Our standard refinishing package covers sanding, stain, and three coats of finish on the quoted square footage. Board replacement, stair work, and subfloor repair are quoted separately because they depend on what we find. You get a written scope before we start, so you know exactly what is in the price.
Drum sander passes through the field, edge sander around the perimeter, and hand-scraping in corners and closets. We step through multiple grits so the surface is flat and ready to take stain evenly, which is what keeps color from blotching.
We drive any popped nails below the surface with a nail set, re-secure loose boards with a flooring stapler, and replace planks that are cracked or water-damaged. Matching stock gets woven in so the repair disappears under stain.
One stain color applied evenly across the whole floor, with a test patch approved before the full run. We use Duraseal and Bona stains, which cover the natural-to-dark-walnut range most Austin clients ask for.
Three coats of polyurethane with screen-buffing between each. The build-up is what protects against dog claws, chair legs, and the humidity swings Austin throws at wood floors. Two coats is not enough here, so we do not offer it.
We pull tape, vacuum the floor, reinstall transition strips, and walk the job with you under good light. You get care instructions and the timeline for furniture and rugs. Anything you flag on that walk gets handled before we close the job.
Hardwood floor refinishing Austin TX is the process of sanding away the old finish and a thin layer of wood, then applying new stain and protective coats. We start with a moisture meter reading, then run a drum sander with progressively finer grits, follow with an edge sander along the walls, and hand-scrape corners the machines cannot reach. Any cupped boards, gaps at seams, or pet stains get addressed before a drop of finish goes down. Most jobs take three to five days from sanding to final coat.
Austin homes take a beating from our climate. Summer humidity pushes boards to swell, winter dryness pulls them apart, and that cycle shows up as floor cupping, crowning, and squeaky floors. Older houses around Zilker and Hyde Park often have original oak under carpet or tile, and a refinish costs far less than replacement. If you have been searching for hardwood floor refinishing Austin TX near me and want a crew that explains the grit sequence before touching your floor, we do that.
Every job follows the same sequence. You know what happens each day, how long it takes, and when you can walk on the floor again.
Schedule
Call or book online — a real human picks up and confirms a 2-hour arrival window.
Diagnose
Licensed tech inspects on-site, then walks you through the cause and your options.
Fix
The job is completed to code and done right the first time — no shortcuts, no surprises.
Guarantee
Every job backed by a written workmanship warranty — and we stand behind it.
Drum sander
Runs the main field of the floor through multiple grit passes. It is the workhorse that removes old finish and levels the surface before stain goes down.
Edge sander
Works the perimeter where the drum sander cannot reach. Gets the floor flat right up to the baseboards so the stain takes evenly wall to wall.
Buffer
Used for screen-buffing between finish coats and for applying some stain products. Keeps the surface open so each coat bonds to the last.
Moisture meter
Reads moisture in the wood and subfloor before sanding. Skipping this step is how floors cup after a refinish, so we take readings on every job.
Dust containment system
Hooks to the sanders and pulls fine dust into a HEPA filter. Keeps your HVAC, shelves, and cabinets clean instead of coating the house in grit.
Floor roller
Applies polyurethane finish in even coats without brush marks or lap lines. The right roller makes the difference between a streaky finish and a smooth one.
Flooring stapler and nail gun
Re-secures loose boards and sets new planks during repair work. Tight boards mean the finish stays intact instead of cracking along a moving seam.
NWFA sand-and-finish sequence
We follow the National Wood Flooring Association's grit progression and finish schedule. That means multiple sanding passes at increasing grit, proper screening between coats, and the right dry time for Austin humidity. It is the difference between a finish that lasts three years and one that lasts ten.
Moisture testing before sanding
We read moisture content in the wood and the subfloor before touching a sander. If the numbers are too far apart, we wait or address the source. Sanding a floor that is still moving locks in the problem and it comes back as cupping within a season.
Test patch color approval
Before the full stain run, we apply the color to a small hidden area and let you look at it in daylight. Stain reacts differently on every batch of wood, so a patch on your floor beats a showroom sample every time.
Three-coat finish build
We apply three coats of polyurethane with screen-buffing between each. Austin's humidity swings are hard on wood floors, and the third coat is what gives the film enough thickness to handle them. It also buys you more years before the next refinish.
01
What we do: We assess the boards for pet stains, water damage, and how much wear layer is left. Then we sand, repair what needs repairing, and stain to a color that fits the house. Most of these floors have never been refinished and take a full sanding well.
→ Original hardwood back in service instead of a $12,000 replacement bill, usually finished in under a week.
02
What we do: A standard refinish: sand the old finish off, spot-repair any damaged boards, and apply new stain and three coats. No board replacement needed if the wear layer is still thick enough, which we confirm with a quick check.
