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Professional hardwood floor refinishing in Cincinnati.

Floor Refinishing vs. Restoration


Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Cincinnati

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So you know your floors need help—but how do you know if they need to be restored or just refinished? There are several factors to keep in mind when making this decision and finding professional hardwood floor refinishing in Cincinnati. Understanding the needs of your hardwood floors can save you thousands of dollars and a good deal of stress.

Determine What Your Floors Need

There are three main factors to consider when determining if you need floor refinishing or restoration: the condition of your floors, the age of your floors, and the type of hardwood.

Hardwood floors in homes built after the 1940s with light scuffs or scratches, some wear from foot traffic and have lost a bit of shine probably just need to be refinished. Floors installed before the 1940s with more significant signs of damage (deeper scratches from furniture, or floorboards that are warped or cracked, for instance) will likely need to be restored instead.

If you’re not sure what your floors need, consult with a professional hardwood floor refinishing company like Footprints Floors. We’ll be able to advise you on whether your floors need to be restored or just refinished and provide you with a free estimate for the work.

Footprints Floors providing beautiful, professional hardwood floor refinishing in Cincinnati.

The Refinishing Process


Broken down, the steps to refinish a hardwood floor are very simple.

  • 1. Strip the floor of its current finishing.
  • 2. Sand or “screen” the floor to remove scratches or other signs of wear and tear from the surface.
  • 3. Give the floor a brand–new finish!

Refinishing a floor is not just a weekend project. Weather, the type of wood and the size of the floors you need refinished are all factors that play into how long a refinishing project takes. Also, despite the simplicity of the steps, a lot can go wrong. Uneven sanding or incorrect application of a finish can make your floors look worse than before.

As a professional hardwood floor refinishing company, the licensed contractors of Footprints Floors can get the job done quickly and correctly, so you aren’t inconvenienced in your home for long. And you can feel confident about the work done, so you don’t have to refinish your floors again for a long time.

The Restoration Process


Restoration of a hardwood floor is more labor intensive than refinishing. Hiring a company that understands different types of wood and how different kinds of damage will impact the restoration process is essential.

Some restoration steps are similar to refinishing—both require stripping away a current finish, sanding and applying a new finish. However, floor restoration involves more significant repairs and may even need patches of complete replacement. Depending on the depth of restoration required, these projects can take more than a week to complete.

Both refinishing and restoring floors are time–intensive, labor–intensive processes involving heavy, dangerous equipment. It is generally much more cost–effective and time–efficient to hire an outside contractor rather than attempt to do the job yourself.

The Best for Your Floor—and Your Budget Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Cincinnati

Professional flooring refinishing near you in Cincinnati - Footprints Floors.

There are many things that homeowners can do to care for the hardwood floors in their homes. For instance, regular cleaning of your floors can help keep them looking nice and prevent long–term damage. Sweeping with soft–bristled brooms, regular vacuuming to remove dirt, and mopping with specialty hardwood floor cleaning solutions can all work wonders on your floors.

Of course, even with care, hardwood floors are not impervious to damage. Your pets might scratch the surface. Water damage might cause a section of the floor to warp or have a loose board that wobbles. You might notice gaps appearing between planks over time and as the weather changes, causing the wood to expand or contract, or you might have dents in the wood from high foot traffic areas. Perhaps your floors just don't look as shiny and new as you'd like. When your own cleaning and maintenance doesn't go as far as they used to, it's time to refinish or even restore.

While it is possible to DIY hardwood refinishing and even restoration, someone without experience can easily damage a hardwood floor. Instead of paying for a costly repair, get it right the first time by calling a professional hardwood floor refinishing company. They'll get the job done right the first time.

Footprints Floors has years of experience working on all kinds of flooring in all types of conditions. From beautiful, rare mahogany floors in Victorian homes to the stunning red oak floors of a mid–century modern suburb house and everything in between, Footprints Floors can do the job right.

We're committed to providing high–quality finishes at the lowest possible rate in a reasonable amount of time. We work to save our clients stress (and money!) as we work to give them floors that look brand new! We won't offer you services you don't need and are confident you will be satisfied with the finished project. Contact us today for a free estimate on your hardwood floor refinishing or restoration project.

This beautiful spiral staircase was refinished by Footprints Floors.

Great Floors & Great Impressions Are What We Are All About!

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What Our Customers Say

The floors turned out better than we could have imagined. Mike was able to match the new floors with our existing hardwood on the first floor. His men were respectful and sectioned off the area they were working to keep things clean. Highly recommend.
Ryan Sieve 05/9/25 — google
They were very professional, they offered 2 options looking to keep it on budget, first one did not work, but the second tier service was everything I wanted, they are very professional , great communication.
Antonio Bravo 05/1/25 — google
Terrific service installation and communication!
David Calderhead 04/24/25 — google
We love our new floors! Mike worked hard to get us on his schedule so we could move into our house ASAP. He made recommendations that turned out to be perfect. The refinished wood floors are stunning: they look brand new. Mike had suggested that we forego staining the wood and he was absolutely right. They expertly laid the lvp floors, even making two different levels look like one. They made our home beautiful.
Elise Fink 04/17/25 — google
Mike was incredibly professional and helpful throughout the entire process. The work was done exactly as expected and on the timeline initially provided. Very high quality work. We love our new floor and will use Footprints Floors in the future!
Miranda Craft 04/16/25 — google
Great work! I highly recommend them. They installed new hardwood flooring on my second and third stories.
Alex Schafers 04/14/25 — google
Mike was honest and on time from the estimate, all the way to the final walk through. No surprises nor extra costs involved. Mike and his team were very professional and a pleasure to work with. The job was completed exactly as we had hoped for and was completed on time which was very important to us. We are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of our hardwoods and would recommend Footprints without any hesitation. Our floors are absolutely beautiful and after doing her homework, my wife is practically a floor expert to boot! Thanks Mike!
Jesse Canterbury 04/5/25 — google
Excellent experience! Mike is great and the quality is top-notch.
Bobby T. 04/4/25 — google
Footprints Floors, Mike and the team did a 5 Star GREAT job!!!! From Mike coming out and consulting us on the type of wood we had for refinishing, to stain samples, options, and how the process works. He was great communicating during the 4 day project the progress, when we were able to come back to the house, and what we could do. The workers did a great job prepping the house with plastic, sanding, staining , finishing, installing wood trim, and cleaning up after. I would not hesitate to refer Footprints Floors!!!!
Robert Jordan 03/14/25 — google
My refinished floors turned out beautifully and just how I had envisioned. Mike really caters to the customer. He kept us informed throughout the entire process. Definitely would recommend.
Angela O’Keefe 03/3/25 — google
This is the second time we hired Footprints Floors Cincinnati and I would hire them again. Mike is a pleasure to do business with addressing anything I had concerns about head on. He made it easy and pleasant. His crews are always very professional also. Love this company!
Cyndy B 02/27/25 — google
Great company! They did a fantastic job installing new hardwood matching it to the existing hardwood floor.
Ken Kerby 02/18/25 — google
We used Footprints Floors to refinish our hardwood floors. Mike, the local owner, was a true pleasure to work with. He was a wealth of information, ensuring we understood every step of the process. We received multiple quotes for the project, and Footprints was competitive. The finished project was stunning. We couldn't be happier with the result. I'm happy to recommend Mike and Footprints.
Henry Attaway 02/3/25 — google
We had Ben come out and look at our master shower due to some grout issues. He provided impartial advice and guidance on some possible solutions to rectify the issue which was refreshing as often you are just sold to. He provided an immediate and reasonable estimate, free of charge, with no pressure to move forward should it not be right for us. I would thoroughly recommend Ben and the Footprints team if you are considering tiling and flooring projects.
Lewis Waitt 02/1/25 — google
professional job, done well and on time, at a fair price:)
Kathryn Diebold 01/3/25 — google
Very professional great work highly recommend
lynn jung 12/6/24 — google
The owner Mike is fantastic to work with. Found them after doing some research on good tilers in Cincinnati, and they had a lot of great reviews. When you meet Mike you can just tell he cares about his customers and the quality of work, which was the main reason we selected them over other companies. We had a few snafus that came up during the process, but Mike was always helpful to work through them and ensure we felt taken care of. His main tile installer Ramon is the freakin man! Super friendly and respectful, and an absolute artist when it comes to laying out the tile. He installed some super large form tile for us (4ftx4ft) solo, and they were perfectly level with beautiful grout lines. 10/10 would recommend to others.
Jeff Mock 10/10/24 — google
Working with Mike at Footprints floors has been a pleasant experience. He took the oak floor that was poorly cared for and turned it into a beautiful piece of woodwork.
Rob Urfer 07/10/24 — google
Great job on time the installers worked hard and were friendly.
Tim Burgoyne 05/31/24 — google
Excellent work, completed in one day!
Michael Hall 04/19/24 — google

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