Floor sanding takes a tired, scratched or darkened wooden floor back to clean timber, ready for a fresh finish. It is the best value in flooring: pine, Oregon, kiaat, Rhodesian teak and 1970s parquet can often be sanded and sealed for far less than a new floor costs. Send one request with the rooms, the timber and its condition, and local floor sanders who work in your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation, so you can compare prices and methods before anyone brings a machine.
How wood floor sanding works
A drum sander does the main floor in several passes, each with a finer paper than the last. A typical grit sequence runs coarse to remove old finish and levelling marks, medium to remove those scratches, and fine to leave a smooth surface that takes sealer evenly. An edger handles the strip along the walls, and hand scrapers or a detail sander reach corners and steps.
Before any machine runs, the sander punches in proud nail heads and lifts loose boards. Skipping that tears the paper and cuts grooves into the floor.
Gaps, dents and damage
Old pine and suspended floors open gaps between boards. Gap filling is quoted by the metre, about R30 to R70 a metre, using a flexible filler or slivers of matching timber, and it should be done before the final passes. Deep stains, pet marks and water damage may not sand out and sometimes need boards replaced. Ask the sander about this on the site visit. Sanding removes only a thin layer, so thin engineered floors and many floors already sanded often may not take another pass. See parquet floor restoration for block floors.
What floor sanding costs
Sanding alone is about R160 to R300 per m². Sanded and sealed is about R180 to R350 per m². Stairs are about R150 to R350 a step. Staining adds about R50 to R100 per m². Price rises with a poor floor, heavy old paint, lots of edges and furniture left in the room. Details on coats and sheens are in floor sealing and varnishing.
Choosing a sander and preparing
Ask whether the quote covers dust extraction, gap filling, the number of sealer coats and the days the room is out of use. Clear the furniture, curtains and rugs, and cover things that must stay. Seal air vents and close doors to other rooms. Sanders often let you walk on a floor in a day but not move furniture back for several days, so ask how long the finish needs to cure before rugs go back.
What to include in your request
- Rooms and their size in square metres
- The timber and what it is finished with now
- Gaps, stains or damaged boards
- Stairs, and how many steps
- Sand only, or sand and seal, and the suburb
Floor Sanding for different clients
- Homeowners: old pine, Oregon or kiaat floors sanded back and sealed to look new again
- Flats and townhouses: floors sanded with dust extraction and set hours to keep neighbours and the body corporate happy
- Builders, developers and renovators: new site-finished boards sanded flat and given their first coats of finish
- Landlords and letting agents: worn floors refreshed between tenants for far less than replacing them
- Offices, practices and showrooms: scarred boardroom and reception floors sanded and sealed over a weekend
- Guesthouses, lodges and restaurants: guest room and lounge floors sanded in quiet weeks, then sealed for heavy foot traffic
- Shops, salons and cafés: worn shop floors sanded and resealed overnight so trading is barely interrupted
- Schools, halls, gyms and studios: halls, studios and gym floors sanded and lined in the holidays
Frequently asked questions
How much does floor sanding cost in South Africa?
How many times can a wooden floor be sanded?
Will sanding make a mess in the house?
Do you sand floors yourselves?
Floor Sanding by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg