floors with water based polyurethane. (Some places will do it in 1 day, but I would recommend staying away from those places…it will last longer if you allow more drying time, and each coat needs an extra 2-4 hrs to dry.) You can usually move furniture in 24 hrs later with water based polyurethane.
As mentioned above, there are some other items that can lengthen the process (e.g. square footage, type of wood, rip up, repair work, etc.)
Conclusion:
Plan ahead for your refinishing project so that you understand how long it will take and can consciously choose whether you want oil based or water based polyurethane, and so you can determine which contractor you want to work with (rather than be forced into which contractor is available and which type of polyurethane can meet your time frame.
If you live in Westchester County or Stamford CT area and need to refinish your hardwood floors, feel free to give The Flooring Girl a call at 914-937-2950. (For out of state customers, please call 914-407-3899.)
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Refinishing hardwood floors – how long does it take?
TheFlooringGirl
My name is Debbie Gartner, and I'm known as "The Flooring Girl." I own my own flooring store that serves Westchester NY and Fairfield CT counties. We install hardwood flooring, carpet, tile flooring, laminate, bamboo and cork flooring. We also refinish hardwood floors. We are a shop at home flooring store. You can call us at 914-937-2950 to schedule a free flooring consultation or email us at FCI.westchester@gmail.com. Let us "bring the store to your door." If you are calling outside of Westchester/Fairfield Counties, please contact us at 914-407-3899.
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Great summary, thank you!
Hi floor girl are you married lol just kidding. I am planning to refinish my solid oak door sand it yesterday and want to paint it tomorrow should I have it flat or do it while its hung? Door is over heavy and I hate to have my house without a door overnight. If you have any suggestions please tell me. I want to a good job, thanks so much. Marc
Hi Marc. We don’t refinish doors, so I’m not the best person to ask. But, it seems to me, that it would be best to detach it so that you sand more evenly and stain/poly goes on/dries more evenly. Hope that helps.
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[...] How long does it take to refinish hardwood floors? [...]
Hi Flooring Girl…just wondering…I’m refinishing my oak stairs…sanded it all down with sandpaper…no chemicals as it only had a light coat of natural colour varnish. I have stained all the steps and handrails in a dark waterbased stain…waited 24 hours and am now applying a waterbased polyurethane varnish….as I’m applying the varnish, the stain is getting pulled up…does that mean I should wait for the stain to cure longer? any info you give would be greatly appreciated….Thanks so much!!!!
Marcie – Unfortunately, you may need to start again. You need to make sure that the area is fully sanded (which it may have been) and then apply stain, and then allow it to fully dry – at least 24 hrs…but you might even need longer, especially if it’s darker. You may want to wait 48 hrs to be safe. Then, apply the poly.
If it’s coming up, you will want to start all over again.
I’m not sure if it’s because you didn’t properly sand (you may need to sand multiple times w/ finer grits) or if it didn’t dry enough or both. Good luck with your project.
Debbie
This is great information for those who are debating about refinishing floors vs new ones …. the time factor, as well as expense all weighs into play. I appreciate you breaking it down to types of finishes too.
Hello Flooring Girl,
I love the site!
I would like to add hardwood floors (replace white carpet) to a house that was built in 2005. The house has an open floor plan and already has hardwood in two areas that is seperated by the white carpet, the entrance and the kitchen. The hardwood floors are 3/4 thick by 2 1/4 wide. I am not sure if they are prefinished or were sanded and finished on site. The existing wood is not in perfect shape, but is very good. My question is, should I try and find a prefinished solid hardwood and match the existing flooring (I would have to take up some of the existing floor where it meets the current carpet and “weave in” the new floor in order to make the transistion from the new floor to the old floor look acceptable) or should I just buy unfinished hardwood to replace the carpet then have the entire floor refinished? Hopefully all of this makes sense. I would love to be able to match with prefinished wood since we have a newborn in the house and would hate to have to leave while the work is being done? Can you give me any advice? Also, if we do have to sand the existing floor, would you use a orbital sander or a drum sander (the existing floor is in very good shape). Not sure I could do it myself, but was just wondering?
Thanks,
David
David – Putting convenience aside (which in your case may be a very real issue), then I would try to do unfinished hardwood, especially since it needs to be woven in. And, I would try to refinish all of the floors so they match. That will look the best – it will be the most uniform by far + you’ll be able to get the other floors in better shape (so you won’t need to worry abt the for later). It also gives you the option to change color, if you want to.
If you can’t do it the optimal way (due to family conditions), then you could try to match w/ prefinished, but it’s not going to look right. I mean I suppose you could do this, and later refinish all the floors so they match. You could also see if it’s possible to do a flush saddle so that you don’t need to weave in. If you are going to weave in, you really should refinish so think abt the direction of wood/transitions in conjunction with method.
If you are going to refinish the floors, I would NOT do it yourself. That is a recipe for disaster and probably your worst option. Most people that attempt to refinish the floors themselves will NEVER do it again, and the quality will be poor…which means that you will need to refinish again soon and you are not really saving any money and you are getting inferior results. But, worse than that, most homeowners who try this actually permanently damage the wood floors while trying this, Not worth it. A lot a risk for very little savings (sanding is not that expensive)
BTW, it doesn’t matter if your current floors are prefinished or unfinished. If they are solid, they can be refinished either way.
