refinished wooden floor

What is The Length of Time it Takes to Refinish a Hardwood Floor?

In recent housing constructions, use of wood has become increasingly a favoured choice. There are a few reasons behind why constructors prefer hardwood flooring than cemented or tiled floors. These are:

  • 1. Wood floors can be designed according to the liking of the house owner. You can beautify your floor with the diverse designs available on markets today. Also, there are assorted colours and one can spice up the look of his home with hardwood flooring.
  • 2. The entire house floor can apply the use of hardwood flooring. Some areas of the house like the bathroom cannot do well with cemented floor only but when hardwood floors, they work impressively in the bathroom. Cemented floors wear out easily due to the action of water to the the sand component in them.
  • 3. When hardwood floors get dirt and stain, fewer amounts of detergents are required for cleaning. This is because the stain does not stick on the wooden floor thus comes out easily with one swipe of cleaning.
  • 4. After the construction of a house is complete, the hardwood floor will last long without needing replacement. This is due to the fact that all of the wood finishes can be reapplied more than once,
    restoring the look to how it was before.
  • 5. Warmth- Hardwood floors provide better insulation compared to cemented floors. They always feel warmer, especially at nights.

wooden floor

So how long does it take to refinish a hardwood floor once it gets damaged?

Once you have ensured you have all the finishes and floor sanding accessories required for the job, you’re ready to go.

First of all, refinishing a hardwood floor requires the contractor to move household items to and from. Most probably you will be forced to stay somewhere else as the work goes on. So, it is best to plan for the refinishing while on holiday or just check the house before you decide to start moving your things in.

There are three major factors influencing the duration taken to refinish.

1. Type of polyurethane used.

There are two types of polyurethane used to make hardwood floors. Water-based polyurethane and the oil-based polyurethane. Water-based polyurethane takes a short amount to dry but the disadvantage to this is that the finishing won’t be durable as you had hoped. Oil-based takes more time to dry, approximately 4 days until it is completely dry, coating by coating. Sanding may also be required to be redone in cases where the there is more damage to the wooden floor.

wooden floor

2. Size of the house.

A bigger house equals time to refinish the hardwood floor. Also, a bigger house suggests more furniture to move thereby adding to the waiting period. Even after the floors have been refinished, they will require an additional time to dry up before you can restore their uses.

3. Time.

There are two aspects of time to be considered. One is the season in which you are doing the refinishing. In a rainy season, the air is very humid due to the rain. The humidity slows down the drying process of the stain for each of the coats on the hardwood floor, causing you to wait a long time till it is completely dried. Two, every hardwood floor is made up of coats. While refinishing, each coat is required to be dry in order to go to the next coat
layer on the hardwood floor.

On average minimum at least 3 full days are required for the refinishing to be complete.

So, it is best to plan very early if you are considering refinishing your house. If you found some valuable info on this guide, let us know! If you have any further questions, please do feel free to give us a call on or fill out our contact form.