Flooring Installation in New Jersey

A standard hardwood floor refinishing project for an average-sized room takes 2 to 4 days from sanding to final coat. Larger areas or projects requiring multiple coats may take a day or two longer. We will give you a precise timeline during your free estimate.

Light foot traffic is generally safe 24 hours after the final coat. We recommend waiting 48 to 72 hours before placing furniture back, and avoiding area rugs for at least 2 weeks to allow the finish to fully cure.

Yes. Floor staining is part of most refinishing jobs we do, and we also stain newly installed unfinished hardwood. After the final sanding we put several stain samples down on your own boards so you can see the real color on your wood, in your light, before we stain the floor. We can also match a stain to an adjoining room or blend new boards into an existing floor.

Natural keeps the wood's own color, costs less and saves a day, and it suits white oak and maple well. Stain lets you change the color entirely, hide some of the variation between boards, or match other rooms. Stain takes some care on maple and pine, which absorb it unevenly, so on those species we test samples first and often recommend lighter tones or a natural finish.

It depends on the product and the color. Bona's technical data sheet for its DriFast floor stain lists 2 hours for wood tones, at least 6 hours for white, and 12 to 18 hours for its darkest colors such as Ebony, under ideal temperature and humidity. That is why a stained floor usually adds a day to the schedule. Finish goes on only after the stain has dried thoroughly.

Darker, almost always: a full sanding takes the floor back to bare wood, and stain can then go as dark as you like, with water-popping on oak for deep, even dark colors. Lighter is limited by the wood itself. Sanding removes the old stain, but the natural color of the species is the lightest you can go with stain alone, and red oak will still read warmer than white oak under a gray or whitewash tone.

Both are durable when applied correctly. Oil-based polyurethane adds an amber tone that warms red oak and brown stains. Water-based finishes generally dry clear, recoat faster and have less odor, so they suit white oak, maple and light or gray stains. Two-component waterborne finishes are the high-durability professional option, and hardwax oils give a low-sheen natural look. We sample the stain and finish together so you see the final color.

Most solid hardwood floors can be refinished multiple times depending on the thickness of the wood above the tongue and groove. Engineered hardwood can sometimes be refinished as well, depending on the wear layer. We assess your specific floors during the estimate to let you know what is possible.

Our dust-minimized sanding system greatly reduces airborne particles, but we do recommend keeping family members and pets out of the work area during active sanding and coating. Many clients stay in other parts of the home without issue. We will advise based on the scope of your project.

Yes. We install new hardwood floors, extend existing flooring into rooms that were carpeted, and weave new boards into old floors where walls came out or boards were damaged. Subfloor prep comes first, and new wood is left in the house to acclimate before it goes down. Where new meets old, the whole area is sanded and finished together so it reads as one floor.

Yes, and it is worth doing in the right order. As a painting company that also refinishes floors, we schedule the walls, ceilings and trim before the floors are finished, so ladders and drips never touch the new finish. One crew, one schedule and one point of contact covers both.

Yes. Treads, risers, nosings and landings are sanded largely by hand and stained to match the floor they meet. Stairs are priced per step rather than per square foot because of the hand work involved.