Preparing for your flooring project

Before we arrive — every project

• Remove all furniture, rugs, and floor lamps from the work area
• Take down curtains and anything hanging on the walls of the room
• Empty closets that open onto the floor we are working on
• Clear the tops of bookcases and shelves in adjacent rooms
• Make sure there is parking close to the entrance for our van
• Plan where pets will stay during the work
• Tell us about any pre-existing damage you want documented before we start

We can move furniture and hang plastic dust barriers for you — both are available as paid add-ons. Tell us when you request the estimate and we will include them in the price.

Additional steps for sanding and refinishing

Refinishing is the most disruptive of our services, and the preparation matters more.

• Do not wet-mop or steam clean the floor beforehand. Water raises the grain and makes sanding harder.
• Expect fine dust. Our Bona vacuum system captures the great majority of it at the machine, but no sanding job is entirely dust free. Some dust will settle in the work area and in adjacent rooms.
• Seal off or empty any room you want kept completely clean.
• Plan where you will sleep and eat if the work covers your main living areas.
• Pets need to stay out of the area through the entire drying period, not just the sanding days.
• If you are having Swedish (acid-cured) finish applied, the house needs to be vacated while it cures. The odor is strong and the cure period is longer than with other finishes. Tell us early so we can plan around your living arrangements.

After the work

Three dates matter, and they are usually days apart:

1. When you can walk on the floor in socks
2. When pets can come back
3. When furniture can be moved in

These depend on the square footage, whether the floor is stained, whether a sealer is used, and which finish goes on top — water-based, oil-based, and Swedish finishes all behave differently, as do two-component products.

We will give you the specific dates for your project. Please ask before planning around the work, and do not move furniture back early. Rushing that last step is the most common way a good finish gets ruined.

When furniture does go back, put felt pads under the legs and lift rather than drag.

How we price your project

Every project is quoted individually. We do not publish square-foot rates, because the real cost depends on things we can only assess properly on site: the condition of the existing floor, how much preparation or repair is needed, whether the floor has been sanded before, the species and the finish you want, and the layout of the rooms.

Send us the approximate square footage, the rooms involved, and a few photos — including the worst areas, not just the best ones. We will follow up with the questions we need answered and arrange to see the floor.