Professional Hardwood Floor Sanding in Westport
Floor sanding isn’t just about making floors smooth – it’s about giving them new life. We’ve sanded thousands of floors across Westport over the years, from historic homes in Greens Farms to modern houses near Compo Beach.
Our floor sanding and polishing service strips away years of damage, removing old finish, scratches, water marks, and sun fading. What’s left is fresh wood ready for staining and finishing.
Most Westport homes need floor sanding every 10-15 years, though high-traffic areas might need attention sooner. The right time is when regular cleaning and polishing no longer restore your floor’s appearance.
We use professional-grade equipment calibrated specifically for each wood type. For folks concerned about dust (and who isn’t?), we also offer dustless floor sanding that captures nearly all airborne particles before they can spread through your home.
Why Professional Floor Sanding Matters
DIY floor sanding rarely ends well – we’ve fixed plenty of those projects around Westport. The rental equipment at hardware stores just can’t match professional machines.
Professional sanders cut more evenly and apply consistent pressure. The big drum sanders we use weigh about 200 pounds, giving them stability that lightweight rentals can’t match. This matters hugely on Westport’s older floors, which often have subtle waves and imperfections.
Edge sanding is where most DIY jobs fail. Those tight spots along baseboards need special equipment and technique. Get it wrong, and you’ll have obvious dips or “waves” where different sanders overlapped.
Professional sanding also prepares your floor properly for the next steps. Good wood floor polishing requires the right foundation – wood sanded to progressively finer grits that create the smooth base needed for a flawless finish.
Our Hardwood Sanding Process
We don’t take shortcuts when sanding Westport floors. Our process typically involves:
Initial Assessment
We check your floor’s thickness, previous sanding history, and type of wood. Older Westport homes often have floors that have been sanded multiple times before, requiring careful thickness measurement.
Prep Work
We remove all furniture, take off baseboards if needed, and seal off doorways to contain any dust that escapes our collection system.
Coarse Sanding
The first pass uses lower-grit paper to remove old finish and level the floor. This stage handles most deep scratch removal and evens out worn areas.
Medium Sanding
Second pass smooths out the scratches left by coarse paper.
Fine Sanding
Final pass with fine-grit paper creates the smooth base needed before finishing.
Detail Work
Edges, corners, and transitions get special attention with hand tools where big machines can’t reach.
When Your Floors Need Sanding
Not sure if your Westport home needs full sanding? Here are the telltale signs we look for. Gray or black discoloration showing through in high-traffic areas – this means the finish is completely worn away and the bare wood is being damaged.
Multiple layers of finish building up, creating a cloudy or amber appearance that no amount of cleaning improves. Water spots, pet stains, or sun fading that’s affected the wood itself, not just the surface finish.
Deep scratches or gouges that catch your socks when walking barefoot. Minor surface scratches can often be addressed with hardwood floor buffing instead of full sanding. Significant color difference between exposed and covered areas (like under rugs) indicates UV damage that needs sanding to correct.
Cupping or crowning of boards that’s been fixed but left uneven surfaces. When three or more of these signs appear, it’s usually time for professional sanding.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Do you use dustless sanding equipment that keeps the dust out of my home?
Yes, we use professional dust containment systems that capture the vast majority of sanding dust before it circulates through your Westport home. After 40+ years sanding floors, we’ve seen the difference proper dust control makes for homeowners staying in their homes during the project. Our equipment connects directly to vacuum systems that trap dust at the source. Connecticut’s older homes often have forced air systems that can spread dust everywhere if proper containment isn’t used. We also use barriers when needed. You’ll still want to do some light dusting afterward, but nothing like traditional sanding methods that leave dust throughout the house.
2. How many passes with different grit sandpaper do you make when sanding hardwood floors?
It depends on your floor’s condition, but typically three to five passes with progressively finer grits. We start with coarser paper to remove the old finish and level the floor, then move through medium grits, finishing with fine paper for a smooth surface. In four decades working on Westport floors, we’ve learned that rushing this process with too few passes or skipping grits produces poor results. Some floors need more attention, some less. We evaluate each floor individually and use however many passes are needed to get it right. Proper sanding takes time, but that’s what delivers lasting quality and a flawless finish.