Does my floor need sanding, though?

The experienced team at Favourite Flooring can help you answer this question.

Wooden floors wear out and might get damaged overtime. Luckily, we can refurbish them without replacing the whole floor. This unique feature saves a lot of time and expenses. If you ask how often you should do it – there is not one-size-fits-all answer. Usually, the sanding needs to be done on old uneven floorboards. Things like foot traffic and pets determine if the floor needs refurbishing sooner. Furthermore, some areas of the house might wear out quicker than others like hallways for example.

There are two types of wooden floors that can be restored through sanding – solid hardwood and engineered wood.

Solid hardwood sanding

Solid wooden floors are extremely durable. We can refurbish them many times throughout the years. If you are after a clean look, hardwood should be sanded every 10 -15 years. This is only a guide. Depending on your lifestyle and the number of people that live in the space, of course, the wear and tear of the floorboards would vary. The type of wood also plays a key part. Some softer woods like pine or cherry might need treating more often. The harder woods like oak may need less frequent sanding. The average hardwood floor is usually 20mm. It can undergo approximately 10 refinishes. Depending on the wear and tear we recommend at least one refinish every 10 years for optimal look and quality. If you take good care of your wooden floor it could last for up to 100 years before becoming too thin.

Engineered wood sanding

Engineered wooden floors are real wood floors manufactured by layering different wood veneers. The top wooden layer is between 3 and 6 millimetres thick. It is best for us to check it before it comes to sanding it to ensure there is enough thickness left. This type of floor on the other hand is great for sanding. However, it is a very precise and skilled job due to the thickness of the wood layer. Some of them can be as thin as 1 mm and sanding could be destructive. It needs to be handled properly. The wooden layer would be thinner if it has been sanded before. You need to keep that in mind before undertaking any refinishing process. For example, an engineered floor with a 4mm veneer or thicker can be refinished approximately 3 to 5 times over the lifetime of the floor. If the damage to the floor is not consistent throughout the whole house, it might be better to replace the damaged floorboards instead of sanding the whole floor.