Glossary
Screen and recoat
A screen and recoat is a way to bring back a worn hardwood floor without sanding it down to bare wood. A buffer lightly scuffs the old clear finish, and then a fresh coat of finish is rolled on top.
What is a screen and recoat?
A hardwood floor has two parts. There is the wood, and there is the clear finish on top that protects it. Shoes, pets and furniture wear down the finish, not the wood. So in most homes the wood is fine, and only the finish looks tired.
A screen and recoat fixes the part that is worn. A floor buffer spins a fine abrasive screen over the floor. That dulls the old finish so the new coat can grip it. Then the floor is vacuumed and tacked until it is spotless, and a new coat of finish is rolled on with a roller on a pole.
One person can do an average home in about 3 hours. Screening makes some fine dust, which is vacuumed and tacked up, and the family does not have to move out. They just stay out of the room. They can walk on the floor in socks after 24 hours, put the furniture back in about 3 days, and the floor is fully cured in about 7 days.
Homeowners commonly pay about $1.50 to $3 a square foot for a recoat, compared with $3 to $8 for a full sand and refinish. A recoat cannot change the color, and it cannot fix scratches or stains that go into the wood. Those floors need a full sand. FloorIt partners put every customer on a yearly maintenance plan.
Related terms
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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.
Recoat vs. Refinish vs. Replace Hardwood Floors: Cost and Time