A client in Tacoma asked me to save her old oak floor instead of replacing it

I was at a job last month to give a quote for new vinyl plank. The homeowner, an older lady, pointed to a worn spot in the hall and said, "My kids grew up running over this exact board." She asked if I could just fix that part. We ended up doing a full sand and refinish for about half the cost of new flooring. It turned out great, and she was so happy. Has anyone else had a client ask to save an old floor you thought was done for?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_burns7211d ago

My buddy had a client who INSISTED on keeping this totally beat up pine floor in a farmhouse. It had paint splatters and deep scratches everywhere, looked like a lost cause. He spent a week carefully sanding around the old nail holes and character marks instead of going deep. The final coat brought out this amazing honey color and all the old marks just looked like part of the story. The owner cried when she saw it, said it was like seeing her grandma's house again.

fionalee11d ago

Honestly that's a great story but the price part caught me off guard. A full sand and refinish for half the cost of new vinyl plank seems off. Around here, refinishing hardwood is almost always more expensive than putting new vinyl over it. Maybe the quote for the new floor was super high end or included a ton of subfloor prep. Just wanted to point that out so folks reading don't get the wrong idea about costs.