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Professional hardwood floor refinishing.

Floor Refinishing vs. Restoration


Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing

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So you know your floors need help—but how do you know if they need to be restored or just refinished? There are several factors to keep in mind when making this decision and finding professional hardwood floor refinishing. Understanding the needs of your hardwood floors can save you thousands of dollars and a good deal of stress.

Determine What Your Floors Need

There are three main factors to consider when determining if you need floor refinishing or restoration: the condition of your floors, the age of your floors, and the type of hardwood.

Hardwood floors in homes built after the 1940s with light scuffs or scratches, some wear from foot traffic and have lost a bit of shine probably just need to be refinished. Floors installed before the 1940s with more significant signs of damage (deeper scratches from furniture, or floorboards that are warped or cracked, for instance) will likely need to be restored instead.

If you’re not sure what your floors need, consult with a professional hardwood floor refinishing company like Footprints Floors. We’ll be able to advise you on whether your floors need to be restored or just refinished and provide you with a free estimate for the work.

Footprints Floors providing beautiful, professional hardwood floor refinishing.

The Refinishing Process


Broken down, the steps to refinish a hardwood floor are very simple.

  • 1. Strip the floor of its current finishing.
  • 2. Sand or “screen” the floor to remove scratches or other signs of wear and tear from the surface.
  • 3. Give the floor a brand–new finish!

Refinishing a floor is not just a weekend project. Weather, the type of wood and the size of the floors you need refinished are all factors that play into how long a refinishing project takes. Also, despite the simplicity of the steps, a lot can go wrong. Uneven sanding or incorrect application of a finish can make your floors look worse than before.

As a professional hardwood floor refinishing company, the licensed contractors of Footprints Floors can get the job done quickly and correctly, so you aren’t inconvenienced in your home for long. And you can feel confident about the work done, so you don’t have to refinish your floors again for a long time.

The Restoration Process


Restoration of a hardwood floor is more labor intensive than refinishing. Hiring a company that understands different types of wood and how different kinds of damage will impact the restoration process is essential.

Some restoration steps are similar to refinishing—both require stripping away a current finish, sanding and applying a new finish. However, floor restoration involves more significant repairs and may even need patches of complete replacement. Depending on the depth of restoration required, these projects can take more than a week to complete.

Both refinishing and restoring floors are time–intensive, labor–intensive processes involving heavy, dangerous equipment. It is generally much more cost–effective and time–efficient to hire an outside contractor rather than attempt to do the job yourself.

The Best for Your Floor—and Your Budget Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Professional flooring refinishing near you - Footprints Floors.

There are many things that homeowners can do to care for the hardwood floors in their homes. For instance, regular cleaning of your floors can help keep them looking nice and prevent long–term damage. Sweeping with soft–bristled brooms, regular vacuuming to remove dirt, and mopping with specialty hardwood floor cleaning solutions can all work wonders on your floors.

Of course, even with care, hardwood floors are not impervious to damage. Your pets might scratch the surface. Water damage might cause a section of the floor to warp or have a loose board that wobbles. You might notice gaps appearing between planks over time and as the weather changes, causing the wood to expand or contract, or you might have dents in the wood from high foot traffic areas. Perhaps your floors just don't look as shiny and new as you'd like. When your own cleaning and maintenance doesn't go as far as they used to, it's time to refinish or even restore.

While it is possible to DIY hardwood refinishing and even restoration, someone without experience can easily damage a hardwood floor. Instead of paying for a costly repair, get it right the first time by calling a professional hardwood floor refinishing company. They'll get the job done right the first time.

Footprints Floors has years of experience working on all kinds of flooring in all types of conditions. From beautiful, rare mahogany floors in Victorian homes to the stunning red oak floors of a mid–century modern suburb house and everything in between, Footprints Floors can do the job right.

We're committed to providing high–quality finishes at the lowest possible rate in a reasonable amount of time. We work to save our clients stress (and money!) as we work to give them floors that look brand new! We won't offer you services you don't need and are confident you will be satisfied with the finished project. Contact us today for a free estimate on your hardwood floor refinishing or restoration project.

This beautiful spiral staircase was refinished by Footprints Floors.

