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Save Money: Screen, Clean, and Recoat Your Hardwood Floors
Do you want your hardwood floors to look beautiful and shine like the day you first had them installed?
By David Brannan · Published March 8, 2023 · Updated August 2, 2026 · 3 min read
- 500+ Google Reviews
- Featured on TV Multiple Times
- 25 Years in Business
Do you want your hardwood floors to look beautiful and shine like the day you first had them installed? Are there scratches or stains that have taken away from the original luster of your investment? Are they super hazy? Maintenance may be a chore, but with The Hardwood Guys, you can keep your hardwood floors looking their best for years. Here’s how: screen, clean and recoat. Watch the video as we walk through each step so that you can get back to enjoying your beautiful floors in no time!
When a Screen-and-Recoat Saves You Real Money
Screen-and-recoat (also called buff-and-recoat) is for floors where the color and the wood underneath are still in good shape, but the top finish layer has worn thin, dulled, or picked up light scratches. Instead of sanding to bare wood, we lightly abrade the existing finish, clean it thoroughly, and apply a fresh topcoat — no color change, far less dust, and the job is often done in a single day.
The value case is straightforward: a full sand-and-refinish removes wood and takes it back to bare, which costs more in time and material than a recoat that simply refreshes the top layer. Getting this distinction right matters, though — recoat a floor that has already worn through in the traffic paths, and the new topcoat will not bond evenly, and you will see it peeling within a year.
The simplest way to check which one you need: place a few drops of water on a worn area and wait ten minutes. If it beads up, you are likely a good candidate for a screen-and-recoat. If it soaks in and darkens the wood, you need a full refinish. We will always confirm in person before recommending either.
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What a Recoat Visit Looks Like
For an average-sized room, a screen-and-recoat is often a single-day service, since there is no sanding to bare wood, no dust containment setup, and far less labor overall than a full refinish. We have also restored engineered floors suffering from haze and chemical buildup using the same kind of specialized cleaning and recoat process, which can save the cost of a full replacement.
The same commercial power-scrubbing equipment we bring for a recoat also handles tile and stone, including showers and baths, if that is part of the same visit. Financing is available up to $55,000, with interest-free options from $30 a month, subject to approval, for cleaning and recoat services as well as full refinishing.
Is Your Floor a Recoat Candidate?
Every 5 to 10 years is a reasonable window between a buff-and-recoat for most homes, depending on foot traffic, and the water-drop test (a few drops on a worn spot, wait ten minutes) is the fastest way to check where your floor currently stands. If it beads up, you are likely a good candidate for the faster, less expensive service.
Financing is available up to $55,000, with interest-free options starting from $30 a month, subject to approval, whichever service your floor actually needs.
500+ Reviews, 25 Years, One On-Site Process
Lumber markets are outside anyone's control, but our process is not. Every project starts with a free, on-site visit where we assess your floor's actual condition, bring physical stain and finish samples, and write up an itemized estimate before any work begins. That process is the same one that has earned The Hardwood Guys more than 500 five-star Google reviews and multiple TV features since we started in 2001.
More than 50,000 completed jobs later, the crew that shows up for your estimate has seen just about every combination of species, finish, and floor condition North Metro Atlanta has to offer, market swings included.
Call 470-826-3581 or request your free estimate below, and we will give you a straight, written answer on what your project actually needs, market conditions aside.
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