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Professional hardwood floor refinishing in St. Paul / Woodbury.

Floor Refinishing vs. Restoration


Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing in St. Paul / Woodbury

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Footprints Floors Twin Cities Flooring Estimate

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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 in St. Paul / Woodbury. 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 in St. Paul / Woodbury.

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 in St. Paul / Woodbury

Professional flooring refinishing near you in St. Paul / Woodbury - 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.

Great Floors & Great Impressions Are What We Are All About!

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What Our Customers Say

Gary took on a difficult project after the previous contractor quit. He did first class work at a very fair price and in a reasonable time frame. He had to install underlayment in my entire home, including adding sisters to most of the joists. He made the floor perfectly level and it does not squeak! He then installed LVP throughout the home. It looks great! I'd hire him for any job without hesitation! (Ignore mess in photos, remodel not done yet.)
James G. 02/12/24 — google
Courteous, knowledgeable, and proficient. We had a problem caused by the builders of our two-plus year old house: there was a depression in the subfloor, causing our vinyl plank flooring to begin to fail. Gary had seen the problem before, and knew how to proceed to find the cause of the problem, and repair the subfloor. Joel, the technician, was very capable and did a fine repair with minimal replacement of planks. We would recommend Footprints Floors highly.
K Johnson 01/21/24 — google
I had such a positive experience with Footprints Floors. From start to finish Gary and his crew were so very professional. Gary talked me through the process and gave me the information to make the right decision about my home. He introduced me to a supplier and I was able to find an affordable flooring option. Joel and Paul, the installation crew, were timely and talented. They did a beautiful job installing my floors in such a short amount of time. I cannot recommend this company enough! You will be so happy with the quality of work and customer service you receive!
Stacy Fox 09/25/23 — google
Gary’s and his crew did a great job for us. He was flexible in scheduling. Most important, he sent a true craftsman to do our bathroom tile job. It was a small project but required skill to add on to previously laid tile without it being noticeable.
Mary Kay Kanninen 09/18/23 — google
Gary was very professional and very easy to work with throughout the entire process. I appreciated working with him and would highly recommend.
Debbie Steenson 08/17/23 — google
Gary and his team went above and beyond. I would hire them again without any hesitation.
McCormick family 08/17/23 — google
Company was very accommodating to a compressed time frame on my part. All of the employees I interacted with were professional. My floors look great. Very happy with the work completed.
Jason Cook 08/8/23 — google
Gary was very knowledgeable and ensured our outdoor tile would be installed properly with the best products to last as long as possible. It looks fantastic.
Molly FitzPatrick 06/23/23 — google
Gary is great to work with - would definitely recommend!
Jillie Whitford 06/2/23 — facebook
Gary and his team at Footprints did an excellent job with our flooring project, laying nearly 1k feet of new flooring in a single day. The result was phenomenal, the team was very easy to work with. They will be my first call for our next project. I can't recommend them highly enough!
Richard Payne 05/18/23 — google
Refinished my wood floors. Got it done on my schedule and turned out great. Thank you.
Jim Umb 05/6/23 — google
Gary was very professional and knowledgeable. He explained the process well and was patient with questions. The floors look beautiful.
Kurt Cottier 02/28/23 — google
My new tile floor is beautiful! Gary and Jeff were both very helpful after a bad experience with another contractor. They exceeded my expectations in every way. Definitely recommend!
Emilie Werner 01/19/23 — google

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