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As you can see in the photos, National Floors is in the business of restoring your old, worn hardwood floors and making them look like new again.  It's easier said then done, but the reality is, it requires a lot of talent and experience to get professional results.  Please read on. 

What to look for in a Refinishing Hardwood Floor Contractor California state license board link-National floors 308x136

Hardwood floor refinishing is our specialty.  National Floors has been serving Alameda County and Santa Clara County for over a decade.  We posses all the positive and necessary credentials to earn your confidence.  Our company is licensed with the California State License Board (#903508).  National Floors is also bonded, has liability insurance along with workers compensation.  National floors very good.  You can check our "Live Reviews" and see for yourself.  On top of that, National Floors offers a "No Deposit" policy.  That basically means there is no up front money involved.  Since Refinishing hardwood floors in our specialty, we are absolutely sure we will transform your hardwood floors into a like new state.  This is all done at a fraction of the price of replacing your hardwood floors or carpet.  You can expect expect a dramatic change to your floors when you hire us to sand and finish your hardwood floors.  Deep scratches, gouges and other imperfections are erased with the four stage sanding process. 

Hardwood floor Contractor | Sander | Finisher

Sand and finishing hardwood floors takes a tremendous amount of skill, patience and know how to continuously turn out high quality work.  On average, our wood floor contractors will refinish over 130 floors per year.  It doesn't matter if your hardwood floors are red oak, white oak, maple, Santos mahogany or Brazilian cherry.  National Floors has sanded them all.  Leave it to us to restore your hardwood.

How to determine if you can Refinish Hardwood floors

Before the work can begin, we need to find out what type of floor you have.  By determining the type of hardwood floors you have, you as a homeowner, can make the best decision as how to move forward with your flooring project.  The easiest way to detect the type of hardwood floor in your home is to access teh heater vent or register in your floor.  If you have a vent in your floor, then you have a wooden subfloor.  You can then look at the profile of the floor to which type you have.  Typically, we can break your hardwood floors down into 2 categories. 

Sanding Solid Hardwood FloorsVent removal exposes hardwood floor thickness-wear layer-national floors

Sanding "Solid Hardwood" floors is easy.  The hard part may be identifying how thick your solid hardwood floors are.  The pic on the right, CLICK image to enlarge, demonstrates how you can easily tell if your hardwood floors are solid.  This example would be a premium hardwood floor that is usually installed over a wooden sub-floor.  These solid hardwood floors can be sanded many times due to their thickness.  What does that mean to you?  It basically means the floors can be restored to a "Like New" state many times.  Some solid hardwood floors are of course thick than others, but even the thinnest of the solid hardwood floor will have a very long life.

Sanding Engineered Hardwood engineered hardwood floor wear layer-national floors contractors 479x218

The second type of hardwood floor is "Engineered hardwood" floor.  This type of floor is NOT a solid hardwood floor.  An engineered hardwood floor is designed to be installed over a concrete slab.  This type of hardwood floor usually has 3-5 base layers intended to keep the top layer or Wear Layer protected from the moisture present in all concrete slabs.  There are a few ways of determining whether or not your engineered hardwood floors are a candidate for a sand and finish project.  The easiest way is to posses a loose or extra board from the installation.  At that point, you can put a nickel on top and take a picture of the "Profile" or side view.  You can then text it to us so we can see if the wear layer is thick enough to sand.  Many times over the years, we have had homeowners tell us that the person who sold them the engineered hardwood floors said that the floors can be automatically be sanded up to 3 times.  This is a sales pitch from a person who has NEVER performed the work.  Sand and finishing engineered hardwood floors is always done with caution.  Only a solid floor can be sanded aggressively without the risk of burning through the wear layer.  The picture on the right depicts the proper way to photograph the nickel on top of the engineered hardwood floor to determine the wear layer.     

Sanding Hardwood Stairsstair treads-stair risers-national floors 506x288

Yes, we can sand, stain and coat your hardwood stairs.  We'll make them look new again! 

In general, there are a few things to consider before we can quote you a price: 

  • We need to know which species of hardwood you have.
  • We need a stair/step and landing count. 
  • We need to know if you want Option "A" or "B" (Look to the right)
  • We also need to know what "Stain Color" you desire. 

Just to clarify, there are a few different parts to a stair.  There part of the step that you actually walk on is called the "Tread".  The vertical piece is called the "Riser".  You will have the choice to limit the sanding to the tread only.  We call this option "A".  It's pretty typical to have the riser painted, usually white for contrast if you choose this option.  You can also have both the "Tread & Riser" sand and finished and refer to this as option "B".  Ultimately, both options are beautiful.  As with the hardwood floors, you will also have a color choice available.  Option 1 is Natural and Option 2 is staining the stairs to a desired custom color.     

The Process of Sanding Hardwood floors

The first thing we do when sand and finishing your hardwood floors is to remove the old finish and "Flatten" your wood floors.  Worn out wooden floors tend to change shape in time and thus looses its flatness.  If you get down on your hands and knees and rub your hand across your floor, you will feel the unevenness and micro-bevels first hand.  We would then add "Wood filler" to fill in the hairline cracks for a better appearance.  After sanding the floor, 4-5 times, you will be left with a "New" surface.  Those old floors will look amazing, but they are actually very fragile and need protecting.      

The next step would be to add the color of choice.  If you want a "Natural" look, we would then add 3 coats of commercial grade finish.  This finish or polyurethane cannot be purchased over the counter.  You need a contractors license to purchase.  This is the same high quality finish that is used in businesses and malls.  If you have oak floors, like in the picture to the right, the "Natural" look will result in a golden tone.  If you prefer any other color, then you will need to have your hardwood floors stained.  With oak hardwood, you can go in any direction.  There are literally dozens of colors to choose from.    

You should know, not all hardwoods can be stained, but most can. Don't worry about the technical aspect, we got this. We will take your old hardwood floors in Alameda County and make them look like "New" again. What can you expect after the work is done? Floors that are flat, color that is even and a sheen of your choice.

Refinishing hardwood floor cost

It's a common question to know what refinishing hardwood floors cost. It's typically based on square footage, STAIN COLOR and the type of polyurethane finish you want to use.  With that being said, the more square footage you have, the better the price.  Even the smallest job will require a 2-3 day service.  There are many variables for us to consider before we can give you an accurate cost for refinishing hardwood floors. This is why it is best to have an estimator come to your home and give you a quote.  It's free, without obligation and takes about 10-15 minutes of your time.  Just so you know, the typical cost for refinishing hardwood floors is much cheaper than installing new carpet.  Please feel free to call us and perhaps we can give you a rough quote over the phone.

NEVER Hire the Cheapest Contractor

If you think shopping for the cheapest contractor is saving you money, you're wrong and I'll tell you why.  Like oil and water, rock bottom prices and quality work don't mix.  Common sense will tell you that if a contractors price is cheap, it's cheap for many reasons that cause major regrets and headaches down the line. 

  1. The first thing that comes to mind is that the cheap contractor is "Illegitimate".  Someone who works under the radar and is not licensed by the CSLB.  It's a safe bet that their work is inferior and won't meet the professional standard you are expecting when paying for a professional service.  That's especially a big deal if things go south on your project.  Contractor nightmares are a daily experience for people skimping on cost.    
  2. Secondly, bottom of the barrel pricing is a desperate attempt at getting the work.  Any contractor that produces quality work will be in demand.  It's that simple.  
  3. Thirdly, the products and materials the cheap contractor uses are low grade.  The products we use can only be purchased by a licensed contractor.  That means you can't go to the Home Depot for flooring contractor grade materials because they don't sell them.  If inferior products are used, the durability is weak and the life span of the floors is shorter.  That means you will have refinish your hardwood floors all over again in just a few years.        

On the contrary, like in any industry, a contractor that produces high quality work will "Not" work for rock bottom prices because those flooring contractors are in High demand and have the positive reputation to prove it.  Our hardwood flooring contractors are C15 licensed (hardwood floor specialist), bonded and insured for your protection.  We can go a step further and say that our company has a "No deposit policy".  You don't pay until the work is completed.  

Sandless refinishing vs. Sand and finish hardwood floors

There are companies out there that are selling a "Sandless" refinishing process.  What is a hardwood "Sandless" refinishing process?  It's basically a shortcut process that most consider a Sham!  It's merely a maintenance program or technically the very last step in a full sand and finish process.  Without getting into too much detail, you can NEVER restore a hardwood floor with a sandless hardwood refinishing system.  This service, in essence, is masquerading the sale of one service for another.  Sandless hardwood refinishing is typically performed by a person who does NOT possess a C15 (Hardwood floor specialist) contractors license.  More on that later.  This sand-less refinishing maintenance program, which we refer to as "Re-Coating", will not correct hardwood floor issues like deep scratches or gouges.  If you have other issues with your hardwood floor like sun fading or discoloration, this sand-less option will not correct the problem.  Why not?  Because you will just be top coating the existing floor.  Another way to look at it is, if you want to paint a car with a minor dent and some dings and decide to pass on the body work, you will be left with a shiny car that has a minor dent and dings.  Those mechanical imperfections cannot be corrected with a re-coat. 

The "Only" way to erase deep scratches, gouges and discoloration in hardwood floors would be to mechanically correct them with a sanding and finish process.  When you sand the floor, you are creating a new canvas.  When you have a fresh new starting point, the floors will look like new again, every time.  You can't get the same results with a re-coat.  If you have seen a re-coated floor next to a sand and finished floor, there is absolutely no comparison.  The sanded floors are without doubt superior in appearance and durability.  When the floors are sanded, they are top coated 3 times with commercial grade materials that can only be purchased by licensed contractors.    

Hiring a contractor that is not licensed 

Here's the negative with a sandless refinishing option for your hardwood floors:  If a "Sandless company" comes into your home and does not hold a contractors license, they would be classified as a "Handyman".  In other words, a contractor without a license is not a contractor.  In short, these people lack the professional skill set you are paying for and even worst, they are breaking the law!  

California state law says: "Therefore, persons engaged in the business of home improvement must be licensed in the appropriate trade before advertising and/or submitting bids for construction and construction-related services. The license requirement is for jobs that total $500 or more in labor and materials (BPC § 7028)"   

Take a moment and do a FREE background check with the California State License Board.  Here, in a matter of moments, you can quickly see if the person/company you are thinking about hiring is legitimate.  Just type in the license in the box to see if the person or company passes the test.  You will also quickly come to see if person/company is bonded, carries liability insurance and workers compensation insurance.  The law is here to protect you and your home from people posing as licensed contractors.  If you don't take this serious, you will likely be the person to fall victim from illegal behavior. 

What happens if an Unlicensed contractor messes up my hardwood floors?

Unfortunately, for James C. in Milpitas, this recently happened.  James hired the cheapest contractor he could find to sand and finish his 1000 feet of red oak hardwood floor.  According to James, the guys did a terrible job. The unlicensed flooring contractors sanded the floors at least 3 times with the same terrible results.  James was very unhappy, especially since he paid the contractors upfront and in full.      

Since National Floors is a leader in the hardwood floor resurfacing arena, he called us for advice.  Our lead contractor showed up to James C. house for an inspection.  James and his wife pointed out their concerns.  After the wood floor inspection, we found this.    

The hardwood floor restoration failed in a few areas: 

  1. The sanding process was incorrect. The floor was not flat and machine swirl marks were evident all over the place. 
  2. The coating of the floor was also incorrect.  The spread rate of the polyurethane was very inconsistent, leaving some areas shinier than other areas
  3. The color was also inconsistent.  The floor was darker in some areas, due to a bad coating process.

Ultimately, the floors did not pass National Floors inspection.  The homeowner didn't need to be a trained wood floor inspector to see what bad work looks like.  This is where the bad news came in.  What recourse did James C. have?        

  • Since the contractors did not have a license, you cannot report them to the California State License board.  
  • You cannot collect from their liability company because a company "Must" posses a contractors license in order to be insured
  • You cannot put a lien against their bond because only a licensed company can be bonded.  
  • You can take them to court if you can find them.  Most of these guys change their phone number and go under the radar once exposed
  • Any money, including a deposit, is long gone.  

So what happened to James?  Since James couldn't live with the past results, he hired National Floors to start the process all over again.  Fortunately for James, National Floors does not take a deposit.  When the job was complete, and James approved of our work, he then paid.  It was truly a bitter sweet moment jor James, having to pay twice.  In James's words, he learned a hard lesson.  Last I heard, James was attempting to take the "Other" company to court.  We wish him well.   

Outdoor Hardwood Deck RefinishingDeck sanding-deck staining-national floors contractors

Well, it's official.  National Floors hardwood floor refinishing is now sanding and refinishing out door hardwood decks.  So whether your deck is dug fir or redwood, we can sand it.  Your hardwood decks are just like any other investment.  If you neglect them, they will deteriorate and lose value.  With a hardwood deck, things are a little different, because of the sun and weather, they can wear out very fast if not protected.  As you may or may not know, it can be very costly to repair or replace your outdoor hardwood deck.    

This is what we do for you:  We will sand your deck and create a like "New" surface.  The deck will be flattened, just like we would with an interior hardwood floor.  We will then apply multiple coats of an outdoor deck material that is engineered to block UV rays.  The look is Amazing and will last for many years.