What does a recoat estimate visit look like?

Before you get there

• The homeowner gets a text and an email when the estimate is booked
• A reminder goes out the day before, and another a couple of hours before
• Ask that anyone else who decides on the house be there too
• Block an hour on your calendar, even though the visit itself is shorter

At the house, step by step

1. Walk the floors together. Ask what bothers them: dull spots, scratches, traffic lanes
2. Check the floor. Hardwood, engineered, prefinished or LVP, with finish still on it, no wax, nothing worn through to bare wood
3. Measure. The square feet of every room you'll coat
4. Show what a recoat does. And what it won't do, like change the color or fix deep scratches
5. Give the price. A clear number before you leave, not a quote by email next week

The three honest outcomes

• It's a recoat: price it and book it
• It's a recoat with extra prep: say so, and price the prep in
• It needs a full sand: tell them, and send them to a refinisher

Turning down a floor that needs a full sand costs you one job. Taking it costs you a review.

How to tell a recoat from a refinish

Pricing it on the spot

Multiply the square feet by your price per square foot. An average floor is about 1,000 square feet, and at about $2.50 a square foot that is about $2,500. That is an example. Your prices depend on your area.

What the job costs you in materials

If they don't say yes that day

Many won't, and that's normal. Check in the next day to answer questions, then again a few days later. Remind them that once the finish wears through to bare wood, a recoat isn't enough anymore and the job becomes a full sand.

The full follow-up plan

Keep reading

• Following up with leads: How to follow up with hardwood floor recoat leads: a text right away, a call in minutes, then a two-week plan of short texts and emails until they book.
• Recoat vs. sand vs. replace: Recoat, sand and refinish, or replace a worn hardwood floor? Prices per square foot, days of disruption, how much wood each uses up, and what the NWFA recommends.
• Common doubts: Honest answers to doubts about a floor recoat business: is it too physical, do I need experience, can I do it part time, can't anyone buy the finish?
• Your first 50 leads: How your first 50 FloorIt leads work: ads we pay for, our team calls each lead and books your estimates, and what counts as a qualified lead.