Does my Hardwood Flooring Need Replacement or Refinishing?

The beauty of solid wood floors—aside from their obviously kingly appearance, of course—is that they can be refinished. Refinishing, as we covered in our flooring blog on the subject, can make a worn-out piece of hardwood flooring look like new again, not to mention up your home’s value and increasing the longevity of the material.

As awesome and necessary as this floor care process is for your hardwood, though, there are some things that it can’t fix. No flooring is invincible, and sometimes damage is so deep that replacement might be the only option altogether.

Below, UB Hardwoods discusses a few considerations to make when choosing between refinishing and replacement.

What’s the Budget?

Generally and broadly speaking, it will be cheaper to refinish a flooring than to replace it. This is due to a number of factors. While both require professional expertise, the latter is a much more extensive process, involving tearing up wood, hauling it away, picking an entirely new material to lay, and then proceeding with flooring installation. When you refinish, your current flooring stays anchored down in one place.

This cost difference is why preventative maintenance is so important when it comes to solid hardwood floors. A refinishing now and again is much more affordable and less stressful than getting a new floor all together.

What’s the Extent of the Damage?

Garden-variety damage such as minor gouges and scrapes will be no match for a flooring refinishing pro who knows what they’re doing. That being said, severely buckled planks, boards that wiggle, or issues with mold infestation might warrant replacement. The same goes for if your hardwood is ever neglected enough to attain pests. It can be tricky to tell with a glance what’s fixable and what isn’t, so don’t be afraid to ask your recoating and sanding expert for advice.

Do you Like the Look?

Though wood is classically good looking, trends do come and go in this industry. If keeping up with those trends is important to you—say, if you’re looking to sell your home—it could benefit you to do a replacement. If, on the other hand, you’re still thoroughly in love with what you have, then refinishing could be the right route.