The simplest solution is to move furniture to a different room. If you have a spare office or bedroom, it can store furniture in the meantime. Hardwood floor refinishing takes 3 to 4 hours to dry for water base and 24 hours for the oil base to completely dry, so make sure it's a room you won't need a day or two.
Put your furniture anywhere that isn't getting new flooring, such as a garage, storage shed or basement. You could also use a portable storage unit outside your house so that you can easily access your valuables after the installers have completed the flooring.
Before the hardwood floors can be refinished, you will need to prepare your home by removing all existing base shoe (that small piece along the bottom of your trim), appliances, and furniture.
Yes, you need to remove all furniture for flooring installation to ensure a smooth process. Clearing the space allows the carpet installer or flooring professional to work efficiently without obstructions.
Yes you can live in a house when refinishing the floors. YES there will be dust but you can do some things to limit the dust like hanging plastic over doors. Rooms must be empty when refinishing, NO you can not just go around a piece of furniture and YES you should refinish closets.
Store Furniture in Your Garage
If you don't have a spare room large enough or you need to move multiple rooms' worth of furniture, you can always try your garage. As long as you can go without storing your car(s), garages have a lot of space that will be out of the way of your hardwood floor refinishing project.
It's best to wait at least 24 hours before wearing socks and walking on the floors. Full Cure: It's advised to wait at least 72 hours before moving furniture back in, even if you might be able to walk on the flooring after just one day. This guarantees that the finish has sufficiently hardened.
Moving Furniture
The flooring installation company may charge an additional rate, around $60 to $120 per hour, to remove furniture from the room or home before installing the floors. Save money on your flooring installation costs by moving furniture and other objects prior to the project's start date.
Refinishing hardwood floors one room at a time is definitely possible and can be a practical solution for many homeowners. While it might not provide the seamless look of doing the entire house at once, it allows you to manage the project in smaller, more manageable sections.
Before it's time to sand the floors, many homeowners ask: “Can I stay in my house while my floors are refinished?” The answer is usually yes.
Oil-Based Polyurethane: Wait 3 to 7 days before sleeping in the house. Water-Based Polyurethane: Wait 2 to 3 days before sleeping in the house. Natural Oils or Waxes: Wait 2 to 5 days depending on the specific product.
If you move furniture back into the room too soon, it can scratch or damage the finish, which will result in a less durable and less attractive floor.
So what do you do with furniture when refinishing floors? Installing floors requires moving furniture out of the room (and, if you ask someone who's done it before, possibly taking a short vacation). Obviously, if you're ripping out old carpet and replacing it with new, you're going to need to clear the space.
Will the installer move my furniture? We can move furniture for an additional charge. A per-room charge for basic furniture will apply. The fee will be higher if the furniture is complex/oversized and complicates the project or makes a meaningful time impact.
Your floor can be walked on with stocking feet in 3-4 hours and furniture can be placed back on the floor (not dragged) in 48 hours. Area rugs can be put down in one week when the finish is fully cured.
A flooring installation company may include moving your furniture in their quote, although it's not a standard. If you do have this option, it can save you time (and a sore back!).
Installing hardwood floors in a 1000 sq ft area typically costs between $7,000 and $25,000, with most homeowners paying an average of $16,000.
The average U.S. homeowner pays around $180 for furniture removal. Costs can sit anywhere between $50 and $400, depending on the furniture's size, type, and location. Buying new furniture? Having your old furniture removed costs an average of $180, with prices commonly ranging from $75 to $250.
Wait 48 to 72 hours after the hardwood has been refinished/ finished before "PLACING" furniture back in its place. Keep a steady temperature and humidity within your home. Dramatic swings in temperature will cause hardwood to shrink or to cup. Sweep/dust and mop often.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2022 Remodeling Impact Report, hardwood floor refinishing has an impressive ROI of 147%. This means that for every $3,000 you spend on refinishing, you could add approximately $4,410 to your home's resale value.
First things first: Remove all items in the room that could break. This means more than home decor or furniture because obviously those need to be transferred to another room while flooring is installed. It also means possibly lighting fixtures with glass or ceramic bowls.
For oil-based polyurethane, it can take up to 24-48 hours for the finish to dry and up to 72 hours for the fumes to dissipate completely. Therefore, it is recommended that you stay out of your home for at least 72 hours after applying an oil-based polyurethane finish.
If the furniture is a unique designer antique or a valuable antique, don't refinish it. You might end up destroying the value of the furniture.
Open windows: Finish fumes will diminish over time, but increasing ventilation in the room will help the process. Allowing air to flow through the room will help the fumes to dissipate more quickly.