Nail Down vs Glue Down vs Float: How a Hardwood Floor Is Installed
September 7th, 2026 No Comments
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There comes a point in time when your hardwood floors simply gets tired. The finish has gone dull, you can see scratches everywhere and there’s that one spot that’s seen better days. At this point, you’re ready to do something, but Google hits you with two wildly different options: Screen and Recoat or full refinishing. One costs half and the other seems more thorough.
So what do you choose? If you choose wrong, you’re either doing too much or too little and perhaps need to call a hardwood flooring company again to fix your mistake in the future.
Fortunately, today we’re going to take a deeper dive into these two options with the aim to clarify the concepts and empower you with knowledge.
Let’s get started!
Screen and recoat refreshes the surface when your finish is worn but the wood underneath stays intact. Austin pricing: $2-$3.50 per square foot. Works great for floors that just look dull or have light scratches in the finish only. Can even work if a few spots are missing color.
Austin Hardwood Floor refinishing is complete restoration for damaged wood, deep stains, or failed finish. Runs $4.50-$7 per square foot. You need this when bare wood shows through, deep scratches cut into the wood itself, or water damage has set in.
The test? Pretty simple.
See bare wood anywhere? Deep gouges in the actual wood? You need refinishing. Just surface wear and dullness? Screen and recoat saves you $2,000-$4,000.
Not sure?
Call (512) 662-2222 for a free assessment.
We’ll honestly tell you which service your floors actually need. Our main objective is to keep your floors looking sharp!
While both of these may sound similar, they actually have completely different processes.
Screen and recoat is like waxing your car. We begin by lightly sanding (or screening) the existing finish to rough it up, then we apply fresh polyurethane on top. The wood is left untouched. We’re simply refreshing the protective layer that’s already there. This process takes one day and you’re floors are ready to be used within 24-48 hours.
Full refinishing is like a complete paint job. In this option, we’re sanding off every bit of old finish and stain until we’re back to raw wood. Then, we repair any damages and apply custom stain color if that’s the preference. Finally, we’ll put down 3 coats of new finish. This completely resets your floors to essentially “new condition”. In terms of time, it takes about 4-10 days with the cure time varying by the type of finish used. Additionally, the square footage of the project impacts the duration of the project.
Another way to think of it is like this: screen and recoat works on existing finish whereas refinishing removes the old finish completely and starts anew. You can even change the color.
For Austin homes it is important due to the mix of older historic homes (Hyde Park, Tarrytown) and the newer builds (Cedar Park, Round Rock) which means that the floors are in completely different conditions. It’s not the same to work on a 1920s home with original hardwood than it is working with a 10-year-old home where the finish only looks dull and tired.
Why not text us a photo at (512) 662-2222 and we’ll give you our honest assessment.
No charge nor obligation, just straight answers.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a flooring expert to figure out what service you need. Here’s three simple tests you can try right now.
Place a few drops of water on your floor in different spots. Try to put it both in high-traffic and low-traffic areas.
IF the water beads up and sits there then your finish is still intact. Screen and recoat will likely be the best option.
IF the water soaks within 5 minutes, then the finish is gone and you’ll need a full refinish.
Simply walk around and really take a look at your floors.
Look at the entryways, kitchen areas, and main hallways. This is typically where a lot of foot traffic happens.
High-traffic areas worn to bare wood while the rest still has finish? -> Refinish needed
Entire floor has even wear with no bare spots, just dullness? -> Screen and Recoat.
Your Decision:
If you answered “refinish needed” to any of the indicators above, then a screen and recoat won’t solve your problem. You may give it a facelift for a few months, but it won’t last and you’d have sunk $2000 into something that will have to be redone.
If all your floors passed with “screen and recoat works”, you can save yourself easily between $3,000-$5,000 by going this route.
On a recent job at a Westlake home the owner was convinced he needed a complete refinishing. However, just the entryway was worn to bare wood. We refinished that section and did a screen and recoat for the rest and saved him $3,200.
Alright, now let’s get real and talk numbers. We believe being upfront is the best way to empower our customers to make the best decisions.
Austin Range: $2-$3.5 per square foot
For a typical 1,000 square foot area: $2,000-$3,500 total
What affects the price? There are many variables such as floor condition, number of coats needed, and finish type. Water-based cost more but dries faster and is usually the option for Austin Families who can’t be off their floors for days.
The typical timeline for a job like this is between 1-2 days and you’re back on your floors between 24-48 hours.
