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Your hardwood floors have lost their sheen – dull, scuffed, and worn-looking – but they don’t need full sanding. Screen and recoat is the faster, cleaner, more affordable way to bring them back. No dust, no days off your floors.
Screen and recoat is the midpoint between cleaning your floors and fully sanding them down. It’s the right choice when your floors have lost their shine and have light surface scratches – but the wood itself is still in good condition.
We lightly abrade the existing finish with a screening disc to create adhesion, then apply two coats of commercial-grade polyurethane – building fresh protective layers that restore the original sheen and protect the wood for 3 to 5 more years.
No sanding means no clouds of dust, no weeks of drying time, and no moving every piece of furniture out of the house. Most screen and recoat jobs are complete in a single day.
We offer satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss finishes – choose the level of sheen that matches your home’s style. Not sure what your floors need? Call us and we’ll assess them for free.
Not every worn floor needs full sanding. Here’s when screen and recoat is the smart, cost-effective choice – and when it’s not:
The most common reason to screen and recoat. Years of foot traffic wear down the protective coat until floors look matte, grey, and lifeless. New polyurethane layers restore the original sheen immediately.
Scratches in the finish layer – from pets, furniture, or foot traffic – are addressed by screen and recoat. The screening process scuffs the finish evenly, and new coats fill in and level over light surface-level scratches.
High-traffic areas like hallways and doorways wear down faster than the rest of the floor. Screen and recoat evens out the finish across the whole floor, blending the worn paths back into the overall appearance.
Screen and recoat only addresses the finish layer – not the wood itself. Scratches that cut through the finish and into the actual wood require full sanding and refinishing. We’ll tell you honestly which applies to your floor.
Water stains, pet urine, or other liquids that soaked through the finish and darkened the wood itself can’t be corrected by recoating. Those require sanding down to raw wood and full refinishing to remove.
Polyurethane won’t bond to waxed surfaces. If your floor has been treated with wax, it must be fully removed before recoating. We offer a wax removal service specifically for this situation – call us to assess.
Not sure which category your floors fall into? We’ll assess them for free – no obligation.
Call us – we’ll come out, assess your floors honestly, and tell you exactly what they need. No upselling.
We check your floor condition and confirm the right service before any work starts.
Satin, semi-gloss, or high-gloss – we match the sheen level to your preference and lifestyle.
Full floor sanding removes the finish and a layer of wood, starts from raw wood, and requires multiple coats and long drying times. It’s the right choice when floors are deeply damaged. But it’s overkill – and unnecessary expense – for floors that just need their finish refreshed.
Screen and recoat is the right middle ground when the wood is fine but the finish has worn down:
Screen and recoat is our most popular service – but we offer a full range of hardwood floor care to cover whatever your floors need:
Two coats of commercial polyurethane over screened finish
Deep cleaning and mechanical buffing that removes surface dirt and restores luster without adding new coats
Old wax stripped from floors that have been wax-treated, preparing them for proper recoating
Satin (low sheen, hides scratches best), semi-gloss (popular middle ground), high-gloss (maximum shine)
Individual plank replacement, gap filling, and board repair for damaged sections
Floors damaged by flooding or leaks assessed for refinishing vs replacement needs
Florida’s climate is harder on hardwood floor finishes than most people realize. High humidity causes wood to expand and contract constantly – putting stress on the finish coat throughout the year.
Gainesville’s summer heat accelerates the breakdown of polyurethane finishes compared to cooler climates. Floors in air-conditioned homes cycle between humid outdoor air and cool indoor air constantly – this expansion and contraction gradually causes the finish to micro-crack and dull faster.
Sand and grit tracked in from Florida’s sandy soil is also coarser than in many states – it acts like sandpaper underfoot and wears the finish down faster in high-traffic areas.
For most Gainesville homes, screen and recoat every 3 to 5 years keeps hardwood floors looking consistently great. Waiting longer means the finish wears fully through in spots – at which point full sanding becomes necessary.
Five clear steps – most jobs complete in a single day with minimal disruption to your home.
We check scratch depth, finish condition, and wax presence – confirming screen & recoat is right for your floors.
Floor cleaned thoroughly to remove all dirt, wax residue, and contaminants that would prevent adhesion.
Floor screened with abrasive disc to lightly scuff the existing finish – creating a surface new coats bond to.
Two coats of commercial-grade polyurethane applied – satin, semi-gloss, or high-gloss per your choice.
Floors ready to walk on within hours. Full hardness reached within 24–48 hours. No heavy furniture for a week.
Any property with hardwood floors benefits from regular recoating. We work with all types of clients.
Restore the beauty of your hardwood floors without the cost and disruption of full sanding – one day, lasting results.
Hardwood floors that look worn reduce rental appeal. We recoat between tenants quickly to keep units looking their best.
