We had some contractors come out and look at sanding some original hardwood floors. They are charging about $2.40 a sq ft for sanding
This seems very high to me. Do any of you have experience in refinishing floors and can let me know if this is outrageous?
thanks
Ya that does seem really high, you can rent a sander and do it yourself in a day for probably a hundred bucks or less.
There is a belt sander that looks like a vaccuum cleaner, and a perimeter sander that is smaller. You would need to rent both, and you will need sandpaper for both. You will also need to gradually go from course sand paper to fine grit sand paper. You will usually need to rip out and replace the baseboards. So if the room is 10’x12’, you can have it sanded for $288? Considering the hassle, the mess and the rental expense, that sounds like a bargain to me.
Is that price for just sanding, or sanding, sealing and finishing? If it’s just for sanding, that’s too much.
I had 1000 square feet to sand.
It really depends on what is on the floor. My floors had layer upon layer of varnish on them.
I tried doing it myself, but after going through a bunch of belts - I realized that it was going to cost me much more to do them myself than to hire someone. It’s not the machine rental that costs money - it’s the sandpaper belts.
I had a crew come in and sand the floors, put down sealer and screen the floors for $1400. I applied the poly myself. It took them one day to do the whole house.
Yes it is for just the sanding. I think they said they would do the poly for $100 more.
I just had a 1000 square foot house sanded and poly applied for $2,000. However, there were multiple coats of paint on the floor so the sanding took longer. The baseboards were not removed and were scrapped up a bit and will require some paint touchup. I had 3 coats of poly applied and it looked really sharp. It took 3 days to complete with a crew of 1.
damn.
everyone I’ve had come by and look has been at least $2.40 sf, just for sanding.
FWIW, in Northeast PA, the going rate to refinish hardwoods completely is about $3/square foot.