What to Expect During a Hardwood Floor Refinishing Project
You’ve decided to refinish your hardwood floors. Maybe they’re scratched from 30 years of family life, faded from the Southern California sun streaming through those big picture windows, or showing the ghost of a carpet that covered them since the 1980s. Whatever the reason, refinishing your hardwood floors is one of the highest-ROI home improvements you can make — and one that homeowners across Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City, and the San Fernando Valley invest in every day.
But the process can feel overwhelming if you don’t know what’s coming. After refinishing thousands of hardwood floors across Los Angeles over the past 20+ years, here’s our day-by-day breakdown of exactly what to expect.
Before Day 1: Preparation
Before we arrive, you’ll need to:
- Remove all furniture from the rooms being refinished. Everything — couches, beds, dressers, dining tables, bookshelves. The rooms must be completely empty.
- Remove window treatments that hang to the floor (dust will settle on them)
- Remove items from closets if closet floors are being refinished
- Protect items in adjacent rooms — despite our dust containment, a fine layer of dust can migrate
- Arrange alternative living space — you cannot walk on the floors during the process. For whole-house refinishing, most clients stay with family, friends, or in a short-term rental for 4-5 days.
- Board pets elsewhere — sanding dust and finish fumes are not safe for animals, and pets walking on wet finish will ruin it
Day 1: Sanding
This is the loudest, dustiest, most intensive day of the entire project. Here’s what happens:
Morning: Rough Sanding (36-60 Grit)
We start with a drum sander using coarse sandpaper to remove the existing finish, stain, and any surface damage. This is the pass that removes scratches, water stains, pet damage, and UV discoloration. For heavily damaged floors, we may make two passes at this grit.
Midday: Medium Sanding (80 Grit)
The second pass smooths out the rough sanding marks and begins to create a uniform surface. We also use an edger sander to reach the perimeter of each room where the drum sander can’t reach — within 2-3 inches of the walls, inside closets, and around obstructions.
Afternoon: Fine Sanding (100-120 Grit)
The final sanding pass creates the smooth surface that will accept stain and finish evenly. We also use a buffer with a sanding screen to blend the drum sander and edger marks into a seamless surface.
End of Day 1: Detailing
We hand-sand corners, stair nosings, and tight areas that no machine can reach. Then we vacuum the entire surface thoroughly using HEPA-filtered equipment.
About Dust
Modern dustless sanding systems capture 95-98% of sanding dust at the source through a vacuum attached directly to the sander. However, “dustless” doesn’t mean “dust-free.” A fine film will settle on surfaces in adjacent rooms. We seal off work areas with plastic sheeting and tape, but some migration is inevitable.
Day 2: Stain Application (Optional)
If you’re changing the color of your floors (or staining floors that were previously natural), Day 2 is stain day.
Morning: Final Surface Prep
We do a final vacuum and tack-cloth wipe of the entire surface. Any dust left on the wood will show through the stain as spots or blotches.
Stain Application
Stain is applied by hand using lambswool applicators or rags, working in manageable sections and maintaining a wet edge to prevent lap marks. The stain penetrates the wood grain, creating the color you selected.
Stain Selection Tips for LA Homes
We provide stain samples applied to your actual floor wood (not sample boards from the store, which look different). Popular choices across Los Angeles right now:
- Natural / clear coat — lets the wood’s true color show. Popular in Malibu and modern-style homes.
- Provincial — warm golden brown. Classic mid-century look, perfect for Sherman Oaks and Encino ranches.
- Special Walnut — medium brown with subtle warmth. Versatile for any home style.
- Jacobean — rich, dark brown. Popular in Beverly Hills traditional homes and Calabasas estates.
- True Black / Ebony — ultra-dark, modern. Trending in Studio City and West Hollywood contemporary remodels.
Stain dries for 6-8 hours before the first coat of finish can be applied. In some cases, we let it dry overnight.
Day 3: First Coat of Polyurethane
The protective finish goes on over the stain (or directly over bare wood for natural floors). This is where your floor gets its durability, sheen level, and long-term protection.
