The Pros and Cons of Refinishing Hardwood Floors vs. Replacing Them

Hardwood floors require routine maintenance, from daily cleanings to monthly and yearly deep scrubbing. Properly maintaining your hardwood floors can help them last longer and help protect your investment. But when it comes to refinishing floors vs. replacing them, it can be challenging to know which is best for your hardwood floors.

This article covers the advantages and disadvantages of refinishing and replacing hardwood floors. Whether you tackle your hardwood floors yourself or hire a professional, this guide gives the estimates you need to determine what you can afford.

If you want to keep your hardwood floors looking new, contact the experts at Hardwood Revival. Our dedicated experts can help answer any questions about refinishing or replacing your hardwood floors.

What is Hardwood Floor Refinishing?

Hardwood floor refinishing can be more cost-effective than replacement, especially if your floors are only minorly damaged. You can hire a professional to refinish your hardwood floors or complete the work yourself.

Refinishing hardwood floors requires a basic two-part process:

1. Preparing the wood by sanding it to remove imperfections
2. Applying stain (if desired) and polyurethane

Screening your hardwood floors can be done with a simple buffer and one or two coats of polyurethane. A handyman typically uses mid-grade polyurethane, while a licensed contractor tends to apply premium polyurethane. Refinishing your hardwood floors is more intensive than replacing them because you must work the same area multiple times. You must also ensure proper preparation for the polyurethane to adhere to and last for decades.

Pros and Cons of Refinishing Hardwood Floors

Refinishing your hardwood floors costs less than paying a professional to replace your hardwood floors entirely. However, refinishing is challenging between sanding, staining, and applying polyurethane.

The pros of refinishing hardwood floors include the following:

• Preservation of originality: Refinishing allows you to stick with the original wood, which can be an asset to your home's value, especially for historic homes.
• Cost-effectiveness: Hardwood refinishing is a small investment for potentially significant gains in your home's value. Plus, it's more affordable than replacement.
• Stain or re-stain: You can often deepen the color with stain when refinishing.
• Removes most imperfections: Refinishing your floors is enough to remove scratches, minor dents, and other defects.
• Less carpentry knowledge required: Refinishing requires less knowledge and expertise than replacing your hardwood.

The cons of refinishing hardwood floors include the following:

• Limited applications: You can only refinish your hardwood floors so many times. Not all hardwoods can be refinished.
• Potential for severe damage: If you plan on DIY-ing your hardwood floors, you can potentially damage the floors if you're not careful.
• Same aesthetic: While staining can deepen the hue of your floors, the overall aesthetic stays the same.
• Doesn't address underlying issues: Refinishing can't help with moisture, settling, expansion, insect infestations, cupping, crowning, and other underlying problems.
• Requires time: Even if you pay someone, you must stay out of that area until the polyurethane cures.
• Messy: Sanding, vacuuming, tacking, staining, and applying polyurethane can be extremely dirty, especially in DIY scenarios.

Is Replacing Your Hardwood Floors is an Option?

Many people take the opportunity to replace their hardwood floors with a new style that updates or modernizes their homes.

Replacement requires:

1. Removal of existing hardwood floors
2. Preparation of the underlying structures
3. Installation of the new hardwood materials
4. Sanding, staining, and applying polyurethane

Replace your hardwood floors if you experience the following:

• Cupping
• Crowning
• Delamination
• Moisture
• Excessive water damage (especially if it's stagnant for long periods)
• Mold
• Sun damage
• Extreme movement
• Underlying structural issues
• Insect infestations
• Improper installation

You should also replace your hardwood floors if there's not enough wood to sand down and refinish. If you must replace the floors due to underlying structural issues, properly seal the subfloor before installing the new hardwood floors.

Most hardwood floor replacements last two to three decades. Unless you've purchased engineered hardwood, you can refinish your floors anywhere from three to seven times before they will need replacing again.

Pros and Cons of Replacing Hardwood Floors

Replacing your hardwood floors requires more demolition work. You will pay more to replace your hardwood floors, but doing so can significantly improve the value and aesthetics of your home.

The pros of replacing hardwood floors include the following:

• Brand new floor: Reset the clock and get the wood you want.
• Increase your home's value: A new floor can increase the value of your home, especially if you plan on selling.
• Mitigates underlying issues: Avoid rot, decay, and moisture by replacing your hardwood floors.
• Requires less time to replace: As extensive as replacement sounds, many prefer it to refinish, which requires multiple chemicals and elbow grease.
• Updated look: You can meet modern standards and take advantage of modern and endless possibilities to match your home's aesthetic.
• Less downtime: After replacing your hardwood floors, you're typically good to go after a few hours.

The cons of replacing hardwood floors include:

• Still requires maintenance: Replacing your hardwood floors doesn't mean you can slack on routinely maintaining the finish.
• Expensive: Replacement costs can get costly.
• Requires proper pre-installation care for wood: The new hardwood floors must acclimate to your climate before they're installed to ensure proper fit and finish.
• Limits to refinishing replacement wood: Thinner engineered wood may not be refinished as often as wood from several years ago.

Should You Refinish or Replace Your Hardwood Floors?

Your budget often dictates whether or not you can afford replacement or if refinishing will have to suffice. You can save money if you stick with the wood you have. However, you can update your home's look with new (more expensive) hardwood materials.

Replacing or refinishing your hardwood floors requires time and a particular set of professional carpentry skills to do it right the first time. Sometimes paying a professional can be well worth the avoided headaches and aggravation.

Many contractors quote out replacing and refinishing hardwood floors by square footage. Stairs, tight spots, and other problem areas may cost more, depending on your chosen process.

If you're unsure whether you should refinish or replace your hardwood floors, contact the experts at Hardwood Revival. We're standing by to offer the advice you need to decide between refinishing and replacing your hardwood floors. We also provide deep cleaning services to keep your floors looking like new.

Invest More in Your Hardwood Floors

Are you debating between refinishing and replacing your hardwood floors? You're not alone, especially given the complexity of these processes. We hope this article helps you determine which option is best for you.

Call the Hardwood Revival experts at 888-647-2123 and schedule an on-site inspection. Our team of professionals will evaluate your hardwood floors to give you an accurate price quote. We also offer cleaning services to help keep your hardwood floors looking brand-new.