Commercial hardwood floors in offices, retail, and restaurants take heavy foot traffic. Regular recoating protects the investment and maintains professional appearance.
Fresh floor finish is one of the highest-ROI improvements before listing a home. It makes a strong first impression at an affordable cost.
Floors that survived water damage but didn’t need replacement often need refinishing to restore their appearance. We assess and recoat where appropriate.
Buying a home with dull or scuffed hardwood floors? Screen and recoat before moving in – much easier than after furniture is placed.
We’re not a franchise. We’re a family-owned business right here in Gainesville – and we understand what Florida’s climate does to hardwood floor finishes.
The humidity, heat, and sandy soil in Gainesville wear down floor finishes faster than most states. We apply our local knowledge to every job – using the right products and methods for Florida conditions.
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We use commercial-grade polyurethane – the same product used in high-traffic commercial floors – applied by experienced technicians who know how to get a smooth, even finish without lap marks or bubbles.
We’re also honest. If your floors need full sanding rather than recoating, we’ll tell you that – not push you into a service that won’t deliver the results you’re expecting.
Real results from real customers – here’s what people say after working with The Best Restoration.
Based in Gainesville, we serve homes and businesses across Alachua County and all of North Central Florida. Call to confirm your area.
Honest answers to the questions we hear most often about hardwood floor refinishing in Gainesville.
Screen and recoat is a sandless refinishing process for hardwood floors. Instead of sanding down to raw wood, we lightly abrade the existing finish with a buffer and screening disc - creating a surface that new polyurethane coats bond to. We then apply two fresh coats of commercial-grade polyurethane, restoring shine and adding years of protection. It addresses worn finish and light surface scratches without the cost, dust, or disruption of full floor sanding.
Full sanding removes the existing finish completely and sands down to raw wood - it can address deep scratches, stains in the wood, and significant damage. It takes 3–5 days and produces significant wood dust. Screen and recoat only works on the finish layer - it's for floors where the wood is fine but the finish has worn down. It completes in one day with minimal dust, at a fraction of the cost. The right choice depends on the depth of damage, which is why we assess first.
Most residential screen and recoat jobs complete in a single day. The screening and application process is relatively quick - the waiting time is between coats and for the final coat to cure. You can walk on the floors lightly within a few hours of the final coat. We recommend waiting 24 hours before normal traffic and at least a week before moving heavy furniture back onto the floor to allow full hardening of the polyurethane.
No - this is one of the biggest advantages of screen and recoat over full sanding. Full sanding produces large amounts of fine wood dust that gets into everything in the house. The screening process in screen and recoat produces only minimal fine debris, and we clean thoroughly before applying coats. You won't need to cover furniture or worry about dust settling throughout your home the way you would with full sanding.
We offer all three. Satin has the lowest sheen and is most popular for homes with pets and children because it hides everyday scratches better than shinier finishes. Semi-gloss is a popular middle ground that gives a noticeable shine while still being practical. High-gloss provides maximum reflectivity and shine - it looks stunning but shows scratches and footprints more readily. We'll discuss your lifestyle and preferences and help you choose the right option for your home.
Commercial-grade polyurethane applied by professionals typically lasts 3 to 5 years before recoating is needed - depending on foot traffic, pets, and how the floor is maintained. High-traffic areas and homes with dogs may be on the shorter end of that range. Regular cleaning with appropriate hardwood floor products (not wet mops or oil-based cleaners) extends the life of the finish significantly.
No - and we'll tell you this honestly before booking any service. Screen and recoat addresses the finish layer only. Light surface scratches in the finish coat are smoothed over by the new coats. But scratches that cut through the finish and into the actual wood - grooves you can feel with your fingernail - require full sanding to remove. We assess your floor first and tell you exactly what will and won't be addressed before we start any work.
Polyurethane doesn't bond to wax - so yes, the wax must be removed first. We offer a professional wax removal service specifically for this situation. Attempting to screen and recoat over wax results in a finish that peels within weeks. If you're not sure whether your floor has been waxed, we can test it during the free assessment. A water droplet test often reveals it - wax repels water while polyurethane-only floors don't.
Yes - the floor needs to be completely clear for screening and coating to be done properly. We recommend moving furniture to another room before we arrive. For large pieces that are difficult to move, call us and we can discuss what's possible. The process goes faster and the result is better when we have full access to the entire floor surface without working around furniture.
Avoid wet mopping - standing water damages polyurethane finish over time. Use a microfiber dry mop for daily cleaning and a hardwood-specific cleaner for periodic damp mopping. Don't use oil-based soaps, wax products, or all-purpose cleaners - these leave residue that dulls the finish and can prevent future recoating from bonding properly. Use felt pads under furniture legs to prevent scratching. These simple habits will keep your newly recoated floors looking great for the full 3–5 year cycle.
Call us for a free floor assessment – we’ll tell you exactly what your floors need and give you an honest quote.
