Repair & structural
Most worn hardwood floors do not need replacing. They need sanding. Kitchener Prestige Flooring sands and refinishes hardwood for homeowners, landlords and property managers across Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, from century pine to modern engineered oak.
In more than 16 years and 1,700+ flooring jobs, we have brought back floors other companies said were too far gone. We measure how much wood is left before we sand, so we never remove more than the floor can spare.
Our sanding setup is dust contained, our finishers are licensed, insured and WSIB covered, and every refinish comes with a written 1-year labour warranty.
If the boards are solid and tight, sanding is almost always cheaper than replacement. These signs tell us a floor is a good candidate.
Deep black pet stains often go right through the wood. Those boards are replaced before sanding through our floor repair service.
Not every floor needs a full sand. We match the work to the wear.
A buff and coat, also called a screen and recoat, lightly abrades the existing finish and adds a fresh coat on top. It removes fine scratches and dullness without cutting into the wood.
It takes one day, costs a fraction of a full sand and adds years to the finish. Many companies will not quote it. We do, whenever it is the right answer.
A full sand takes the floor back to bare wood. It removes deep scratches, stains in the finish, old colour and minor unevenness.
We then stain if you want a colour change and apply three coats of finish. Most full refinishes take three to five days.
The same stain looks different on red oak, white oak and maple. We never choose a colour from a chart alone.
After sanding, we apply several stain samples directly on your floor in good light. You choose from real results, then we stain the whole floor.
Many people search for how to refinish floors without dust. The honest answer is dust containment, not dust elimination.
Our drum sander and edger connect to a high-powered extraction unit that pulls dust away at the source. We also seal doorways and vents with plastic and zip walls.
The result is a far cleaner job than traditional sanding. Most customers find only a light film to wipe from nearby surfaces.
Sanding happens in stages, each with a finer abrasive. A typical sequence is 36 or 40 grit, then 60, then 80, then a final screen at 100 or 120.
Skipping a grit to save time leaves scratches from the coarser paper that show up once stain goes on. Chatter marks, the ripple pattern left by a drum sander, come from worn equipment or rushing.
We finish every floor with a multi-disc or buffer pass to blend the edges and field, so there are no swirl marks along the walls.
How long before you can use the room is one of the most common questions we get. The answer depends on the finish.
Water-based finishes such as Bona Traffic HD dry clear, stay colour true and have little odour. Coats dry in 2 to 3 hours, so a floor can get three coats in a day.
Socks after about 3 hours, shoes after 24, furniture after 48 to 72, and rugs after 7 to 14 days while the finish fully cures.
Oil-modified polyurethane gives a warm, amber tone and a deep look many people love on red oak. It has a strong odour and takes 8 to 12 hours between coats.
Hardwax oils such as Rubio Monocoat and Osmo soak into the wood for a natural matte look. Worn spots can be touched up without sanding the whole room.
Every sanding removes wood. In century homes around Kitchener and Cambridge, some floors have already been sanded many times.
We pull a floor register or threshold to see how much wood sits above the tongue. On solid 3/4 inch boards there is roughly 1/4 inch to start, and each full sand removes around 1/32 inch.
On engineered floors, we measure the real wood layer. If there is not enough for a full sand, we recommend a buff and coat instead.
Most customers stay home during a water-based refinish. You just cannot use the rooms being worked on until the finish dries.
We plan the sequence so you keep access to the kitchen or bedrooms where possible. Pets need to stay out of finished areas for a few days.
With oil-modified finishes, we usually recommend staying elsewhere for a night or two because of the fumes.
Typical 2026 ranges in Waterloo Region:
| Item | Typical cost per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Buff and coat, one coat | $1.25 to $2.00 |
| Full sand and 3 coats, natural | $3.50 to $5.50 |
| Stain colour change | add $0.75 to $1.25 |
| Hardwax oil finish | add $1.00 to $2.00 |
| New hardwood floor, installed, for comparison | $10.00 to $20.00 |
Staircases are quoted per step, and our stairs, treads and railings team can match them to your floor. Parquet floors need a different approach, covered on our parquet floor restoration page. All refinishing carries our 1-year labour warranty.
Keep exploring
Where this service is in highest demand:
FAQ
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Still unsure? Call and ask.
Ask for a Free QuoteA standard 3/4 inch solid floor can usually be fully sanded five to eight times over its life. Engineered floors depend on the wear layer, from zero for thin veneers up to three or four times for 4 mm layers. We measure before we quote.
With water-based finishes, socks only after about 3 hours on the final coat and shoes after 24 hours. Furniture can go back after 48 to 72 hours, and rugs after 7 to 14 days. Oil-modified finishes take longer at each stage.
Yes, if the wear layer is thick enough, usually 2 mm or more for a full sand. Thinner engineered floors can still be screened and recoated to refresh the finish without cutting into the wood.
No, and nobody honest will say it is. Dust containment captures the vast majority of dust at the sander, and we seal off rooms, but some fine dust still settles. It is a huge improvement over open sanding.
Free estimate
Tell us about the floor. We will call to book a time, measure on site, check the subfloor and moisture, and leave you a written quote.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call and speak to a flooring specialist directly.
Kitchener Prestige Flooring
137 Glasgow St, Kitchener, ON N2M 5E3
Monday to Saturday: 7:00am to 9:30pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm