Hardwood · Maui, Hawaii
Sun, sand and humidity wear a wood floor's finish long before they wear out the wood. We sand, repair, stain and refinish hardwood floors across Maui, and we tell you plainly when a lighter recoat will do the job.
Hardwood · Maui, Hawaii
Sun, sand and humidity wear a wood floor's finish long before they wear out the wood. We sand, repair, stain and refinish hardwood floors across Maui, and we tell you plainly when a lighter recoat will do the job.
Most tired wood floors do not need replacing. If the boards are sound and the wear is in the finish — dullness, light scratches, a grey traffic path — the floor can usually be brought back. What it needs depends on how deep the wear goes.
We start by looking at the boards themselves: how much wood is left above the tongue on a solid floor, how thick the wear layer is on an engineered one, whether any boards have cupped, split or taken on water, and what is underneath. Then we recommend one of three routes and explain why.
Wood floors on Maui lead a harder life than most. Sand tracked in from the beach acts like sandpaper underfoot. Strong sun through lanai doors fades some species and darkens others, leaving a visible line where a rug used to sit. Humidity makes boards swell and shrink through the year, and a home that sits closed for months behaves differently from one that is lived in.
Those conditions shape the job. We look at where the sun lands, how the home is used and ventilated, and whether it is a residence or a rental before recommending a sheen and a finish. A low sheen hides sand scratches better than a gloss, and some finishes are easier to recoat later, which matters in a busy vacation rental.
Hawaiian Koa, Mahogany, Teak, Walnut, Cherry, White Oak, Hickory and Maple all sand and take finish differently. Koa's curly figure can be brought out or flattened by the choice of finish, and oily woods such as Teak need the right preparation for a finish to bond. Older floors often turn out to be a species worth keeping once the worn surface is off.
Engineered floors can be refinished too, as long as the hardwood layer on top is thick enough. We measure it before recommending a sanding, and suggest a recoat instead when the layer is thin.
Rooms need to be emptied, and the floor is out of use while it is sanded, finished and curing. We seal off the work area, control dust as we sand and clean thoroughly before any finish goes down. In condominiums we work within the association's rules on hours, elevators and noise.
Many owners schedule refinishing around a trip or between rental bookings. Tell us your dates at the estimate and we will plan the work to fit them. Refinished wood pairs well with fresh lime plaster walls or new lanai tile if you are updating more than the floor.
Solid hardwood can usually be sanded several times over its life. Engineered floors depend on the thickness of the hardwood layer on top. We inspect the boards during the estimate and tell you whether sanding, a recoat or replacement makes sense.
A screen and recoat abrades the existing finish and adds a new coat on top; it refreshes a worn finish but does not remove deep scratches or change the color. A full refinish sands to bare wood, so damage and old stain come out and the color can change.
Yes, with a full sand and refinish. We make stain samples on your own floor so you choose the color on your wood, in your light, before the whole floor is stained.
We seal off the work area, control dust as we sand and clean before finishing. No sanding job is completely dust-free, so we also cover or remove what should not be exposed.
It depends on the square footage, the condition of the boards, repairs, stairs and whether you want a stain. We provide a free on-site estimate with a written, itemized quote.