How Much Does It Cost to Sand and Refinish Wood Flooring?

Sanding and refinishing an existing wood floor typically costs roughly £20-£40 per square metre when done professionally, considerably less than the cost of ripping it out and fitting new flooring — making it one of the best-value ways to genuinely transform a tired-looking room.

What affects the price

• Floor condition: a floor with deep scratches, old varnish build-up, or previous paint needs more passes and coarser grits than a lightly worn floor, adding time and cost.
• Room size and shape: larger, simpler rooms cost less per square metre than small rooms with lots of edges, alcoves, or fitted furniture to work around.
• Finish chosen: a standard water-based lacquer is typically cheaper than hardwax oil finishes, which need more coats and drying time between them.
• Gap-filling: if the floor has significant gaps between boards, filling them (see our guide to why gaps appear) as part of the job adds to the cost.
• Staining: changing the wood's colour with a stain, rather than a clear finish, adds an extra step and cost.

What the process actually involves

A typical refinish involves an initial coarse sand to remove the old finish and surface damage, followed by progressively finer sanding passes to smooth the wood, then filling any significant gaps or holes, a final fine sand, and finally applying the chosen finish in multiple coats with light sanding between coats. The whole process for an average room usually takes 2-4 days including drying time between coats, though this varies with the finish used and room size.

Is it a realistic DIY job?

Sanding hire equipment (drum sanders and edging sanders) is available from most tool hire companies, and a confident, careful DIYer can achieve a good result on a straightforward room. That said, it's genuinely easy to gouge the wood with a drum sander if you're not experienced with one — keeping it moving at a steady pace and never letting it sit still is critical — and mistakes at the sanding stage are difficult to fully undo. For a valuable or characterful original floor, many people find the cost of a professional worth the reduced risk.

Common mistakes

Skipping the dust extraction step (either with a dustless sanding system or thorough cleanup between passes) is a common mistake that leaves dust trapped under the finish, creating a rough, gritty final surface. Applying the finish coat too thickly, or not allowing enough drying time between coats, is another frequent issue that can lead to a tacky or uneven finish. Rushing the whole process to get the room back in use is usually where problems creep in.

How long between coats before you can use the room?

Most finishes are touch-dry within hours but need considerably longer — commonly 24-72 hours depending on the product — before furniture goes back and normal foot traffic resumes, and full cure (maximum hardness) can take several weeks. Always follow the specific product's guidance rather than a general rule of thumb.

Dust-free sanding systems

Many professional sanding services now use dust-extraction sanders connected to an industrial vacuum, which significantly reduces the amount of fine dust released into the room and the rest of the house compared with older equipment. This can be worth asking about specifically, particularly if anyone in the household has respiratory sensitivities, or if you want to minimise cleanup in adjoining rooms once the job is done.

Is your floor worth refinishing or better replaced?

A floor with structurally sound boards — no significant rot, woodworm damage, or excessive gaps — is usually an excellent refinishing candidate regardless of how worn the surface looks, since sanding removes surface damage down to fresh wood. A floor with genuine structural problems, very thin remaining wear layer (common on older, previously-sanded solid wood), or extensive boards needing replacement is sometimes more cost-effective to relay with new flooring instead. A professional can usually tell you within a few minutes of inspection which category your floor falls into.

Ventilation and drying conditions

Good ventilation during the drying period between coats genuinely speeds up the process and helps the finish cure evenly, but avoid direct draughts across a freshly coated floor, which can cause the finish to dry unevenly or attract dust into the wet surface. Ideal conditions are a mild, dry day with gentle background airflow rather than windows wide open in damp or very hot weather, both of which can affect how the finish cures.

Booking refinishing work during a period when you can vacate the room, or ideally the property, for a few days makes the process considerably less disruptive than trying to work around it while living there.