Do you have engineered hardwood flooring in your home? Is it time for it to be refinished? Before you jump into a new project, make sure you know what you're getting into before you refinish engineered hardwood floors.

5 Must-Know Insights to Refinishing Engineered Hardwood

1. The number one thing you must address before sanding and refinishing engineered hardwood is the thickness of the wear layer. To make sure that sanding doesn't go through to the plywood base of the flooring, make sure you have at least 2.5mm, although refinishing engineered hardwood with a 4-5mm wear layer is ideal.
2. If your home has pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring, then be aware you will lose some of the bevel that separates each board. Ultimately, this depends on how thick the bevel is.
3. If your flooring is hand-scraped, you will also lose some of the scrape as you refinish engineered hardwood floors (also depending on how heavy the scraping is).
4. If the pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring has a stain on it and you want to go with the same color, be aware that there will be a color difference because your refinisher (like San Jose Hardwood Floors) does not know what formula that the manufacturer used. We do, however, have our own stains and can get fairly close to the original color.
5. It's also important to note that the finish will be different. Most pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring has an aluminum oxide finish. When we do the finishing, it will either be a professional oil base polyurethane or a commercial water base polyurethane.

Want to know more about refinishing engineered hardwood? Stop by our showroom and talk to our experts! In addition to giving you even more insight before you refinish engineered hardwood floors, they can answer any other flooring questions you may have. Also, remember to contact us for a free in-home estimate!

Photo: Mirage – Exotic, Engineered Sapele