The honest answer depends on how much wood sits above the nails, not on a number in a brochure. In the older Des Moines neighbourhoods that question matters more than most people expect.
A solid ¾ inch strip floor has roughly ¼ inch of usable wood above the tongue and the nails. A full sand takes off somewhere between 1/32 and 1/16 of an inch depending on how bad the floor is and how flat it needs to come. That arithmetic gives you four to six full sandings over the life of the floor.
That is the theoretical number. The real number is lower, because floors are rarely sanded evenly, and because whoever did it last time may have taken more than they needed to.
The older neighbourhoods here, Beaverdale, Sherman Hill, Drake, Highland Park, South of Grand, sit on red oak laid in the 1920s and 30s, usually 2¼ inch strip, and often under three layers of later flooring. Those floors have frequently been sanded once or twice already, sometimes by someone who had no reason to be careful about it.
So the first question on a 1920s house is not what finish you want. It is how much wood is left. We check that before quoting, not after starting, because it changes what is possible.
Pull a floor vent or a threshold and look at the cut edge of a board. You can see the thickness directly and you can see where the tongue sits. If the top of the tongue is close to the surface, the floor is near the end of its sanding life.
The other sign is nail heads. If you can see the top of a nail anywhere in the field of the floor, not just at the edges, that floor has been sanded as far as it can safely go.
It is not automatically a replacement. A floor too thin to sand can often still take a screen and recoat, which removes no wood at all and runs $2.00 – $4.00 per sq ft. That buys years, as long as the existing finish is worn rather than damaged and there is no grey or black staining in the wood itself.
If the wood is stained through or boards are cupped, then replacement is the conversation, and in Des Moines that is $7 – $12 per sq ft installed for solid against $2.75 – $5.50 per sq ft for a sand and finish. That gap is why it is worth measuring first.
Sanding a floor flat when it did not need to be flat. A cupped or crowned floor takes far more wood to level than a flat floor takes to strip. If a floor is cupping because of a moisture problem underneath, sanding it flat in February means it cups the other way in July and you have spent one of your remaining sandings for nothing. Fix the moisture first.
Sanding a floor back to bare wood and building a new finish on top. $2.75 – $5.50 per sq ft.
Four to six times for a solid ¾ inch floor, based on roughly ¼ inch of wood above the nails and 1/32 to 1/16 inch removed per sanding. Older Des Moines floors have often used two of those already.
Look at a cut edge at a vent or threshold to see the remaining thickness, and look for exposed nail heads in the middle of the floor. Visible nails mean the floor is at its limit.
Usually once, sometimes twice, depending on the thickness of the wear layer. A 2mm layer will take one light sanding. Below that, a screen and recoat is the only safe option.
Socks after 24 hours, shoes at three days, rugs and furniture at fourteen. The last number is the one people ignore, and a rug put down in week one leaves a permanent outline.
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