I’ll put it out there: Valor Home Services refinishes AND installs hardwood flooring, so when it comes to answering this “replace or refinish” question, there’s no room for bias from us. It comes down to the question itself, which this article will answer in detail.
The truth is, in most cases, it’s better for your home and for your wallet to refinish instead of replace wood floors. This will depend on your specific situation, and if your wood floor is many decades old it could require a professional evaluation to make the final call. Quality hardwood floors can be sanded and refinished at least six times. In fact, unless you’ve been around long enough to know that your floors have been refinished as many as ten times, you’re still probably better off refinishing than replacing.
When is replacing a hardwood floor necessary, then?
The deciding factor is never about time, because refinishing and replacing a wood floor both take time and both require removal of all the furniture from the room. You can plan to factor this in for any wood floor project.
The dust and fumes, however, are enough to make some homeowners choose a preemptive replacement over a refinish. For example, you have to make sure your four-legged friends can’t come into the space where a refinishing is taking place, even if the guys aren’t there working the tools. If your dog comes in to sniff through everything, the fumes can be harmful. Just walking past the space you’ll see (or smell) why—there will be plenty of dust produced and chemicals used during this project. Some homeowners choose a hardwood floor replacement instead of a refinish for this reason.
Another selling point for a new hardwood floor is when homeowners aren’t in love with their current flooring aesthetic. Sometimes they want to change the wood species, or the size of the boards. Sometimes they want to change the direction. Just remember that many hardwood floor finishes can be chosen to make a refinish give wood flooring a truly updated look with a lot less work.
And finally, some hardwood floors simply can’t be refinished. It’s true. This is a rare case, and usually relates to damage that occurred to a floor after a disaster like a fire.
For an assessment of your hardwood floors and a clear explanation of the options you’re best to consider, call your Belleville-area hardwood expert, Valor Home Services, today.
