- Our Offices
- 303-366-0721
- Brosflooring@gmail.com
- 303-366-0721
- Brosflooring@gmail.com
- 12001 E 33rd Ave. Unit M Aurora, CO 80010
Around Denver, refinishing an existing hardwood floor generally runs about $3 to $8 per square foot, a screen-and-recoat refresh about $1 to $3, and new hardwood installation about $8 to $25 per square foot including materials and labor. Stairs are quoted separately, per step. That is the market range you will see quoted around town, not a quote for your house. The single-number price sheets you will find elsewhere are usually a best case. The six things below decide where your job actually falls.
Denver hardwood floors since 1994. EPA Lead-Safe Certified. Bona Certified Craftsman. 4.7 stars on Google from 72 reviews.
The honest answer is that six things set your number: the condition of what’s already on the floor, the square footage and how the rooms are laid out, the species and grade of the wood, whether you’re staining or going natural, how many stairs are in the job, and what the subfloor looks like once the old material comes up.
Two houses on the same block, same square footage, can land a factor of two apart. A 1920s bungalow in Wash Park with original red oak under three layers of carpet adhesive is a different job than a 2015 build in Highlands Ranch with clean engineered plank. Same trade, different work.
So we don’t publish a single per-square-foot number on this page. What we can do is show you exactly what moves it, so you can read any quote you get and know whether it’s fair.
Contractors who post one number are usually posting their best case. The number that gets you to call. Then the crew shows up, pulls the carpet, finds cupped boards over a bad subfloor, and the conversation changes. Nobody enjoys that conversation. That’s the difference between a range and a price sheet: a range tells you the neighborhood, a price sheet pretends to know your house before we’ve seen it.
We’d rather walk your house, look at the floor, and give you a figure that holds. Free, no obligation, and it’s a real number, not a starting point.
What follows is everything we’d tell you standing in your living room.
Condition of the existing floor. This is the biggest single variable in refinishing work. A floor that’s dull in the traffic lanes but structurally sound is a fast job. A floor with pet stains that went through the finish into the wood, water damage near a dishwasher, or boards that have cupped from moisture below needs repair before anyone sands anything. Repairs are their own line item.
Square footage and layout. Bigger jobs cost more in total and less per foot. That’s not a discount so much as physics: the setup, the containment, the equipment haul, and the cleanup are close to fixed no matter the size. A 400-square-foot room carries all of that on 400 feet. A whole main level spreads it across three or four times as much. Closets, tight hallways, and small bathrooms are the expensive kind of square footage, because they’re mostly edge work and edging is done by hand.
Species and grade. Red oak is the workhorse of Denver housing stock and it sands predictably. Maple is harder, denser, and less forgiving. It shows every sanding mistake and it takes stain unevenly, which is why a lot of maple gets finished natural. Pine is soft, common in older Denver homes, and requires a lighter touch. Exotic species can be dramatically more labor-intensive. Grade matters too. Select grade has fewer knots and less color variation than common grade, and it costs more per foot before anyone touches it.
Stain versus natural. Adding color adds a step and a day. It means extra sanding passes to get the wood accepting stain evenly, sample panels laid on your actual floor so you can see the color in your light instead of a showroom’s, then application, then dry time before the finish goes on. Custom color matching to an adjoining room adds more. Natural with a clear finish is the shorter path.
Stairs. Stairs are quoted per step, not per square foot, and they’re some of the most labor-dense work in the trade. Treads, risers, nosings, and the balusters you have to work around. A twelve-step run can carry real weight in a quote. If you have stairs, expect them called out separately on any honest estimate.
The subfloor. Nobody knows what’s under there until the old flooring comes out. Most of the time it’s fine. Sometimes there’s a moisture problem, a soft spot, or an old layer of particleboard that has to go. We inspect before we commit to a schedule, and if there’s a subfloor issue we tell you before it becomes a surprise.
| Factor | Which way it pushes cost | Rough guide |
|---|---|---|
| Condition of existing floor | Biggest single variable in refinishing | Repairs are a separate line item |
| Square footage and layout | More total, less per foot as size grows | Closets and halls cost more per foot (hand edge work) |
| Species and grade | Harder or rarer wood, more labor | Refinish, Denver market: oak about $3 to $5, pine about $4 to $7, maple about $6 to $8 per sq ft. Select grade costs more than common. |
| Stain versus natural | Stain adds a step and a day | Natural with clear finish is the shorter path |
| Stairs | Labor-dense, quoted per step | Separate line on any honest estimate |
| Subfloor | Unknown until tear-out | Moisture or soft spots add repair |
Material quality is where most people get quietly taken. Two boxes of flooring can look identical stacked in a warehouse and behave completely differently in ten years.
Wear layer. On engineered hardwood, the wear layer is the real wood on top of the plywood or composite core, and it’s measured in millimeters. A thin wear layer means the floor can never be sanded. A thick one means it can be refinished like solid wood, sometimes more than once. This single spec is the difference between a floor that’s a consumable and a floor that’s an asset. It’s rarely on the sample board. Ask for it.
Core construction. Under an engineered plank you’ll find either quality plywood, high-density fiberboard, or something cheaper. In Colorado this matters more than it does at sea level. Our air is dry, our seasonal humidity swings are wide, and wood is hygroscopic, meaning it takes on and gives up moisture with the air. A stable core is what keeps a floor from gapping in February and pressing in July. Ask anyone with an original floor in Park Hill or Congress Park what happens to it in a dry January.
Mill tolerance. Better mills hold tighter tolerances on thickness and width. When planks vary, you get overwood, the small height differences between adjacent boards that you feel with a bare foot and see when light rakes across the floor. Site sanding can correct it. Prefinished floors can’t be corrected, which is why mill quality matters more on prefinished than anywhere else.
The finish itself. Not all finishes are the same product. Commercial-grade waterborne finishes cure harder and hold up to dogs, kids, and grit tracked in off Denver sidewalks. Cheaper finishes look identical the week they go down and look tired in year three. We use Bona systems, which we’ll happily explain in more detail than you probably want.
Five terms worth knowing
Wear layer: the layer of real wood on top of an engineered plank, measured in millimeters. Thicker means it can be sanded and refinished later.
Engineered core: the plywood or fiberboard layers under the wear layer. A stable core resists Colorado's humidity swings.
Hygroscopic: wood takes on and gives up moisture with the air around it, which is why floors move with the seasons.
Overwood: small height differences between neighboring boards. You feel it barefoot and see it in raking light.
Mill tolerance: how consistently a mill cuts thickness and width. Tighter tolerance means less overwood.
We install both. We sell both. So here’s the straight version.
Luxury vinyl plank is genuinely good at some things. It’s waterproof, which makes it the right call for basements, laundry rooms, and rentals where a supply line failure is a matter of when. It goes down fast. It costs less up front, usually by a wide margin. Modern LVP looks far better than the vinyl of twenty years ago. Laminate sits in the same price neighborhood with a firmer feel but without the waterproofing, and it has its own page.
What LVP cannot do is be repaired. When the wear layer goes through, that’s the end of the floor. You don’t sand it, you replace it. Damage in the middle of a room means either living with it or pulling planks.
Site-finished hardwood is the opposite trade. It costs more the day it goes in and it’s slower, because sanding, staining, and finishing all happen in your house on your schedule. But a solid three-quarter-inch floor has enough wood above the tongue to be sanded several times across its life, and every one of those sandings gives you a brand-new floor. Damage gets repaired board by board. Color changes with the decade you’re in.
LVP is the better buy on a five-year horizon or in a room where water is a real risk. Hardwood is the better buy on a thirty-year horizon in a house you intend to keep, and it’s the one appraisers and buyers respond to in Denver’s older neighborhoods, from Sloan’s Lake to Cherry Creek.
Anyone who tells you one is simply better than the other is selling the one they’re better at installing.
| Luxury vinyl plank | Site-finished hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Lower, usually by a wide margin | Higher on day one |
| Lifespan | Until the wear layer goes through | Decades, renewed with each sanding |
| Repairable | No, damaged planks get replaced | Yes, board by board |
| Water resistance | Waterproof | Not waterproof |
| Refinishable | No | Yes, several times over its life |
| Best rooms | Basements, laundry, rentals | Main living areas, bedrooms, homes you plan to keep |
| Resale impact | Neutral | Strong in Denver's older neighborhoods |
If your existing floor is structurally sound, refinishing is the substantially cheaper path. Around Denver, refinishing typically runs $3 to $8 per square foot against $8 to $25 to install new, which is why the rule of thumb in the trade is that refinishing costs roughly 60 to 70 percent less than replacement. And the wood you already have in a pre-war Denver home is frequently better material than what’s sold new today.
