Hardwood Floor Refinishing Los Angeles ...your old floors new again!

While it would be nice to provide you an exact answer, in truth the answer really is, "it depends."

A bigger wood floor refinishing project here in Los Angeles CA will obviously take longer than a smaller one. An average house that needs hardwood floor refinishing in Los Angeles might have a living space, dining room, foyer, hallway and 3 bedrooms that need finishing.

A typical oak flooring project like this, done by a quality licensed contractor here in Los Angeles California, can be completed in 3 or 4 days.

Some things may make your flooring project longer: Installation of custom flooring. The need to remove flooring coverings like an old solid hardwood floor, carpet, ceramic tiles, damaged bamboo hardwood or laminate flooring. Projects that need extensive sub-floor prep. A larger home or a more complicated design (little corridors, closets, several long hallways, and so on). Sanding and refinishing stairs. Floor staining and custom flooring color pre-treatments. Each of these additional services will add extra to a customer's hardwood flooring job.

Regardless, we will always get it completed in a timely manner. When we see your home and flooring in-person to provide one of our onsite estimates, we will be able to give you a much more precise answer.

While it is possible to stay at home while we are refinishing your hardwood flooring, there are a few restrictions you need to be aware of.

When we begin applying the finishes, you'll need to stay off the floor for a minimum of 4 to 8 hours. Perhaps more depending upon what finish system we use. If we are sanding and refinishing all the floors in rooms throughout your house, or doing a full restoration in your local business, this could mean limited access to certain areas.

We have to be extremely strict about keeping everyone off the floor for 24 hours after the last coat is applied. This is to guarantee the cured finish is contaminant-free.

Staying off the drying floors could be an issue if you have several adjoining rooms, or entryways and exit ways, being sanded and refinished. It might be a good idea to make alternative sleeping arrangements that night if this is the case. Many of our clients make some prior arrangements with friends and family. Or they treat themselves to a hotel getaway in downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills or Manhattan Beach for a night or two.

When we get together during your in-home estimate, we can discuss this further and work out a plan that suites everyone.

Excellent question and one you really should ask any Los Angeles wood flooring contractor you are thinking of hiring.

In the past, specific kinds of oil-based finishes in the industry had a strong smell and a lot of fumes. It would linger for weeks and make being at home challenging to handle. There were health issues as well from breathing in those fumes for extended periods.

The good news is, here in Los Angeles CA and throughout all of California, those types of finishes were prohibited a long time ago. There are penalties for a hardwood flooring contractor and flooring companies serving Los Angeles and the surrounding areas if they use these products.

Our floor refinishing and installation company concentrates on 3 different types of finishes: single component waterbased, two-component water based and premium quality hardwax oils.

If you have family members sensitive to fumes and smells, or you have small children or family pets, then either of our industry leading finish systems will be a good choice. Both the water-based and hardwax oil systems have very little odor. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 having the least amount of fumes and 1 having the most, both would be a top score of 5. There is next to no long-time lingering off-gassing issues with either one.

The water-based finishes have a mild odor while wet. However, it dissipates quite quickly once dry. When water-based finishes dry, it's water evaporating, not dangerous solvents.

The hardwax oil we use, Rubio Monooat, has zero VOC's. Most people say it has a mild cooking oil smell, and it goes away quite quickly.

Our PDF guide: Which Finish System Should You Choose? goes deep into the various finishes available and has a detailed chart that ranks the finishes and how bad their fumes are. It will provide you a good idea about what kind of finish would be best matched for your project.

The finish and coatings you end up using is an essential factor to consider for both residential and commercial hardwood flooring Los Angeles projects. We have written a very detailed guide on this topic you can download and read: Which Finish System Should You Choose? It will help answer any of the questions you have about choosing a finish for your wood floor. We strongly recommend reading it, whether you end up choosing us as your hardwood flooring contractor, or one of the other reputable and licensed floor refinishing companies in Los Angeles California.

We have tested each finish thoroughly, both in the field as a hardwood flooring contractor and personally in our own homes. This first hand experience has allowed us to see the pros and cons of each option. When we come over to provide you with a free quote, we will answer any other questions you have about cost, durability, smell and quality and help you choose the best hardwood floor finish for your home or business.

Our quick answer is: No for existing hardwood floors, and MAYBE for the brand-new wood floors we install.

It is essential to understand that anything made from wood naturally expands and contracts. This natural occurrence happens here in Los Angeles CA even more during seasonal changes where humidity and temperatures fluctuate. This continuous movement is what triggers the gaps in your wood flooring. When the heat goes on in winter, your home's humidity drops. Contraction then occurs. Summertime in Los Angeles CA means opening up the house more, which means everything made from wood expands. It's the same reason why, during seasonal changes, doors in older homes have difficulty opening and closing properly.