Water-Based vs. Oil-Based Polyurethane
| Factor | Water-Based | Oil-Based |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Crystal clear, won’t yellow | Amber tone, yellows over time |
| Dry time between coats | 2-3 hours | 8-12 hours |
| Odor | Low odor, low VOC | Strong odor, higher VOC |
| Durability | Very good (premium products) | Excellent |
| Coats needed | 3 coats recommended | 2-3 coats |
| Full cure time | 7-14 days | 14-30 days |
| Cost premium | 10-20% more | Standard |
| Best for | Light stains, white oak, occupied homes | Dark stains, traditional look, vacant homes |
In Los Angeles, we use water-based polyurethane for about 70% of our projects. The fast dry time means we can apply multiple coats per day, finishing projects faster and getting clients back in their homes sooner. It’s also much more pleasant in our warm climate — oil-based fumes in a closed-up LA house in August are brutal.
Application Process
We apply polyurethane with a T-bar applicator in thin, even coats. Each coat covers the entire floor surface, including closets and edges. Coat 1 goes down, and we let it dry for 2-3 hours (water-based) or overnight (oil-based).
Day 3-4: Screen and Additional Coats
Between each coat of polyurethane, we “screen” the floor — lightly abrading the surface with a buffer and fine screen to create tooth for the next coat to bond to. Without screening, subsequent coats can peel.
The process is: apply coat, dry, screen, vacuum, tack-cloth, apply next coat. For a standard 3-coat water-based finish, this takes about 2 days. For oil-based with overnight drying, it stretches to 3-4 days.
Day 4-5: Final Coat and Initial Cure
The final coat goes on, and this is where precision matters most. Any dust, hair, or imperfection in the final coat will be visible forever. We meticulously clean the space, apply the final coat, and then the floor sits undisturbed for a minimum of 24 hours.
Complete Timeline Summary
| Day | Activity | Can You Be Home? |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Sanding (3 passes + detail) | Yes, but stay out of work area |
| Day 2 | Stain application (if applicable) | Yes, limited access |
| Day 3 | First + second coat poly | Yes, stay off floors |
| Day 4 | Screen + third coat poly | Yes, stay off floors |
| Day 5 | 24-hour dry period | No foot traffic on floors |
| Day 6 | Walk on floors in socks only | Yes — carefully |
| Day 7-10 | Move furniture back (with felt pads) | Yes |
| Day 14-30 | Full cure complete | Normal life resumes — avoid area rugs until full cure |
Refinishing Costs in Los Angeles
| Service | Cost per Sq Ft | 1,000 Sq Ft Example |
|---|---|---|
| Full refinish (sand, stain, 3 coats poly) | $3–$6/sq ft | $3,000–$6,000 |
| Screen and recoat (no sanding) | $1.50–$3/sq ft | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Spot repair + blend | Varies | $500–$2,000 |
When to Refinish vs. Screen and Recoat
Not every floor needs a full refinish. If your existing finish is worn but the wood underneath isn’t damaged, a screen and recoat ($1.50–$3/sq ft) may be all you need. This process lightly abrades the existing finish and applies one or two new coats of polyurethane. It’s faster (2 days), cheaper, and less disruptive.
A full refinish is needed when:
- Finish is worn through to bare wood in traffic areas
- You want to change the stain color
- There are deep scratches, stains, or water damage
- Pet urine has penetrated the finish into the wood
- The previous finish is peeling or flaking
Ready to Refinish Your Hardwood Floors?
Whether you’re in Sherman Oaks, Encino, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, or anywhere across Los Angeles, Skyline Flooring delivers professional hardwood refinishing with minimal disruption and stunning results. We’ve earned 5.0 stars on Yelp with 109+ reviews by treating every floor like it’s our own.
Contact us for a free estimate or call (818) 941-0497 today. We’ll assess your floors, recommend refinish or screen-and-recoat, and give you a clear timeline and cost before we start.
