Can You Refinish Engineered Hardwood Floors?

If you’ve already done some research on the topic, you might be surprised by how confusing the answers are. That’s because this question doesn’t have one short and exhaustive answer. The closest will be “Sometimes yes, sometimes no.” Engineered floors were not created equal, and the word “refinish” can mean more than one thing. So, you’ll need to know some details before you can understand what applies to your situation.

In this post, we will share some of the practical knowledge we’ve acquired during our 15 years of experience working with flooring of various types. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of the following:

• What procedures can give your floor a fresh look (hint: refinishing isn’t the only option!)?
• What types of engineered floors can and cannot be refinished, and how many times?
• What other things do you need to know to answer the question, “Can engineered hardwood be refinished in my home?”

Understanding Refinishing vs. Recoating

Although many use these two words as synonyms, it’s a mistake. The processes might seem similar because both aim to give the floor a fresh look, and both include removing the top layer of the floor. But there are important distinctions between them that you need to be aware of:

• Refinishing is the most invasive one. During the first stage, professionals remove not only the finish but also the top layer of the wood (wear layer). This part is called sanding. Only then do they apply the new layer of finish. Sanding and refinishing hardwood floor are typically performed every 7–10 years. How many times you can refinish engineered hardwood flooring depends mainly on the thickness of the wear layer. During refinishing, you can opt for a different stain to change the color of the wood floor.
• Recoating is much lighter. That’s because during the first stage, only the top layer of the finish is removed. We don’t touch the wood itself here. In the language of professionals, this part of the job is called “buffing” or “screening.” Wood floor needs screening and recoating every 3–5 years.

Understanding Engineered Hardwood Floors

Engineered floors differ from solid wood floors because the former include multiple layers. On top, there’s hardwood veneer, the so-called wear layer. It’s what you see and walk on. Then, there are several layers of high-quality plywood, fiberboard, or other wood products. They aim to stabilize the wood floor and not let it expand or shrink if the air becomes drier or more humid. By contrast, solid hardwood floors are built from a single piece of wood.

You can already see the catch from this description. While engineered hardwood floors have significant advantages, they come at a cost: the hardwood veneer layer is comparatively thin, so the number of times they can undergo wood floor refinishing services is limited.

That’s because you lose a thin layer of the wood with every sanding and refinishing.

Refinishing engineered wood floors without sanding isn’t possible. Because in this case, the scratches and stains won’t be removed, and the finish won’t hold unless the top layer is removed.

How many times can you refinish engineered hardwood floors? The main factor determining the answer is the veneer thickness.

Types of Engineered Hardwood Floors That Can and Can’t Be Refinished

Knowing the veneer thickness of your floors is key. If you have this information, check out the table below.

As you can see, if the veneer layer is super thin, refinishing engineered wood floors is not a choice because they aren’t sandable. Even if you hire a hardwood floor company, the result will be subpar.

Companies selling such floors sometimes tell you that the finish is so strong you won’t need to do any resurfacing. That’s just a marketing move—with time, these engineered floors will lose their fresh look like any other type, and you’ll have to replace them.

However, knowing the thickness of the veneer alone is not enough for the final decision—there are a couple of other essential factors to consider, which we’ll discuss below.

So, Can You Refinish Engineered Hardwood Floors in Your Home?

At this point, you probably are not interested in theory anymore and just need the answer for your specific situation. Here are three points to consider:

1. How thick was the veneer layer, originally?
2. Has the floor already been refinished before, and how many times?
3. In what condition is the floor?

The table from the previous section explains why you need the first two points and how to interpret the results.

To answer the third one, you’ll need to inspect your floors. The general rule is that if an engineered hardwood floor has signs of severe damage and wear, then even refinishing won’t save it.

An important thing to note is that if the surface has suffered severe water damage, hardwood floor refinishing probably won’t be possible. One reason is that the water damages the hardwood veneer layer, so sanding engineered hardwood floors could expose deeper layers, resulting in even more harm.

Our clients often don’t have enough information to answer the question, “Can you refinish engineered hardwood floors?” If you’re in doubt, you can consult flooring professionals to assess the engineered wood floors and tell you if they can be refinished.

