Boyle's Floor & Window Designs refinishes hardwood floors across Chester County with two refinishing crews of its own. A typical main floor takes three to five days: the old finish is sanded off, the wood is stained if you want a new color, and two or three coats of finish go down. A Boyle's painter then touches up the baseboards and stair parts. The assessment and quote are free.
Hardwood refinishing
The hardwood under that worn finish is almost certainly fine. Most of the floors we are asked to replace in Chester County homes do not need replacing. They need sanding, a fresh stain if you want a new color, and new coats of finish. The result looks and performs like a new floor at a fraction of the cost and without tearing anything out.
Boyle’s has refinished hardwood in West Chester homes since 1951, which means we have seen the same red oak strip floors come back for their second and third refinish across three owners. That is the whole point of solid hardwood. And because the crews are ours, the people sanding your floor answer to the same showroom that quoted it.
Your options
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Screen and recoat | Full refinish | Replace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What happens | The existing finish is lightly abraded and a fresh coat goes on | The floor is sanded to bare wood, stained if wanted, and refinished | The old floor comes out and a new one goes in |
| Right when | The floor is dull but the finish is not worn through | Finish is worn through, scratched, stained, or the color is dated | Boards are water-damaged, sanded too thin, or you want a different wood |
| Changes the color | No | Yes | Yes |
| Disruption | Lowest | A few days per area | Highest |
Which one you need
Refinish when the finish is scratched, dull, or worn through in traffic paths, when the color is dated, when there are surface stains from pets or plants, or when boards are sound but the floor looks tired. A refinished floor is the same wood you have now, so the character stays.
Replace when boards are structurally damaged from long-term water exposure, when the floor has already been sanded so many times the tongue-and-groove is exposed, or when you want a different species or plank width. We will tell you which situation you are in after a look, and it is usually the first.
Seven steps
Your design representative visits, checks the floor’s condition and thickness, notes any repairs, and confirms what finish and color you want. You get an itemized quote.
You clear the rooms of furniture and rugs, or arrange with us to have them moved. We remove shoe molding if needed and protect adjacent rooms from dust.
The old finish and a thin layer of wood are removed in progressively finer passes until the surface is bare, flat, and smooth. Edges and corners are hand-finished.
Damaged boards are replaced and blended. If you are changing color, stain is applied and allowed to dry; if you love the natural tone, we skip straight to finish.
Two or three coats of polyurethane or a hardwax oil, depending on the look and durability you want.
Sanding a floor edge to edge is hard on whatever stands beside it. Our painter touches up the baseboards, shoe molding, stair risers, spindles, and stringers once the finish is down.
You can typically walk on the floor in socks after a day, move furniture back after a few days, and put rugs down after the finish has fully cured.
Finish
The finish you choose sets the look and the schedule. The timing figures below come from the published data sheets for two widely used professional finishes from Bona, one waterborne and one oil-modified. Other products differ, and we give you the numbers for the finish going on your floor.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Water-based polyurethane | Oil-based polyurethane | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Stays clear; keeps the wood's natural tone | Ambers slightly; warms the wood |
| Dry time between coats | About 2 to 3 hours | About 8 to 12 hours |
| Light foot traffic | After 24 hours | After 24 hours |
| Full cure | About 3 days | About 14 days |
| Odor | Lower | Stronger |
| Good for | Occupied homes and tight schedules | A traditional amber look |
Good to know
Sometimes. It depends on the thickness of the real-wood wear layer on top. The National Wood Flooring Association’s general rule is that an engineered floor with a wear layer thinner than 2.5 millimeters, about 3/32 of an inch, should not be sanded. At or above that thickness a floor can typically be sanded and refinished once, occasionally twice. Bring us a spare plank or let us check an inconspicuous edge, and we can tell you quickly.
A freshly refinished floor makes every scuffed baseboard beside it look worse. Most refinishers stop at the floor and leave you to find a painter for a half-day of trim work. Boyle’s has a painter for exactly this. After a refinish or a new floor installation, our painter touches up baseboards, shoe molding, stair risers, spindles, and stringers, so the room is finished when our crew leaves and you make one call instead of two. Ask for it when we quote the floor and it goes on the same itemized estimate.
Plan on three to five days for an average main floor, longer for larger areas, stain changes, or repairs. Water-based finishes shorten the timeline; oil-based finishes lengthen it. We schedule around your household and tell you exactly when each room will be off-limits.
Every ten to fifteen years for a busy household, longer for a quiet one. The real signal is the finish, not the calendar: when water no longer beads on the surface or you can see bare wood in the walk paths, it is time. A screen and recoat can extend the life of a floor that is dull but not worn through.
Pricing
A full refinish at Boyle’s (sanding to bare wood, stain if you want a new color, and two or three coats of finish) is $5.75 per square foot. A screen and recoat, for floors that are dull but not worn through, is $3.25 per square foot. Both prices include the stain and finish materials. The minimum for a refinishing job is $1,350. Trim work, furniture moving, and stairs are quoted separately, and stairs are priced per job. Prices as of October 2026.
For a 350 square foot living and dining room, a full refinish comes to about $2,012 before any extras. Refinishing is consistently less than replacing a sound floor, because there is no new wood to buy and nothing to tear out. Your exact price comes after we see the floor, on an itemized quote. Ask about financing through the Shaw credit card, and check current offers.
Questions
At Boyle’s, a full refinish is $5.75 per square foot and a screen and recoat is $3.25 per square foot, including stain and finish materials, with a $1,350 minimum, as of October 2026. Stairs, trim, and furniture moving are quoted separately.
Boyle’s Floor & Window Designs, at 705 East Gay Street in West Chester, refinishes hardwood with two crews of its own across Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties.
Boyle’s own people. We have two refinishing crews on staff and a painter who handles trim and stair touch-ups afterward.
Often they need a touch-up, since sanders run right to the edge. Our painter takes care of baseboards, shoe molding, stair risers, spindles, and stringers after the floor is finished.
Usually not. Most families stay in the house and work around the rooms being finished. Fumes are lower with water-based finishes, and we ventilate.
Yes, though matching a single room to adjacent existing floors takes care. We will show you what to expect at the transition.
Yes. Stain goes on after sanding, so almost any tone is possible, from natural to dark. Some species, such as maple, take stain less evenly; we will tell you if yours is one.
Our sanding equipment connects to containment systems that capture most of the dust, and we seal off adjacent spaces. Expect some fine dust, not the clouds of decades past.
In most Chester County listings, yes. Refinished hardwood in the main living areas is one of the highest-return improvements before a sale, and agents will ask for it.
Brands
Free in-home assessment
Send a photo or have a design representative stop by. If your floor can be refinished, we will tell you, quote it, and put it on the schedule. If it truly needs replacement, we will say that too and show you the hardwood options. Call (610) 429-9773 or request a free in-home assessment.
Keep exploring
Hardwood flooring · Flooring guide · How shop at home works · Financing
