Can I Change the Color of my Engineered Wood Floor?

In a previous blog we discussed refinishing engineered hardwood floors and how the thickness of the wood layer determines if they can be refinished. That led to a few customers asking if we can re-stain engineered wood floors.

Much like the question about refinishing engineered wood floors, there is no easy answer to this question either. As we previously discussed, refinishing engineered wood is a delicate process in that there isn’t as much actual wood that can be sanded away. Some things to consider are the type of wood, the current color, and if it’s been refinished before.

Type of Wood

Some woods, like beech and maple, don’t tend to stain well to begin with, light or dark. Other woods like cherry, pine and birch can become blotchy especially when stained with a darker color stain. And if your wood is walnut or other dark wood, you can’t make it lighter.

Current Color

As a general rule you can stain your current floor a darker color without issue and have good results (except if they type of wood isn’t conducive to dark stain). In some cases you may be able to apply a translucent glaze that can darken the color without a full sanding and refinishing job. Generally it is possible to go lighter only when a complete refinishing process is performed. This is because the top layer of the wood is removed so the existing color is completely removed. Of course there are exceptions and your wood floor refinishing company can discuss these with you.

Previous Refinishes

Because engineered wood floors only have a thin layer of hardwood that can be sanded, you have to consider what has already been done and the remaining wood that can be sanded away. For more details, click here to read about wear layers in engineered wood floors.

Refinishing engineered wood floors a new color can be done but is best left to the professionals like Seer Flooring. Let one of our team members evaluate your flooring and advise you on your options. Give us a call today at 727-785-1930 to learn more about what we can do to change the look of your current engineered wood floors.