→ Floors that look new for roughly a third of what replacement would cost, with the same wood you already own.
03
What we do: We schedule tight, work room by room where possible, and keep the dust contained so the rest of the house stays show-ready. Commercial-grade finish coats cut the cure time before foot traffic.
→ A turnkey floor in four to five days, ready for tenants or open house photos.
04
What we do: Color change is a refinishing job with a stain step on top. We test the new color on a hidden patch first so you see it on your actual wood, then run the full floor once you approve.
→ The exact tone you wanted, without replacing a single board.
Austin sits in a humidity swing that is rough on wood floors. Summer pushes relative humidity past 70 percent and boards swell, then winter drops it into the 30s and they shrink. That cycle is what causes most of the cupping, crowning, and seam gaps we see. We schedule sanding when the floor has stabilized, and we always check moisture before starting. The other local factor is housing age. Central Austin has a lot of 1940s to 1960s homes with original oak under carpet, and those floors often have not been touched in decades. They refinish beautifully, but they also tend to have pet stains and loose boards that need repair first. For anyone comparing cost to refinish hardwood floors in Austin Texas, older floors usually land in the $4 to $6 per square foot range because of the repair work.
Zilker
Lots of mid-century bungalows with original oak under carpet. These floors usually need pet stain treatment and a few board replacements before sanding.
Downtown Austin
Condos and lofts with engineered hardwood that has a thinner wear layer. We check how much wood is left before promising a full refinish.
Circle C
1990s and 2000s builds with oak and maple floors that are now due for their first refinish. Traffic lanes and dog scratches are the usual issues.
Westlake
Larger homes with wide-plank and exotic species. These need careful grit selection so the stain takes evenly across different grain patterns.
Round Rock
Newer construction where the finish is still good but the color is dated. A color-change refinish is often all that is needed.
Summer humidity pushing boards to swell
Swollen boards cup at the edges and can crack the finish along the seams. We check moisture before sanding and let the floor stabilize so the flattening pass actually holds.
Winter dryness pulling gaps at the seams
Boards shrink and open gaps that collect grit. We fill the gaps during refinishing with wood filler matched to the stain, and the filler moves with the floor through the next season.
Pre-1978 homes with lead paint on trim
Sanding near painted baseboards and door casings can disturb lead paint. Our EPA Lead-Safe certification means we handle containment and cleanup to the federal standard on those homes.
Slab-on-grade construction common in Austin
Floors sit directly on concrete, so subfloor moisture matters more. We take meter readings on the slab side too, and recommend a moisture barrier where readings run high.
Most floors we see in Austin are not ruined, they are just worn past the point where cleaning helps. Here are the problems that bring people to us and how we handle each one.
Problem
The finish is worn through and bare wood is absorbing dirt and moisture. Left alone, the wood stains permanently and the boards start to cup at the edges.
Our Fix
We sand the worn layer back to clean wood, then apply fresh stain and three finish coats. The traffic lanes disappear because the color goes all the way through the top layer, not just on the surface.
Problem
Moisture swings push boards up at the edges and pull them apart at the seams. Ignored, the cupping gets sanded unevenly later and the gaps collect grit that damages the tongue and groove.
Our Fix
We take moisture meter readings on the wood and subfloor first. If the floor is still moving, we let it stabilize before sanding. Then we flatten the surface with the drum sander and fill the gaps with wood filler matched to the stain.
Problem
Urine darkens the wood and the smell comes back on humid days. If the stain has gone through to the subfloor, sanding alone will not fix it.
Our Fix
We sand down to see how deep the stain goes. Surface stains come out with sanding. Deeper ones get treated and sealed, and boards that are too far gone get replaced with matching stock. We tell you which category yours falls into before quoting.
Problem
Squeaks mean boards have pulled loose from the subfloor. Every step widens the gap and the movement wears the finish off faster in that spot.
Our Fix
During prep we locate the squeaks, then screw or staple the boards back down from above or below depending on access. Once the floor is tight, sanding and finishing go on top of a stable surface instead of a moving one.
Refinishing keeps the wood you already own and costs a fraction of new flooring. Here is what you actually get when we sand, stain, and seal your floors.
Fraction of replacement cost
New solid hardwood runs $8 to $14 per square foot installed. Refinishing typically lands between $3 and $6 per square foot, and you keep the original wood. For a 1,200 square foot Austin home, that difference is often $6,000 or more in your pocket, with the same visual result.
Scratches and stains gone
Deep scratches, water rings, and dark pet stains sit in the top layer of wood. Our drum sander removes that layer, and wood filler plus stain blends the repaired spots. Clients in Circle C regularly tell us floors they were ready to rip out came back looking new after one pass.
