Flooring in Rochester, NY — FAQ

Depends on the room and subfloor. Above-grade rooms with plywood subfloors can use solid 3/4" hardwood (refinishable 4–7 times, lasts generations). Slab-on-grade rooms, basements, and rooms over crawl spaces should use engineered hardwood — Rochester's humidity swings 15–55% RH seasonally, which is the upper edge of what solid hardwood tolerates over concrete. LVP is the right choice for kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and any wet-prone area since it's 100% waterproof.

Almost always refinish if the floor is structurally sound. Solid 3/4" hardwood can be refinished 4–7 times over its life; most Rochester floors have 2–3 sandings remaining. Refinishing costs $3–7/sq ft vs $9–18/sq ft for replacement. Replacement only makes sense when the wear layer is gone, the floor has heavy water damage across most boards, or the subfloor is rotted.

Yes — and they're usually among the best floors to work with. Pre-1950s Rochester homes (Pittsford village, Park Ave, East Avenue, Corn Hill, 19th Ward) typically have 3/4" tongue-and-groove red or white oak with old-growth tight grain. Most have been refinished once or twice in the past century and still have plenty of wear layer remaining. A professional measures the wear layer before quoting.

Moisture imbalance between the top and bottom of the boards. Cupping (edges higher than center) happens when the bottom of the wood is wetter than the top — common over wet basements, damp crawl spaces, or after a leak. Crowning (center higher than edges) is the reverse — usually after sanding while the floor was still wet. Both are preventable with subfloor moisture testing before install or refinish.

Every professional refinish uses HEPA-filtered dust-contained sanding — that's the baseline. The premium "dustless" package (plastic containment between rooms, negative-air HEPA scrubbers, HVAC sealing) adds $1–2/sq ft. Worth it for households with allergies, asthma, infants, or pets that can't be relocated. For most healthy households, standard dust-contained sanding produces acceptable air quality.

Often yes, but timing matters. If the subfloor has dried out (below 12% moisture content), damaged boards can usually be section-replaced and the area refinished to blend. If the subfloor is still wet, it needs to dry first (commercial dehumidifiers, 1–2 weeks). Subfloor rot requires cutting to the nearest joist and replacing sections. Document everything with photos for the homeowner insurance claim.

A typical 800–1,200 sq ft refinish takes 4–6 days: Day 1 is sanding through all grits. Days 2–4 are finish coats (24-hour drying between coats). Day 5 is a light cure. You can walk in socks 24 hours after the final coat, move furniture back at 72 hours, and put rugs down at 14 days (rugs trap finish off-gas and can imprint if placed earlier). Water-based finishes compress this to 3 days; oil-modified poly is the 4–6 day timeline.

Sometimes — it depends on veneer thickness. The top wear layer on engineered hardwood ranges from 0.6mm (cheapest, not refinishable) to 4–6mm (premium, refinishable 1–2 times). A professional measures the veneer thickness before quoting a refinish. If the veneer is under 2mm, a screen-and-recoat (light abrasion + new finish coat) is the right call instead of a full sand-and-refinish.

LVP wins on water resistance and stain resistance — pet accidents that soak through to bare hardwood can permanently stain and degrade the wood. For scratch resistance, it's more nuanced: hardwood can be refinished when scratched; LVP can't. High-wear-layer LVP (20 mil+) resists daily scratch traffic better than softwood floors but not better than hard maple or white oak. For most Rochester pet owners with above-grade rooms, a premium LVP or a hard-species hardwood (white oak, hickory) are both defensible choices.

Engineered hardwood is compatible with most radiant heat systems — the plywood core handles the temperature and humidity changes better than solid wood. Solid 3/4" hardwood and radiant heat are a difficult combination: the repeated temperature cycling causes seasonal movement and, in some systems, cracking. If you have or are adding radiant heat, specify engineered hardwood with your installer and confirm the system's surface temperature doesn't exceed 80°F.

Solid hardwood: indefinite with periodic refinishing (we've refinished 100-year-old floors). Engineered hardwood: 20–40 years before the veneer is gone, depending on wear layer thickness. LVP: 10–25 years depending on wear layer (20 mil = longest). Tile and natural stone: 30–50+ years with proper grout maintenance. Carpet: 5–15 years depending on fiber and traffic.

A solid 3/4" hardwood floor can typically be refinished 4–7 times over its life — each sanding removes about 1/32" of wood. The limit is the wear layer above the tongue and groove joint (typically 1/4" on a 3/4" floor). Most Rochester floors built before 1960 have 2–3 sandings remaining if they've been done once or twice in the past century. A professional measures the wear layer with a depth gauge before quoting.