Refinishing is the single biggest reason hardwood lasts decades.
When the surface starts to show wear—dullness, scratches, traffic patterns—refinishing returns the floor to a near-new appearance. Most homeowners with hardwood will refinish at least once over the life of the floor.
The Short Answer
If the wood under the finish is structurally sound, refinish. At $4 to $8 per square foot in Ontario, against the $7.50 to $11.50 most of our new hardwood installations land at, it costs roughly half of replacement and returns the floor to a near-new appearance. This is the reason a hardwood floor is bought once where other floors are bought repeatedly.
The signals worth acting on are the general ones: dulling that has spread across the whole floor, scratches everywhere you look, traffic paths reading as matte lanes through a glossier surround, and spills starting to leave dark marks in the wood — that last one meaning the finish has already worn through. Any two together is the point to have it looked at.
Plan for 3 to 5 days per room and another 2 to 7 days of curing before furniture comes back. And expect a good refinisher to occasionally tell you not to bother: a floor sanded four times already, or one sitting over a moisture problem nobody has dealt with, is a floor where the money goes further on replacement.
Why Hardwood Can Be Refinished When Other Floors Cannot
Hardwood is the only flooring type that can be refinished. The top layer is sanded down, removing the existing finish and a thin layer of wood, exposing fresh wood beneath. A new finish is then applied.
It is worth being clear about what is actually being replaced, because the trade sells this backwards. The wood does not wear out. The finish does. Our hard-surface buyer puts it flatly: there is not a hardwood floor installed anywhere on the planet where the wood layer has been worn through by footsteps. What you are looking at when a floor looks tired is a urethane coat that has been walked through, and refinishing is how that coat gets replaced. The wood removed along with it is the cost of getting at it, not the point of the exercise.
The result is a floor that looks essentially new. Wear paths disappear. Scratches sand out. Stains in the finish are removed. The floor’s life resets—and the cycle can repeat several times over the life of the floor.
This is why we would expect 50 to 100 years from a solid floor and rather less from an engineered one — not because the wood wears out at different rates, but because solid has more resets in it.
Signs Your Floor Needs Refinishing
Most floors start showing these 7 to 15 years after the previous finish, depending on traffic and care. Any two of them together is usually the point to have it looked at:
- The finish has dulled across the whole floor, not in patches.
- Scratches are everywhere instead of isolated — you have stopped noticing individual ones.
- Traffic paths read as matte lanes through a glossier surrounding finish. This is usually the first thing anyone actually sees.
- Spills leave dark spots or stains in the wood — which means the finish has already worn through and the wood is taking the damage directly.
- Deep cleaning no longer brings it back to where it was.
How Many Times Can Hardwood Be Refinished?
| Floor | Refinishings available | What limits it |
|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood, 3/4 inch | 4 to 6 over its life | Total board thickness above the tongue |
| Engineered, over 4 mm | Three or more | Wear-layer thickness |
| Engineered, 3 to 4 mm | Two | Wear-layer thickness |
| Engineered, 2 to 3 mm | One | Wear-layer thickness |
| Engineered, under 2 mm | None | A sanding exposes the substrate |
Each pass removes roughly 1/32 inch of wood. A 3/4 inch solid floor carries about 1/4 inch above the tongue and groove, which is where the 4-to-6 figure comes from — not a rule of thumb, just arithmetic. That is the arithmetic behind a 50-to-100-year solid floor and a 25-to-40-year engineered one.
What Refinishing Actually Involves, and How Long It Takes
Refinishing is a multi-step process, and the part people underestimate is not the sanding — it is the curing:
- Clear the room. All furniture out.
- Sanding — progressively finer grits, three to four passes typical. About a day for most rooms.
- Stain, if the colour is changing — a day, plus drying.
- Three coats of finish, water-based or oil-based polyurethane, with curing time between each. One to two days.
- Final cure — 2 to 7 days before furniture returns and normal use resumes.
A single room runs 3 to 5 days end to end. The home is partly unusable throughout, and if several rooms are being done at once that needs planning before the crew arrives, not on the second morning.
How Much Refinishing Costs in Ontario
Standard refinishing in Ontario typically runs $4 to $8 per square foot, against the $5.50 to $19.50 a new hardwood floor costs installed. Custom stain colours, repair work such as replacing damaged boards, and complex layouts all add to that base. One caveat worth stating plainly: the $4 to $8 is the going rate in Ontario, and we hold no figure of our own for it, unlike the installation figure beside it. Even at the top of its range it sits below what most of our new hardwood installations cost, which is what makes it such a strong value on a floor that is otherwise structurally sound.
A floor that looks tired and a floor that has run out of thickness are different problems wearing the same symptom. Have a consultant assess the floor before you book a week of disruption — in-home visits on request.