Color you actually want
Refinishing is your one chance to change the floor color without replacing boards. We work with Bona and Duraseal stain systems, from natural clear through dark walnut and gray-wash tones. Bring us a photo or a cabinet sample and we match it on a test patch before committing.
Sealed against Texas humidity
A proper polyurethane finish slows moisture movement in and out of the boards, which is what causes gaps and cupping here. We apply three coats with screen-buffing between each, building a film that stands up to kids, dogs, and the swing from 20 percent to 80 percent humidity Austin sees each year.
Google ★★★★★4.9
Refinished about 1,000 square feet of oak in our Westlake home. They showed up when they said they would, kept the dust contained, and the color match to our cabinets is spot on. The written quote was the final invoice, no add-ons.
Yelp ★★★★★4.8
We had pet stains we thought were permanent. They treated them, replaced four boards, and stained the whole floor a shade darker to blend. You cannot tell where the damage was. Four days start to finish.
BBB ★★★★★5.0
Used them on a rental turn in Pflugerville. Fast scheduling, clear pricing, and the floors were ready for tenants in under a week. Second time we have hired them and the result was consistent.
Google ★★★★★4.9
Downtown condo with engineered floors, and they were honest that a full sanding was risky. Did a light refinish with a gray stain instead and it looks great. Appreciated that they did not oversell the job.
General Wood Flooring LLC opened in 2022 and has been refinishing Austin floors for four years. In that time we have sanded everything from 1950s oak in Travis Heights to engineered planks in new-build condos downtown. Our sanders and finishers follow NWFA sand-and-finish methods, and we hold EPA Lead-Safe certification for the pre-1978 homes common in central Austin. We run Bona and Duraseal finish systems because they hold up to Texas heat and humidity, and we keep a moisture meter on every job because skipping that step is how floors cup three months later.
Real experiences from customers who chose our Hardwood Floor Refinishing services.
“We had original oak under carpet in a 1952 house and figured it was too far gone. The crew sanded it down, filled the pet stains, and stained it a warm natural. Dust was way less than I expected. Three days of work and the floors look like they were installed last year. Worth every dollar.”
Marisol R.
Homeowner, Zilker
“Two dogs and three kids had destroyed our finish. They quoted $4,200 for about 1,100 square feet with a color change to a gray-wash, and that is exactly what we paid. They taped off the kitchen, kept the dust down, and walked the floor with us at the end. No surprises on the invoice.”
Derek T.
Homeowner, Circle C
“We manage several rentals and needed a unit turned fast. They refinished about 700 square feet in four days, matched the stain to the hallway, and worked around our showing schedule. Tenants moved in the following week. We have used them twice since.”
Priya N.
Property Manager, Downtown Austin
Real answers to the questions we hear most often from local homeowners and property managers.
If your boards are too far gone for sanding, we install new solid hardwood and match it to the rest of the house. Many Austin clients refinish the main living areas and install new wood in an addition at the same time.
View Hardwood Floor InstallationEngineered planks have a thinner wear layer, so they can only be refinished once or twice. When yours is past that point, we install new engineered hardwood over your existing subfloor with underlayment and transition strips.
View Engineered Hardwood InstallationSolid oak, hickory, and maple take repeated sandings over decades. If you are adding square footage in a Cedar Park or Lakeway home, we lay solid planks with a flooring stapler, then sand and finish them to match your existing floor.
View Solid Hardwood InstallationThis is our refinishing service with the dust containment system front and center. HEPA filtration captures the fine dust at the sander, which keeps your HVAC, shelves, and cabinets clean. It is the version most Austin families with kids or allergies ask for.
View Dustless Sanding & RefinishingRefinishing is the window to change floor color. We test Duraseal and Bona stains on a hidden patch so you see the real result on your wood, not a showroom sample. Gray-wash, natural, and dark walnut are the three most requested tones in Austin.
View Floor Staining & Color ChangeCupped boards, water damage, pet stains, and gaps at seams get fixed during refinishing or as a standalone visit. We pull damaged planks with a pry bar and oscillating multi-tool, then weave in matching stock before sanding the whole area flat.
View Wood Floor RepairCall us at 512 877 7960 or send an email and we will get back to you the same business day. We answer the phone Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm, and we run 24/7 emergency response for water-damaged floors. Same-day estimates across Austin and Travis County.
Phone
512 877 7960Address
6900 Deep Cir, Austin, TX 78744
Hours
Mon–Fri: 7AM – 7PM
Sat: 8AM – 4PM
Sun: Emergency Only
24/7 Emergency Available
