What hardwood floor restoration means in Des Moines
On a Sherman Hill or Woodland Heights floor the surface is often the easy part. Underneath there is a joist that has dropped, boards that were cut through for a radiator pipe in 1948, and a patch of face-nailed pine where a wall used to be.
Restoration means those get solved first, in the right species and the right board width, then the whole floor is cut as one plane so the repairs disappear.
- How it is done
- staple and tack removal first, then the standard three-pass sequence
- What goes on the floor
- stain to match adjoining rooms, then a full coat build
- Ready to use
- socks at 24 hours, full use at 14 days
- Typical cost
- $2.75 – $5.50 per sq ft
- Service life
- a 1920s oak floor has one or two sands left in it, treat them as finite
How the sanding runs on hardwood floor restoration
Sourcing is the long pole. A 2-1/4 inch red oak strip is easy. A 1-5/8 inch quarter-sawn white oak in an original pattern is not, and on a heart pine floor the only honest match is salvaged board of the same age.
Where a doorway or a wall has moved, the patch is woven rather than butted, which means the new boards interlace into the old at staggered ends. A butted patch reads as a rectangle in the floor forever, and no stain hides it.
What hardwood floor restoration costs in Des Moines, IA
Restoration is quoted in two parts, the carpentry by the job and the sanding by the square foot, because the first part is genuinely unknown until we lift boards. We do the investigation before quoting rather than after.
Where hardwood floor restoration goes wrong in Iowa
The mistake is sanding first and repairing later, because then every patch is proud or low relative to a floor that is already at its final height. The order is always carpentry, then one single cut across everything.
Where we do hardwood floor restoration
We cover Des Moines, the western suburbs, the Ankeny corridor and the older neighbourhoods inside the city, including and 18 more areas.
Questions we get asked about hardwood floor restoration
Can you match our 100 year old floor?
For red and white oak, usually yes. For heart pine, quarter-sawn oak or an unusual width, we source salvaged material and it takes weeks, not days.
Is it cheaper to replace?
Almost never, if the floor is solid and original. Replacement means new material, new subfloor work and disposal, and it takes an old house's best feature away.
What about the gaps between boards?
Wide even gaps in an old floor are the floor's normal winter state. Filling them in January means squeezed boards in July, so we fill only gaps that stay open year round.
Get a free estimate
Tell us what you need. We answer the same day, the free estimate is on site, and nobody chases you afterwards.
Get a price for your hardwood floor restoration
Call and we will come out, measure, and leave you a written quote. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards.