Overview
If your floor is dull, scratched, or stained from decades of life, but the planks are sound, refinishing brings it back. We sand to bare wood, address spot damage, then apply finish that looks better than the day the floor was first laid.
Hardwood Refinishing & Sanding by Kovich & Savard starts at $4/sq ft* for labor, with material quoted separately and the final number set after a free in-home estimate. We service every Massachusetts town listed below, Greater Boston, the South Shore, MetroWest, and Cape Cod, with three generations of family experience. Every job is owner-led.
Where these numbers come from: every price, timeline and job detail on this refinishing page is set by the owners, Tim Savard and Steve Kovich, and reflects how they price and schedule this work in 2026, except figures credited to another source where they appear.
Refinishing brings a dull, scratched, or stained floor back to bare wood and a fresh finish without replacing it, and it is the right move whenever the boards themselves are still sound. It runs in steps: (1) a free assessment to check whether you need a full sand or just a screen-and-recoat; (2) furniture moved out and the room sealed with zip walls; (3) three-pass sanding at 40, 80, then 120 grit with HEPA dust containment; (4) optional stain panels applied directly to your floor so you sign off on the color; (5) three coats of premium finish with a light sanding between coats; (6) cure and furniture return: walkable in 24 hours, furniture-safe in 72, rugs after 14 days. The real choice is between screen-and-recoat, roughly half the cost and done in two days for a floor that's only lightly worn, and a full sand-and-refinish at $4/sq ft labor for a floor that's scratched, stained, or has cupping to level out. Replacement only enters the conversation when the wear layer (the wood above the tongue that each sanding removes) itself is gone. This is not the right service if you have no remaining wear layer to sand (we measure tongue depth at the assessment and will tell you honestly if replacement is the real answer), or if there's water-damaged or rotted subfloor (the plywood or boards the finished floor is fastened to) underneath (that gets diagnosed and repaired first, refinishing over it just hides the problem), or if you need the room usable the same day (walkable in 24 hours, furniture back at 72, not sooner). Book the free assessment. We'll tell you on the spot whether your floor needs a screen-and-recoat or a full refinish, and the written proposal follows within 48 hours.
Refinishing is the highest-leverage thing you can do to a 1920s, 1960s, or 1990s home. The original wood is almost always better than what's sold today, denser, slower-grown, and milled from larger logs. A good sand-and-finish reveals it.
We use modern dust-containment systems, HEPA-filtered (hospital-grade dust filter) drum sanders connected to powered vac, so your home stays livable through the work. Our three-pass sanding sequence (coarse 40-grit paper first, then finer 80 and 120 grit) removes old polyurethane, scratches, and pet stains while leveling boards that have cupped or crowned, curled up at the edges or bulged in the middle.
After sanding we offer custom-mixed stains and a choice of premium finishes: water-based polyurethane (low odor, fast cure, pale-amber tone), oil-based polyurethane (warmer amber, deeper grain), or hardwax oil (matte, repairable in spots, European feel).
Materials we work with
About this service
Refinishing, the honest one-paragraph version.
If your floor is dull, scratched, or stained from decades of life, but the planks are sound, refinishing brings it back. We sand to bare wood, address spot damage, then apply finish that looks better than the day the floor was first laid. We do this work across Massachusetts for homeowners, builders, property managers, and small-business owners. Labor starts at $4/sq ft*. Starting rate covers labor and a natural finish. Stain, custom color, water-based finish, and pet-stain remediation are quoted on top. Every job starts with a free in-home estimate, a written itemized proposal inside 48 hours of that visit, and a fixed completion date. Owner-led, fully insured, three generations of family craftsmanship since 1928.
Refinishing is one of eight service lines we offer. Most homeowners who book refinishing also end up using one or two related services from the same crew on the same project, common combinations include refinishing plus custom staining, install plus board-repair on adjacent rooms, and engineered hardwood plus luxury vinyl plank for a basement transition. We coordinate all of them under one proposal so you do not have to manage multiple contractors against each other on schedule.
Three generations of doing this work across Eastern Massachusetts has taught us that the same standards produce floors that hold up for forty years regardless of which service is on the proposal. Subfloor preparation before wood, proper acclimation before installation, three-coat premium finish where the system calls for it, transitions cut to fit every doorway, daily cleanup, and an owner on every site every day. Tim and Steve are the people you talk to, and the people on your floor.
Why choose this
What you get when we do this work.
What sets our refinishing work apart comes down to cheaper than replacement, dust-contained equipment and custom stain matching. Each point below is something you can check on your written refinishing proposal or see on the finished floor, not a slogan.
Cheaper than replacement
Our refinishing starts at $4/sq ft labor; our own new solid install starts at $10/sq ft. If your boards are sound, refinishing is usually the right move.
Dust-contained equipment
Modern HEPA sanders pull dust into a sealed vacuum at the drum. Your kitchen cabinets and HVAC don't pay the price for your floors.
Custom stain matching
We mix on-site to match an heirloom piece, a kitchen cabinet, or a sample swatch. Stain panels go down before any finish so you sign off on the exact color.
How it goes
The 6-step process for this work.
Every refinishing job we take runs in the same 6 steps, from free assessment to drying time & furniture return. The owner who writes your refinishing proposal stays on the job through each step, and the proposal lists every step with its date.
- 01
Free assessment
We come look at the floor in person. Some floors look beat but only need a screen-and-recoat, a light buff and one fresh top coat with no sanding to bare wood, which costs much less. We'll tell you which yours is.
- 02
Furniture out, room sealed
We move and protect what you can't. Plastic sheeting and zip walls (floor-to-ceiling plastic barriers held up on spring poles) isolate the work zone.
- 03
Three-pass sanding
Coarse 40-grit sandpaper first, then finer 80 and 120 grit, plus edge sanders along the walls and a floor buffer, a slow rotary polisher, for an even surface.
- 04
Stain samples (optional)
Three to five stain options applied directly to your floor for you to choose from.
- 05
Finish, 3 coats
Three coats of premium polyurethane finish with a light sanding between coats. Each coat cures before the next.
- 06
Drying time & furniture return
Our standard drying schedule: walkable in 24 hours, furniture back after 72 hours, rugs after 14 days.
Recent refinishing projects
Real photos. Real Massachusetts homes.
These are photos from our own refinishing jobs in Massachusetts homes, not stock images. More of our work, including other refinishing jobs, is on our work page, and at the estimate we can point you to finished refinishing floors near you.
Considerations for Massachusetts homes
What we look at before quoting refinishing.
Subfloor and structure: Massachusetts housing stock spans pre-1900 board subfloors laid on beams, mid-century plywood over 2x10 beams, and modern engineered I-joists (factory-made floor beams shaped like a capital I), and we adjust technique for each. Pre-1960 homes routinely have original pine plank subfloor with hardwood nailed directly to it; post-war ranches and capes show 1/2" plywood; newer builds use 3/4" tongue-and-groove OSB (oriented strand board, panels of pressed wood strands) or plywood. Each calls for different fastener length, different acclimation tolerance, and a different read on whether the subfloor needs screwing-down before any new flooring goes over it. We test moisture content with a handheld moisture meter at every job because cupping and buckling (boards curling at the edges or lifting off the subfloor) are almost always a subfloor-moisture story, not a wood-selection story.
Material specification: species (red oak versus white oak versus walnut versus hickory), board width (2 1/4" strip versus 5" plank versus 7"+ wide-plank), grade (select clear versus character versus rustic), and finish chemistry (clear, low-odor water-based polyurethane versus warmer amber oil-based versus matte hardwax oil that soaks into the wood) each move both the price and the lived experience of the floor for the next 30 years. We bring physical samples to the estimate so you see and feel the difference rather than choosing from a catalog page. Pricing scales with those choices: the same room costs several times more in wide-plank European white oak than in narrow select red oak boards.
Adjacencies and transitions: almost every refinishing project touches a kitchen tile threshold, an exterior door, a stair nose, and at least one HVAC register. We cut every transition to fit rather than hiding the edge under a trim strip, mill the rounded stair edges from matching wood, and blend refinish work into adjacent rooms so the new work doesn't read as a stripe of fresh wood against tired surroundings. That detail work is included in the labor rate, not added as a separate line item.
Dust, schedule, and living in the house: we run HEPA-filtered dust-containment sanders that pull dust into a sealed vacuum at the sander before it reaches the air, and we seal off adjacent rooms with zip walls. Most families stay in the house through a refinish. For an install, plan on the floors being walkable in stocking feet at day 4 and fully ready for furniture at day 7. We coordinate around your life and can work in phases when whole-house occupancy matters.
FAQ
Common questions about refinishing.
These are the refinishing questions we hear most at in-home estimates, answered in plain words by the owners who do the work. Got a question that's not here? Call (508) 962-1962 or email us. Tim and Steve answer themselves.
How many times can hardwood be refinished?
Solid 3/4" can typically be refinished 4-5 times, taking off about 1/16" of wear layer each time. We'll measure remaining tongue depth at the assessment so you know where you stand.
Do you do screen-and-recoat?
Yes, when a floor only needs to be lightly abraded and recoated (no stain, no deep scratches), screen-and-recoat is roughly half the cost and finishes in two days.
What about pet stains?
Black pet stains are tannic acid that's penetrated the wood. We can sand most out; stubborn ones get bleached with oxalic acid before staining. We'll set expectations honestly before work starts.
How long does refinishing take from start to finish?
For a typical 800 to 1,200 sq ft project, an install takes the floors walkable in stocking feet at day 4 and fully ready for furniture at day 7. A refinish runs 4 to 5 days end-to-end. We coordinate around your life and can work in phases when whole-house occupancy matters.
Will Tim or Steve be on-site for my refinishing job?
Yes. An owner is on every site, every day. Not a project manager, not a salesperson, not a subbed-out crew. The person who measured your floor is the person who runs the work and is the person you call if you have a question two years later.
What insurance do you carry for refinishing work?
$2,000,000 in liability insurance (it pays for damage to your home) and full workers' compensation (it covers our crew if someone is hurt). Certificates of insurance furnished on request, including additional-insured endorsements for condo associations or property managers that require them.
Do you offer a warranty on refinishing?
Yes. Written workmanship warranty on every job, plus the finish manufacturer's product warranty on the coating system. If something we did fails, we come back. We answer the phone for years afterward.
How quickly can you start a project?
Most projects start two to four weeks after sign-off. The on-site estimate happens within a few business days of your call, the written proposal lands inside 48 hours of that visit, and the wood acclimates on-site for 5 to 7 days before any nail goes in.
What's included
What you actually get with refinishing.
Included in the labor rate: in-home assessment of the subfloor and existing material, written itemized proposal within 48 hours, moisture-content testing at delivery and at install, on-site acclimation of raw boards (5 to 7 days for solid, 3 to 5 for pre-finished), three-pass sanding with HEPA dust containment (where applicable), three coats of premium polyurethane with a light sanding between coats (where applicable), transitions cut to fit at doorways and room changes, owner-led job supervision, furniture moving and protection within the work zone, daily site cleanup, and a final walk-through with written care kit. The labor rate is not stripped down to a teaser number that grows once we are on-site.
Quoted separately on top of labor: the wood or product itself (priced by species, board width, grade, and quantity); any subfloor repair we find during prep (rotted plywood, reinforcing floor beams, leveling beyond minor patching); stair treads and their front edges, and risers; custom stain blends beyond a single tone; specialty moldings and transitions we need to fabricate rather than buy stock; and after-hours scheduling for commercial work. Each line item appears on the proposal so you see the math before signing.
Not included, and we will tell you up front: any work outside the scope on the proposal. If we find something during prep that changes the scope, we stop, photograph it, email you a change-order with a real number, and wait for your sign-off before proceeding. We do not silently expand scope and present a larger invoice at the end.
Warranty: written workmanship warranty on every project, plus the finish manufacturer's product warranty on the coating system. If something we did fails (a cup, a lifted board, a finish failure that we caused), we come back. We have been doing this work since 1928 and we plan to be answering the phone for the same floor in twenty years.
Where we provide this service
Refinishing across Eastern Massachusetts.
Honest expectations
What we will and will not promise on refinishing.
What we will promise: owner-led work from start to finish, a fixed completion date in writing, full HEPA dust containment where the service calls for it, three coats of premium polyurethane where the finish type calls for it, transitions cut to fit every doorway and room change, daily cleanup, written workmanship warranty, and a phone number staffed by an owner for the years after the job. Free in-home estimate, written itemized proposal within 48 hours.
What we will not promise: a price quoted sight-unseen, a refinish on a floor whose wear layer is gone, a finish type that we know will yellow over the stain you chose, an install schedule that cannot accommodate proper wood acclimation, or work outside the scope on the proposal. We will tell you honestly at the in-home visit if what you are asking for is not a good fit for your floor for your situation and what we recommend instead, even when the recommendation is a smaller project than the one you called about.
Other services
You might also need…
These related services are often done alongside refinishing, each with its own page, starting price and process. All of them can go on the same written proposal as your refinishing work, so one visit and one estimate cover the whole floor.
