Frequently Asked Questions

The average refinishing is a three-day process. Three coats of 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 (as sometimes seen with cold temperature or excessive humidity). Staining a floor could add two additional days as well.

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 the finish will still be soft therefore you must wait 10 to 14 days before you place any area rugs down. This will ensure your floor cures properly. Polyurethane won’t dry in the cold so be certain your heat is set and functioning.

A hardwood floor is typically 3/4″ thick and therefore can undergo about 10 standard refinishes before the flooring is compromised, and the tung-and-groove is exposed. The average floor will need to be re-sanded and coated about every 10 years, depending on the durability of the specie, and 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.

Antique floors were often 1” thick when originally installed. Depending on how much sanding they’ve already had will depend on how many more sandings it can withstand. Depression flooring (flooring installed in the 1930’s) is much thinner and often can’t be refinished but once.

Yes. Refinishing consists sanding off completely the existing polyurethane (or other coating) and removing a fraction of a layer of the wood floor. Most pre-finished floors have beveled edges and often these come out with sanding, depending on the intensity of the bevels. Even if your pre-finished floors are stained, that will come out with the sanding as well.

Our machines have bags that collect most of the dust but there will need to be some clean up by others after we have left. We will hang plastic, and vacuum the floors and baseboards of the rooms we sand. Heritage also offers the Dust Containment System which significantly reduces the amount of dust left-over from sanding.

No. The Dust Containment System (DCS) significantly reduces the amount of dust typically left-over from sanding but it doesn’t get it all. In our experience, the DCS dust by about 90%. As with a standard sanding, the more preparation you do before we sand, the less clean up will be needed when you return to your home.

It is possible to stay at home during the restoration process. The polyurethane does emit an odor of which some people find to be too strong and unpleasant to stay in the home. Generally, opening the window about an inch will be enough to air out the room. The biggest challenge comes with avoiding the floors, as they cannot be walked on while drying. If the room cannot be avoided we suggest you find an alternate place to stay during the process.

There will be some fine dust on the walls and we recommend you dust with a feather duster or vacuum with a soft-bristled brush. We suggest you do not wash the walls as the dust is very fine and cleaning it with water is more difficult.

Wood is a hygroscopic material. This means, when wood is exposed to air, it will dry out or pick up moisture until it is in equilibrium with the humidity and temperature in the air. Moisture loss causes the wood to shrink, especially during the winter months. Heritage suggests running a humidifier if your boards are shrinking.

Wood is a hygroscopic material. This means, when wood is exposed to air, it will dry out or pick up moisture until it is in equilibrium with the humidity and temperature in the air. Excessive moisture will cause the wood to swell, especially during the summer months.

If the floor is buckling, a more serious form of water damage may be to blame. We suggest running a de-humidifier if your boards are swelling and this should help them to lie flat. If serious water damage is suspected please give us a call and we can come out to assess the situation.

That depends on where you want to install it. Both solid and engineered wood floors are made using real wood, so both are environmentally friendly.