If you have your hardwood flooring gaps filled, it will become loose and come out as the wood floor expands and contracts. It not only looks unsightly, but it is also damaging to your wood flooring as the dried filler is ground into the finish. For both of these reasons, we recommend not filling the gaps in your old floors. You will be able to find some Los Angeles CA floor refinishing companies that will still fill gaps on older hardwood floors. We prefer not to for the reasons mentioned above, with one exception:

If it's a brand new glue-down hardwood floor installation, with floorboards between 1 1/2" and 3" wide, then there is the option to trowel fill the flooring before refinishing. We use a professional-grade putty to fill the gaps. These hardwood floors are the most stable, and there are rarely issues with filler being ejected. We can discuss this option in greater detail while we are in your home or business, providing you with one of our free onsite estimates.

Yes. These types of flooring repairs are quite common in Los Angeles hardwood floors. There is generally no issue with fixing pot plant water damage and pet stains found in a room. In most cases, we will probably need to change the damaged hardwood flooring boards out because this kind of damage typically can't be sanded out.

During your free in-home inspection, we'll look at all areas requiring hardwood floor repair work and include it in the estimates so you are aware of the cost. Sometimes homes here in Los Angeles CA have wall-to-wall carpet covering up any damage, so we can't see the areas needing repairs during our visit. If that's the case and we discover it only after removing the carpet, we'll get in touch straight away to explain the cost and ask how you would like us to continue.

In most cases, it is not necessary to remove the baseboards before we start our hardwood floor refinishing process. We can get very close to your baseboards with our hardwood sanding equipment. And then we can finish off any missed areas with a hand scraper.

The only time we definitely recommend removing them is if they are badly damaged. Or if you are installing new custom hardwood flooring and you would like to install new baseboards, base shoe or trim to match. Then we will take them off before sanding the hardwood floor. We will install them before applying the finish (if they are solid wood like oak), or after the finish has dried if you want primed baseboards.

Yes, we are happy to sand the area where the stove and refrigerator are installed.

But we are hardwood flooring contractor company only. We are not licensed to do any plumbing, electrical or gas fitting work in Los Angeles CA. You will need to have these appliances disconnected by a local expert serving Los Angeles. They will need to be placed somewhere out of the way for us before we start the sanding and wood floor refinishing work. This way we get to do what we are experts at, being hardwood flooring pros, and the appliances get looked after by the pros in that field. If you have a big, heavy Sub-Zero refrigerator (a common kitchen installation here in Los Angeles homes), then it may be wise to leave it where it is, and we will sand and finish around it.

Hopefully we can. But it will depend on a few things.

With our hardwood floor sanding process, we try as much as possible to preserve the top layer as much as we can. Most wood floors here in Los Angeles CA, only have 3 to 6 sands in them. Because of this, a professional hardwood floor refinisher will try to remove as little wood as possible. This gives you the ability to sand and refinish your floor again multiple times, years down the road.

If your scratches are really deep, its a better choice to take out and replace the damaged boards before the restoration. Installation of new hardwood flooring boards completely removes the scratches. This way, we're not sanding it down to the bottom of the scratches and removing too much wood from the rest of the hardwood floor. It might cost a little extra for the repair, but it will be well worth investing in this service if you plan to stay in your home for many more years.

When are together on your free in-home estimate, we will have a look at the scratches you have in your hardwood flooring. We will give you our recommendation on whether they can be sanded out, or if they need installation of replacement boards. As well as let you know what it will cost. We are happy to provide this service for our customers in Los Angeles CA to ensure you have the best hardwood flooring results possible.

In an ideal world, flooring companies would love their customer and clients to to wait a full week before using their brand-new hardwood floors. We would strongly recommend this if possible. However, we understand that it is pretty impracticable. Below are our dry and cure time suggestions:

High-End Residential Grade Water-Based: Cure time for this hardwood flooring finish is seven days. You will be able to walk on it carefully in socks after 2 to 3 hours. After 24 hours, it will be dry enough to put furnishings back with care. After 7 days, you can replace the area rugs, carpets, and other floor coverings.

Commercial Grade Water-Based: The cure time is seven days, the same as the residential waterborne finish above. After just 24 hours, you can begin to put back your furnishings. Carpets and rugs can be put back on your new hardwood flooring after 7 days. Again, within 2 to 3 hours, you will be able to walk on it with socks.

Hardwax Oil: Our Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil cures in 7 days as well. Furnishings can be carefully put back after 24 hours of dry time. Area rugs and hallway carpets can be placed on the newly finished hardwood floors after 7 days. You can walk on the floor in 8 hours. Once again, please walk carefully in socks while it cures.

When you do move your furniture back after your installation and hardwood floor refinishing project is complete, please be super careful. Do not drag furniture or appliances across the hardwood flooring, even with carpets or cardboard under them. You don't want to finally have your wood floors refinished, and within days have a huge scratch in the middle of the room. We also strongly suggest our Los Angeles clients use felt pads under all furniture.

Our recommendation with area rugs and other flooring coverings is to wait a minimum of 2 weeks before putting them back in place on top of your new hardwood floors.