Worked case: refinishing an old oak hall and two bedrooms — what happens and what it costs

The scenario

Picture a single-story ranch house of the 1960s on a block of similar houses near Hilltop. The owners moved in recently, rolled up a hallway runner and found that the oak underneath shines in places and looks gummy in others, which usually means layers of wax.

The hall runs about 30 feet and the two bedrooms are each about 12 by 14. A lifted floor register shows a wood subfloor and boards with a healthy amount of wood above the tongue.

Because the house dates from the 1960s, painted trim that the work will touch is tested for lead first. A drop of water on the old surface sits in a bead rather than soaking in, the sign that wax is in the way, so a plain recoat would not bond and a full sanding is planned instead.

Where a closet wall once stood, a line of seven or eight boards is cracked. They are cut out and replaced with matching strips, then sanded together with the rest.

The owners want to keep the natural look of the wood. The only open question is scheduling, because the beds and dressers must leave the rooms and the finish needs its drying time before anything comes back.

What the job involves

1. Furniture and runners come out, the old finish is tested for wax and the paint on nearby trim is tested for lead before any sanding starts.
2. The damaged boards are cut out and replaced with strips of the same width and thickness.
3. Doors are masked with plastic, a vacuum-connected drum sander works the hall and the rooms in several passes, and an edger handles the perimeter.
4. Nail holes and gaps are filled, the floor is vacuumed and wiped, and a clear finish goes down in coats with a light abrasion between them.
5. The rooms stay closed while the finish dries, and furniture and rugs return only when the maker's data sheet allows.

Materials and tools

• Drum sander, edger and a vacuum hose
• Replacement oak strips and wood filler
• Water-based or oil-modified clear finish
• Plastic sheeting, tape, and eye, ear and dust protection

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Moving furniture out and back — +$150–$500. Moving beds, dressers and shelves out and back is a flat line.
• Replace up to 10 boards — +$300–$900. Replacing up to ten boards is a flat line; more boards move the job into the next tier.

Why it is done this way

A waxed floor cannot simply be recoated, since fresh finish fails to stick over wax. That is why old wax is a surcharge in the calculator: it forces the full sanding that a floor in clean condition might avoid.

The arithmetic is the same on every floor in this site: a per-square-foot rate for the service, a surcharge for the floor's condition and flat lines for the extras, multiplied by the area.

Oak of the 1960s is normally thick enough to take a sanding or two, which is why a refinish is usually cheaper than pulling the floor out and starting over.

What would change the price

• More than ten boards turn out to be cracked or too thin.
• The owners choose a darker stain instead of a natural finish.
• The closet or a third bedroom is added to the area.
• Gaps along the hall need filling.
• Furniture stays in place and the crew has to work around it.