I hope this helps. It would be easier if I was there and could see the rooms/layout and conditions of floors. I’m betting weaving in looks better, but you will need to make the assessment on aesthetics vs. convenience. Same goes with prefinished vs. unfinished. If you go unfinished, it will be smooth everywhere. If you do prefinished, you will have microbevel edges. And, finally, unfinished will give you more protection in kitchen area as it is fully sealed with polyurethane.
Hope that helps.
Thanks so much for the advice. We are going to install unfinished wood and have it professionally finished. Thanks again!
David
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I think I need help…I did the new fad, Brown Bag Floors, and it looks great! However, after the polyurethane has been applied (and seems to be dry) we’re noticing that when we walk on it, in white socks, there is a tinge of brown left on our socks…….I’m assuming from the stain? Should we let it dry longer, or apply more poly? I’m guessing the process (stain, dry, polyurethane) is the same, so I’m wondering when you refinish/stain/poly your floors, you have a residue in your socks for a few days before its completely cured. The website I followed said it takes a week to cure, but that necessary light foot travel is possible, it it’s dry to the touch. Our bathroom and bedrooms are at the end of the hallway we did, so the only foot traffic we’re doing it occasional trips to the bathroom, and then going to bed. Other than that, we’re living out of our kitchen/dining room. Any help you could give would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Kelly – I have NEVER heard of that happening. And, either you did something very wrong when refinishing the floors (and you may need to redo them) or you have very dirty floors that are showing up on your socks.
I’m not familiar w/ Brown Bag floors (unless you are saying the color looks like brown bags), but normally when you use regular stain, it takes 24-48 hrs for the stain to dry. You need to make sure the stain is fully dry BEFORE applying any poly. (and if it didn’t dry before that, you probably need to start again). Then, you apply the first coat of poly and let it dry for 24 hrs, then you screen the floors and let it dry for 24 hrs. (you could repeat that last step for the last coat). After that, you should be able to walk on the floors w/ socks and you should not have issues w/ stain coming up on your socks. The stain is under the poly.
The curing has nothing to do w/ whether the stain comes off on your socks. It should not be taking this long to dry unless either you did not follow the process correctly or if you don’t have a standard type of stain. I did have a customer once that went to a paint store and they custom made a stain which seemed to be mixed with paint and it was a disaster and took forever to dry. They had refinished the floors 3 times before I got there. In the end, the floors were ruined and they had to be replaced due to the bad advice and stain they got from the paint store.
If this is a do-it-yourself job, I would highly recommend that you call in a local professional to take a look. Chances are you will need to completely refinish the floors and start from scratch.
[...] How long does it take to sand and refinish hardwood floors? [...]
Hi Debbie, You’re the most helpful and knowledgeable Flooring Person that I know. Just out of curiosity, what’s the approximate cost to replace a 1000sf wood floor compared to the cost of restaining a similar quality existing wood floor? It seems like replacement is a better solution, with no matching stain issues, less labor, less time and NO SANDING. Thank you and best wishes always.
Thx so much Richard. Replacing hardwood is much more expensive option. The prices can vary a lot pending on area of the country, but generally, it would probably cost 4-6 times more to replace the wood vs. refinishing it.
If it’s solid hardwood, more often than not, the wood can be easily sanded and refinished. It’s certainly inconvenient, but it’s usually has a huge impact on the home and very reasonably priced.
We redid our parquet floors in philadelphia after 20 years. They were sanded and stainded well. It happened to rain and snow and the poly is taking forever to dry. it is the minwax quick dry. last coat was sunday and it is friday and it is still soft in some areas. and a little wrinkled in some areas. we did two rooms. do we need to restrip and redo to get the wrinkles out of a few and will it just take longer to cure or did we just mess up the floors. it is sunny today..
Unfortunately, yes, it sounds like you probably need to start over and resand the floors. You should not have wrinkles. Often, wrinkles occur when the STAIN has not had a long enough time to dry before the first coat of poly goes on. Usually stain takes 1-2 days to dry, and it sounds like you didn’t wait long enough. (It could also be that too much stain was applied…this may also be related to the drying time). Regardless of whether it’s regular poly or quick dry, if it was applied too quickly, it can cause the wrinkles and since the bottom layer hasn’t dried properly, there can be issues throughout. (also, I would try a different brand of poly – minwax is known for stains, not poly).
I’m not sure if you did yourself or if you are working w/ a professional…I’m guessing/hoping it’s not a professional (since they should know better). If you would like a professional, feel free to call my friend Jeff Bell in Cherry Hill, which I believe is near you. (856) 616-9566. He is the owner of Floor Coverings International in your area, and he’s been doing flooring for over 20 yrs.
How soon is it safe to put down a rug pad and a Persian rug on newly refinished hardwoods? (Red oak, Sherwin Williams stain, not sure what brand poly…men used respirators while applying poly). Timeline: Thursday-stain and one coat poly: Friday- second coat of poly. House temp at 70 degrees, no one will enter the house until Monday 8AM (68 hours of drying).
Great question, Chris. I would wait a minimum of 2 weeks before putting area rugs down. It’s even better if you can wait a month. (I’m assuming this oak or a regular american hardwood…not sure if you meant the species is red oak or the stain color red oak (it is a stain color, too). If it’s an exotic hardwood such as brazilian cherry or brazilian walnut, I would wait 6 months…due to the darkening from the light.
Hi, I am wondering after refinishing hardwood floors, do you need to wait a certain length of time before installing area rugs, or is 7 days the magic number for rugs and floors.
Hi Geri. I advise my customers to wait a minimum of 2 weeks, but 30 days is even better. This allows the floors to properly cure.