It is possible to stay at home during the restoration process.  The polyurethane does emit an odor, which some people find too strong and unpleasant to stay in the home.  Generally, opening the window slightly will help air out the room.  The floors cannot be walked on while drying.  If the room cannot be avoided we suggest you find an alternate place to stay during the process.

Our machines have bags that collect most of the dust, but there will need to be some clean up after we finish.  We will hang plastic and vacuum the floors of the rooms we sand.  Conti Oak Floor Refinishing also utilizes the Dust Containment System which significantly reduces the amount of dust left from sanding.  The Dust Containment System reduces dust by about 97%.

A hardwood floor is typically ¾” thick, and therefore can undergo about 10 standard refinishes before the floor is compromised. The average floor will need to be refinished about every 12 years, depending on the wear and tear your floor sees with daily traffic. Sometimes a buff and coat will be sufficient enough to restore some shine to your floor.

Recoating means lightly abrading the surface and putting a new coat of finish on it. Resanding means sanding the floor down to bare wood and starting over — a much longer and more involved process. Assess how much finish is left on your floor. If there are bare spots where there isn’t any finish, you can’t just recoat. Your floor would have to be resanded. If you want your floor to look new, you will need to have it resanded. If you can live with seeing some scratches, dents, or other damage to the floor, recoating is the way to go. Be aware, though, that recoating can seem to highlight the imperfections that are left in the floor.

Screening, or buffing, the floor will only remove light marks caused by normal wear and tear. Once the floor is screened (lightly sanded) it will be coated with a coat of polyurethane. It usually takes one day to screen and recoat a hardwood floor. Screening will not remove deeper scratches and indentations. Screening will not help a floor that has been worn down to the stain. In these cases, the floor should be completely sanded and refinished.

The average refinishing is a two-day process. Two coats of commercial-grade, oil-based polyurethane are applied, allowing 24 hours between each coat. More time may be needed if you request any additional coats, if the job is atypically large or if environmental factors stall drying time. Staining a floor could add additional time as well.

Leave the air conditioner or heat on, and turn fans on after the finish is applied.

Typically, 24 hours after the last coat is applied your floors should be dry enough to walk on and place furniture on. Even though the floors are dry, it will take the finish about 21 days to fully cure. Wait at least 10 days before you place any area rugs down.

Yes. Wood is a product of nature. It will include visible variations from board to board. No two boards are ever the same.

Keep your dogs’ nails trimmed and watch for wear over the years. Have your floors recoated when you begin to notice wear. Make sure your pets are housebroken. Pet urine is acidic and will damage the natural color of the wood flooring if it is not cleaned up immediately, leaving a black stain that does not sand out.

During the summer months, there is a lot of humidity in the air.  Your hardwood floor expands. In the winter months, with the furnace on, the floor dries out and starts to gap.

Putting talcum powder in the small gaps around squeaking boards may be a short-term fix, although you run a risk of contaminating the floor for future recoats.