Hardwood Floor Refinishing Prices, Line by Line
Sand and Refinish Price per Square Foot
Most refinishing quotes start with one number: a rate per square foot for sanding to bare wood and putting down clear coats. HomeGuide's 2025 figure for that basic job is $2 to $7 a square foot, and This Old House's 2026 guide says $3 to $8, with an average project around $1,800. Angi breaks the same job into parts: sanding $0.50 to $3, finish coats $1 to $2, and labor carrying most of the price.
Room size changes the math more than people expect. Without stain, HomeGuide puts a 10x10 room at $200 to $700 and a 20x20 room at $800 to $2,800. Small jobs cost more per foot, since the crew hauls the same drum sander, edger and buffer whether it's one bedroom or the whole first floor. Some refinishers also set a minimum charge, so a single small room can cost what the per-foot rate says a larger one would.
Species moves the rate too. HomeGuide lists oak, cherry and pine at $3 to $7 a square foot and maple at $4 to $8. Rooms with closets, radiators and lots of doorways mean more edger and hand-scraper time, and HomeGuide says complicated layouts cost more.
Screen and Recoat Price
If only the finish is worn and the wood underneath is fine, a screen and recoat is the cheaper line. HomeGuide prices screening, buffing and recoating at $2 to $5 a square foot. This Old House lists recoating at $1 to $2 and buffing alone at $1 to $2.50. The lower figures usually mean one coat over a clean floor with no wax on it. Whether your floor qualifies (wax, factory aluminum-oxide finishes, worn-through spots) is covered on the screen and recoat page.
A recoat costs less mostly because it takes less time. There are no sanding passes, no stain, and usually one coat. HomeGuide also lists "sandless" chemical refinishing at $2 to $6, which is a recoat that uses a bonding liquid instead of an abrasive screen.
Stain, Extra Coats and Premium Finishes
Stain is a separate line. HomeGuide's sand, stain and refinish range is $3 to $8 a square foot, about a dollar above plain clear coats, and This Old House and Angi both put staining alone at $1 to $3. Whitewash runs $3 to $8 at HomeGuide. A color change also adds a drying day and sometimes a water pop first; the hardwood floor staining page covers that.
Each extra coat of finish adds $0.50 to $1.75 a square foot (HomeGuide). The finish itself varies in price. Angi's per-gallon figures run from $20 to $45 for oil-based polyurethane, $25 to $55 for water-based, $40 to $100 for penetrating oil and $50 to $80 for acid-cured finishes. Hardwax oils such as Rubio Monocoat and Osmo belong to the penetrating-oil family on that list. A wire-brushed texture adds $2 to $5 a square foot on top (HomeGuide). The chemistry trade-offs are explained under hardwood floor refinishing and hardwax oil finishes.
Our view: if you're paying for a full sand anyway, a third coat is often the cheapest way to make the finish last longer before the next recoat.
Repairs, Stairs and Furniture Moving Add-Ons
These lines often appear only after someone sees the floor:
- Board repairs. This Old House prices fixing deep scratches, gouges and loose boards at $6 to $12 a square foot, done before sanding. Angi puts typical repair bills at $200 to $600. Details are on hardwood floor repair.
- Stairs. Priced per step, at $25 to $85 (HomeGuide). Angi gives $345 to $1,324 for a standard staircase of 12 to 17 steps, and says curved stairs or carved banisters can double that. See staircase refinishing.
- Dust containment. A sander connected to a vacuum or cyclone adds $2 to $4 a square foot (HomeGuide). All-in prices for a dust-contained job are on the dustless hardwood floor refinishing page.
- Furniture. $20 to $50 per room to move it out and back (HomeGuide, This Old House).
- Carpet removal. $0.25 to $1.00 a square foot when the floor is under carpet (HomeGuide).
Why Ann Arbor homeowners call Ann Arbor Wood Flooring
- Free estimate, and you can ask for it in writing, species and finish named
- One independent local floor contractor gets your request, not a call list
- No fee to homeowners for the referral
- Ask for moisture readings before any new floor goes down
What Should a Refinishing Estimate in Ann Arbor List?
A written refinishing estimate should list the square footage of each room, the sanding method, stain color and brand if any, the finish type and number of coats, and every add-on: stairs, repairs, dust containment, furniture moving and carpet removal. With those written down, you can compare two quotes line by line instead of by the total.
A few lines are worth asking about specifically in an older Ann Arbor house:
Wood left above the tongue
If earlier sandings have thinned the boards, the contractor may suggest a lighter cut or a recoat instead. That changes the price, so ask for it in writing. The hardwood floor restoration page explains that check.Lead-safe work
Paid work that disturbs painted baseboards and thresholds in a pre-1978 house falls under the EPA's lead rule (see restoration), and the estimate should say how that's handled.Days out of the room
HomeGuide gives 2 to 6 days for a refinish, depending on size, coats and drying time. The cure time for the finish you pick comes after that.
How Much Does It Cost to Refinish Hardwood Floors in a Whole House?
At HomeGuide's 2025 rates, a 1,500-square-foot house runs $3,000 to $10,500 with clear coats and $4,500 to $12,000 with stain. A 2,000-square-foot house runs $4,000 to $14,000 clear and $6,000 to $16,000 stained. Stairs, repairs and dust containment are extra.
Two points about those figures. First, they are national averages; no published survey prices Ann Arbor on its own, so the written quote is the number that counts. Second, a whole-house job usually earns a lower per-foot rate than one room, because the setup is paid for once. If you're unsure whether the floor is worth refinishing at all, the refinish-or-replace checks on the Ann Arbor hardwood floors page come first. For new flooring prices, see hardwood floor installation cost.