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What Our Customers Say

Matt and his team installed floors in my home and did an amazing job prepping the floors and installing them and cleaning up afterwards! Highly recommend! My floors are beautiful! So happy I chose Footprint Floors!
Cindy Clonts 06/13/24 — google
Very patient and accommodating when it came to project timelines! Professional service and high-end finishing. Will be using again and recommending to anyone looking for quality work!
Jay Listerman 06/12/24 — google
Tony and his crew installed luxury vinyl plank throughout our condo and we just love it. They did a wonderful job in a timely manner. We would definitely use them again.
Sandy Memmott 06/12/24 — google
Knowledgeable staff and focused on the best approach for the floor and client.
Robert Daniels 06/12/24 — google
Great experience. Very thorough, professional, and at a great price.
Will Gere 06/12/24 — google
Tom and his Crew did a superior job repairing my floor, which had been water damaged. Looks like new!
Marcia Coomber 06/12/24 — google
Tom is very nice, knowledgeable, and very professional. He gave me all the information I needed to make a decision. The gentleman that came out to do the install was also very nice, professional and did a wonderful job. I would recommend them to anyone. If I ever need my floor done again I will be calling them.
Susan Adkison 06/12/24 — google
I can't say enough good things about Mick and this company. I mean the job was done beautifully. I hired his company to do my balcony and I couldn't be happier. He really goes above and beyond. I had surgery during the process and Mick toom care of so many things that were were supposed to do and never complained or charged us extra since he knew our situation. He was amazing, the subcontractors were all very nice and professional. Him and his team are the best!
Liset Casado 06/12/24 — google
The footprint team did an amazing job and was extremely communicative throughout the entire process. Very pleased with their professionalism and quickness in getting the job done right.
Michael D 06/12/24 — google
Had Footprints Floors install the backsplash on my new house. It turned out great! They were very professional and easy to work with. Very prompt in responses and getting the free estimate done and they were able to get the work scheduled very quickly. It took Andy one day to complete the backsplash and he did amazing!
Cayla Bostic-Bixby 06/12/24 — google
Mike and his crew came in and did an excellent job on our hard wood flooring. This was a very big job. They were efficient, honest, great communication during the entire project. Highly recommended.
Tieryn Trissel 06/11/24 — google
Matt, Melissa, Edgar and the entire team at Footprints Floors were awesome. From the minute I submitted a webform with interest to today when I made my final payment, they were responsive, considerate, easy to work with, listened to and understood what we were really hoping to achieve, and DELIVERED! Every time we walk in the doors to our home and see our new stairs we take a deep breath and relax knowing they are beautiful, protected, and done with high quality materials and craftsmanship. They were able to match (as closely as can be expected) the stain of the real wood to our LVP flooring throughout the rest of the home. I even called them back to ask if they could fix a few things that seemed like small misses, but would have bothered me daily, and they didn't hesitate - Edgar even came out on a Saturday morning to button things up. Price was fair - work is outstanding - experience is 5-star! Than you!!
Kelsey Maxon 06/11/24 — google
Aaron, Jose, and Orlando did an amazing job coordinating and resurfacing our prefinished flooring as well as installing beautiful hardwood stairs. The craftsmanship and skill speaks for itself and our floors are beautifully refinished. We will be working with them again for any future projects. Highly recommend
Meghan Ward 06/11/24 — google
Namita was the rep we met with from footprints. She is very knowledgeable, and kind. I was very impressed with her ideas and suggestions.
Michelle Going 06/11/24 — google
We found Footprints Floors through a Google search. We did their online free estimate request and was promptly contacted through a text to set up an appointment. Matt came within two days, sent a proposal within another two days, and was able to start the work within another week. We chose Footprint Floors to do a kitchen backsplash to upgrade our kitchen. The night before the project start date we received a text from Melissa, who was assigned to be the manager for the project. She detailed what to expect the next day. The day of the project, Matt introduced us to Fernando and his son, who did the work. Melissa, came later in the day to check on the progress and to see if Fernando needed anything. Fernando and his son were professional, took great care to protect the surrounding areas, did precise work, and cleaned up almost without a trace, inside and outside. We highly recommend giving Footprints Floors your consideration for your next project.
Chadwick Family 06/11/24 — google
Great experience having my kitchen floors redone by Footprint Flooring! Martin was great about explaining the process to me and recommended specific brands of flooring to achieve the look I was going for. The entire process was incredibly smooth from the measurement/quote to purchasing materials to installation day. I thought the price for the work done was incredibly reasonable and am very pleased with the outcome!
Rachel Slate 06/11/24 — google
Installation was great. Very easy, they do anything to please. Great experience.
Chris Reemmer 06/11/24 — google
What a great experience! Footprints set us up with a great mover that got everything out the day before and back in a week later. Our hardwood floors were a mess after 40 years of traffic. Huge black spots by all the doors have disappeared and the whole floor now shines of beautiful wood! I can’t recommend these guys more - they were great!
Christopher Woodcock 06/11/24 — google
Bob and his crew came out to restore some flooring, a previous tenant in my office building, had messed up. They went straight to work and man did they do an awesome job. Thank you guys for making my office experience that much better.
Christian Saucedo 06/11/24 — google
Joseph and Chris have been amazing to work with. They worked around our schedule and rushed timeline, answered all our questions, and were super responsive, day and night. Even after finishing our floors and being paid, I noticed some tiny holes/cracks that didn't get filled properly, Chris came back and went over our floors with fine tooth comb, filling every crevice.
Noah Berry 06/10/24 — google

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