Replacement makes sense when the floor has been sanded down to the point where the tongue is close to the surface, when there’s widespread water damage or subfloor failure, or when you want a species or width the existing floor can’t give you.
We’ll tell you which one you need. Including when the answer is that you don’t need us yet.
These are three different jobs and they cost very differently.
Screen and recoat is the light one. We abrade the existing finish and lay a fresh coat over it. No stain change, no bare wood exposed. It works only if the finish is worn but not worn through. It’s the least disruptive option and often a same-day job. If your floors look dull rather than damaged, ask about this first.
Full sand and refinish takes the floor down to bare wood and rebuilds it. Stain color is on the table, scratches and gouges disappear, and you get a genuinely new floor. Plan on multiple days including cure time between coats.
Board repair and lace-in is targeted. We replace damaged boards and weave the new material into the existing field so the repair disappears, then refinish so it all matches. This is what saves floors that other contractors say need replacing.
| Job | Denver market range | Time | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen and recoat | About $1 to $3 per sq ft | Often same day | Finish worn, not worn through |
| Full sand and refinish | About $3 to $8 per sq ft | Multiple days including cure time | Down to bare wood, stain optional |
| Board repair and lace-in | Priced by scope | Depends on extent | Saves floors others say to replace |
Have your square footage if you know it. Note which rooms, whether there are stairs, and roughly when the house was built. If it’s pre-1978, mention it, because lead-safe work practices apply and any contractor who doesn’t ask you that question is telling you something about how they operate. We are EPA Lead-Safe Certified.
Then have us out. We’ll look at what you’ve got, tell you what it needs, and give you a written number that doesn’t move unless you change the scope.
Brothers Flooring, Denver hardwood floors since 1994
Serving Denver and the metro area, including Wash Park, Park Hill, Congress Park, Sloan's Lake, Cherry Creek, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Englewood, Cherry Hills Village, Littleton, Aurora, and Lakewood
Licensed and insured
Bona Certified Craftsman
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
4.7 stars on Google from 72 reviews
Call (303) 366-0721
Around Denver, a full sand and refinish generally runs $3 to $8 per square foot, and a screen and recoat $1 to $3. Where your floor lands depends on six things: its condition, the square footage and layout, the species and grade, stain versus natural, stairs, and the subfloor. We give a written number after walking the house, free and with no obligation.
Refinishing is almost always cheaper if the floor is structurally sound. Refinishing runs about $3 to $8 per square foot in Denver against $8 to $25 for new installation, roughly 60 to 70 percent less. Replacement makes sense when the floor has been sanded too many times, when there is widespread water or subfloor damage, or when you want a species or width your current floor can’t give you.
A screen and recoat lightly abrades the existing finish and adds a fresh coat, with no stain change and no bare wood. A full refinish sands to bare wood so scratches disappear and stain color is back on the table. Recoat is often same day. Refinish takes multiple days including cure time.
Stairs are quoted per step, not per square foot. Each step has treads, risers, nosings, and balusters to work around, so a twelve-step run can carry real weight in an estimate. Any honest quote lists stairs as a separate line.
LVP wins on a five-year horizon or anywhere water is a real risk, like basements and laundry rooms. Hardwood wins on a thirty-year horizon in a house you intend to keep, because it can be repaired board by board and refinished several times. Think in dollars per year of service, not dollars per square foot.
Plan on multiple days for a full sand and refinish, including cure time between coats. Adding stain adds a step and roughly a day. A screen and recoat is often finished the same day.
Yes, but only with a full sand and refinish. A screen and recoat keeps the existing color. We lay sample panels on your actual floor so you see the color in your light before we commit.
Yes. We offer dustless sanding using the Atomic dust containment system, which captures the dust at the machine instead of letting it settle through your house. Ask for it when you book your estimate.
A wear layer is the real wood on top of an engineered plank, measured in millimeters. A thick wear layer can be sanded and refinished later like solid wood. A thin one cannot, which makes the floor a consumable instead of an asset.
Yes. Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, so lead-safe work practices apply. We are EPA Lead-Safe Certified and follow RRP rules on every pre-1978 job.
Since 1994.
Built on Quality — Rooted in Trust