Engineered Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Is your floor lacking the shine it used to have? Our hardwood flooring contractors have expertise in such projects and will gladly restore engineered hardwood floors in your space.

Learn more

How to Refinish Engineered Hardwood Floors

If you think the DIY route is the best way for you, we have a detailed hardwood floor sanding and refinishing guide. It also applies if you want to refinish engineered hardwood floors. Here’s a quick reminder of what you’ll need and what steps to follow.

Necessary Tools and Materials

• Several grits of sandpaper
• A drum sander
• An edger
• A vacuum
• A pole sander or a buffer
• Wood stain (if you’re going to change the stain of your engineered wood floor)
• Finish/sealant
• Paint brush or roller
• Goggles, gloves, and a dust mask

Can you sand engineered hardwood floors and refinish them without a floor sander, an edger, and a buffer? Technically speaking, yes, but in this case, it’s even harder to preserve the valuable top layer during the DIY refinishing and sanding.

Engineered Wood Floor Repair

Is your engineered wood floor damaged? Our professional engineered hardwood floor repair contractors will give the old floors a new life!

Learn more

How to Refinish Engineered Wood Floors: Steps

1. Choose the grits you’ll use. You’ll have to sand the floor several times with several grits of sandpaper.
2. Use the floor sander and the roughest grit to work through your space’s main areas. Remember about the unique structure of the engineered wood floors and be careful not to sand through the veneer layer, especially in high-traffic areas of the room.
3. Sand the spots where the floor sander couldn’t reach, with the same grit you’ve just used with the drum sander. Use the edger for this job.
4. Vacuum the entire floor in the room.
5. Take the next grit of sandpaper and repeat the steps from 2 to 4: the drum sander, the edger, then the vacuum.
6. Repeat the steps with every grit you’ve chosen until you reach the 80- or 100-grit.
7. Walk around the space looking for any obvious edger swirl. You can get rid of it by manually sanding these spots. A gentle touch and light grit paper are all you need.
8. Blend the straight sanding cut left by the drum with the circular cut from the edger. For this job, you can use a pole sander or a buffing machine.
9. Vacuum the entire floor, then remove the remaining dust and dirt from engineered hardwood floors with a clean, lint-free cloth.
10. If you were going to change the color of the engineered wood floor, then at this point it’s time to stain it. Move along the grain of the wood. Let the stain dry.
11. Apply the finish with a brush or roller.
12. Let the floor dry for at least 48 hours.

DIY Project vs. Professional Help

Many homeowners find it tempting to work on the project themselves, especially if they have some prior knowledge or experience with hardwood floors.

However, a DIY refinishing project has a caveat when it comes to an engineered wood floor. You have very little room for error compared to a real wood floor. The veneer layer is very thin, so you can’t afford to remove too much of it, unlike with a solid wood floor, where thickness is not an issue.

And it’s not just the question of skills and experience, but also the tools and equipment. Renting equipment means you’ll have to get used to it, and you’ll have to be sure that you choose the right grits and use them in the right sequence. Otherwise, it’s easy to remove too much wood, thus reducing the number of times your engineered hardwood floors can be refinished.

At Big Bro Hardwood, we have completed many engineered wood floor projects, including installing, restaining, refinishing, and recoating. Our flooring contractors will examine your floor, evaluate its condition, and recommend the procedure based on your situation. As a result of the consultation with our professionals, you’ll have the answer to the question, “Can you refinish engineered hardwood floors?” that applies to your specific situation, not just generic advice from the internet that doesn’t take into consideration the state and type of your flooring.

Conclusion

As this guide shows, the question “Can you refinish engineered hardwood floors?” is tricky. It all depends on the specific kind of floor you have and its state.

If the veneer layer on your existing engineered hardwood floors is less than 2 mm, only recoating is possible. If it’s 3 mm or more, then the floors can be refinished, sometimes even more than once. In addition to knowing the veneer thickness of engineered hardwood floors, you need to consider such factors as the state of your engineered hardwood floors and how many times it had been refinished before.