Ashland, MA Hardwood Floors: Refinishing, Sanding and New Installation

Not without permission. Ashland's Nuisance Noise Bylaw, Chapter 204, bars construction activity between 7 pm and 7 am, and on Sundays and federal holidays, unless the Planning Office or the Select Board grants special permission. The same section exempts work a homeowner does on their own property, so it covers you with a rented sander, not a crew you hire. A refinishing job that runs several days is planned around weekdays and Saturday.

Yes, if it is solid wood, or an engineered plank with enough real wood on top. A floor from that era can be either kind. The NWFA's guidelines say not to sand when the top layer is under about 2.5 mm, roughly 3/32 inch, because a sanding would cut through it. Look at a board edge where a heating register sits, or find the box label or spec sheet if one is left in the basement. If the layer is thin, we will say so before quoting, and a fresh coat of finish can still buy the floor time.

For both floors of a house with about 1,800 square feet of hardwood, refinishing comes to $7,200 to $16,200. Where your job lands in the range depends on the shape the wood is in, whether you add a stain, and how many boards need repair before the sanding. A written estimate follows a visit, and the estimator gives a first figure.

Ask for the wear layer in millimeters, not the total thickness of the plank, since the wear layer is the only part that can be sanded. The NWFA runs a Refinishable Program for engineered flooring and keeps a list of the products that pass, which may carry its Certified Refinishable logo. On a distressed or hand-scraped plank, the NWFA measures that layer at the lowest point of the surface, because a sanding has to go down that far to make the floor flat. Our thickness guide shows how the two numbers appear on a label.

Usually not, as long as the old floor can still be sanded. On a main floor of about 900 square feet, refinishing comes to $3,600 to $8,100, while new hardwood with wood and labor comes to $9,000 to $19,800. Replacement earns its cost when the top layer is used up, when the boards are badly damaged, or when you want a different wood or width. If your engineered floor has little wood left on top, we will say so at the estimate, and the comparison changes.