Refinish or Replace?
| Refinish when | Replace when |
|---|---|
| The wood itself is structurally sound | Boards are damaged beyond repair |
| An engineered wear layer still has thickness left | The wear layer has been used up |
| The floor type still suits the home | You want a different species, width or style |
| There is no significant water damage | Water has reached the wood, not just the finish |
The honest version of this conversation is that a good refinisher will sometimes tell you not to refinish. A floor that has been sanded four times already, or one sitting over a moisture problem nobody has dealt with, is a floor where the money goes further on replacement. Where the damage is localised rather than general, board-level repair is often the cheaper answer than either.
What Goes Wrong, and the Conditions That Prevent It
Successful refinishing needs the right conditions in the house, not just the right crew. Indoor humidity should be stable in the 35 to 55 percent range during the work and after it. The home should be at normal occupied temperature, and the same conditions that make refinishing succeed are the ones that keep a floor stable through an Ontario winter in the first place. Any significant moisture issue needs addressing first — whatever caused the original finish to fail will do the same to the new one. Four failure modes account for almost all of the disappointing outcomes:
- Refinishing without fixing the cause — the commonest and the most expensive, because the new finish fails on the same timetable as the old one.
- Choosing a stain colour without testing it on the actual floor. Stain reads differently on your species, in your light, at your sheen.
- Underestimating the disruption. Three to five days per room is a real number.
- Coming back too soon. Furniture on a finish that has not cured is the most common way a brand-new floor gets its first permanent mark.
Planning the Project
- Have the floor assessed and confirm it is actually suitable for refinishing.
- Settle stain and finish, tested on the floor itself.
- Plan the household logistics — where people and furniture go for the week.
- Confirm the cure schedule in writing, and hold to it.
Refinishing is the reason a hardwood floor is bought once. It is worth the disruption it causes, and it is worth doing on the floor’s schedule rather than waiting until the wood underneath has started taking the damage itself. The hardwood flooring guide for Ontario homes covers where refinishing sits in the life of a floor.
Related Guides
A few other guides connected to this topic:
- Hardwood Flooring Guide for Ontario Homes (Solid, Engineered, Species, Finishes) — The complete hardwood pillar.
- Wide Plank vs Narrow Plank Hardwood: Style, Performance & Cost — Direct comparison with related materials.
- Why Hardwood Floors Develop Gaps in Winter (and What to Do About It) — Closely related topic in this category.
- Hardwood Floor Maintenance Guide: How to Clean and Protect Hardwood Floors Over Time — Closely related topic in this category.
- Layering Rugs Over Hard Floors: How to Add Comfort, Style & Balance to Your Space — Design coordination guidance.
- Do Area Rugs Protect Hardwood Floors? How Rugs Prevent Scratches, Wear & Long-Term Damage — Closely related topic in this category.
- Flooring Installation Services — Our sell-and-install service — measuring, an itemized quote, and certified installation handled as part of your purchase.
- Why Work With Alexanian — A century of flooring and 17 Ontario showrooms behind every recommendation.
Thinking About Refinishing Your Hardwood Floors?
The best way to choose what’s right for your home is to see the options side by side. Book an in-store appointment at one of our 17 Ontario showrooms and one of our consultants will walk you through what fits your space, your needs, and your budget — or request an in-home visit if that’s easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to refinish hardwood floors?
Standard refinishing in Ontario typically runs $4 to $8 per square foot, against the $5.50 to $19.50 a new hardwood floor costs installed. Custom stain colours and repairs add to base pricing.
How many times can hardwood be refinished?
Solid hardwood refinishes 4 to 6 times. Engineered depends entirely on the wear layer: three or more above 4 mm, two at 3 to 4 mm, one at 2 to 3 mm, and none below that.
How long does refinishing take?
A typical room takes 3 to 5 days for the process, plus 2 to 7 days of additional curing before normal use.
Is refinishing better than replacing?
When the wood is structurally sound, refinishing typically costs less than half of replacement and produces near-new results.
How much wood is removed each time hardwood is refinished?
A professional floor sander removes 1 to 2 mm of wood on each pass. Solid hardwood at 3/4 inch has roughly a quarter inch of wood above the tongue and groove — enough for 4 to 6 refinishings before the floor cannot be safely sanded again. Engineered above 4 mm supports three or more; below 2 mm the first pass would reach the substrate, so there are none.
Can I stay in my home during refinishing?
It is possible but disruptive. The work area is unusable. Adjacent rooms can have dust and odour. Sanding noise is significant. Most homeowners stay elsewhere for at least the sanding and finishing days. By the time furniture returns and full curing is complete, normal use can resume—but this is typically a week-long disruption to plan around.