Austin Range: $4.50-$7 per square foot
For 1,000 square feet: $4,500-$7,000 total
The price depends on the condition of the area. For example, a standard red oak in decent shape, natural or light stain and a larger more spacious area would be on the lower end. However, if the damage needs repairing, dark custom staining, and a smaller more complex space…that elevates the cost.
Older homes in Austin (Hyde Park, Tarrytown, Clarksville) often have unique wood species which require specialty work. The newer builds (Cedar Park, Round Rock) typically have standard oak which keeps the prices down.
Timeline: 5-7 days.
There’s a vast difference between choosing screen and recoat when you need a refinish because not only will you need to redo everything in about 6-12 months, you’ll also have wasted the cost of screen and recoat. That’s like throwing $2k into the dumpster. Choosing a refinishing when a screen and recoat would work means you’re overspending by $2,500-$4,000.
In many cases the cheaper option is more expensive.
A few months back, a Georgetown client got a $6,900 quote for a full refinish from a competitor company. We checked it out and told them honestly that a screen and recoat would work. They ended up paying us $2,400 instead and were ecstatic. We know they will call us again years from now when they actually need refinishing.
We prefer to be honest with our clients and build a long-term relationship. We want to be your go to hardwood floor experts in Austin.
Screen and Recoat Longevity:
Typical Lifespan: 5-7 years with normal foot traffic
In the case you have kids, pets, or just a bustling household you can expect 2-3 years before needing another refresh. You can repeat screen and recoat as many times as you want as long as the floors don’t get so bad that it needs a full sanding. Floors in good condition now might go 10-15 years before that major investment.
Full Refinish Longevity:
Typical Lifespan: 7-10+ years with proper care
Even in high-traffic Austin homes with kids, pets and parties you can take between 5-7 years before needing another refresh. Refinishing resets the floors to like-new conditions. We worked on some floors in Lakeway in 2018 and they still look fantastic today.
Want an exact quote? Free assessments—call (512) 662-2222
The Cheapest quote isn’t always the best quote. Often times a cheap quote comes accompanied with inexperienced crews, low quality products or hidden fees. Last year, we were called to redo a Pflugerville job where the homeowner hired the cheapest quote. The finish failed within 11 months which meant that they paid for the cheap job PLUS our refinishing. This is what we’d like you to avoid.
Look for: Detailed quotes listing finish brand names, number of coats, timeline, and what’s included.
Old-school sanding creates dust that infiltrates EVERYTHING. Modern dustless systems are standard. If a company doesn’t offer dustless equipment, walk away. This is important.
Ask: “Do you use dustless sanding equipment?” The answer should be yes.
Water-based finishes: Dry fast (24-48 hours), very low odor, slightly less durable, cost more. Perfect for Austin families needing quick turnaround.
Oil-based finishes: More durable, richer amber tone, longer cure (3-7 days), strong odor. Great for patient homeowners wanting classic look and maximum durability.
Your contractor should recommend based on YOUR needs, not their preference.
Your Next Steps: Getting This Done Right
If You’re Ready
Call (512) 662-2222 for a free assessment. We’ll do the water test and visual inspection with you, then give an honest recommendation based on your project’s actual needs.
No obligation. No pressure. Just straight answers.
We’ll provide a written quote within 24 hours, clear timeline, all questions answered.
If You’re Still Deciding
Take the 3-minute floor test above. Email photos to layne@calldrhardwood.com for some preliminary guidance at no additional cost.
What to Expect
We serve Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Lakeway, Leander, Pflugerville, and Dripping Springs.
We’ve been doing this for 15+ years. We’ll steer you toward the right service for YOUR floors and budget even if it means recommending the $2,500 option instead of $6,500.
Why? Because we’re more interested in building a 20-year relationship than making extra thousands on one job by selling you something you don’t need.
Ready? Call (512) 662-2222 or visit www.calldrhardwood.com.
Let’s make your hardwood floors beautiful again the right way, for the right price.
Technically you can rent the equipment and do it yourself, but here’s the thing – most DIY jobs we’ve seen end up needing professional correction within a year. The screening process looks simple, but getting even coverage with the polyurethane and proper adhesion between coats is trickier than it seems. You’re also working with your entire floor surface, so if something goes wrong, it’s not like you messed up one small area. For most homeowners, the cost difference between DIY (equipment rental, materials, your time) and hiring a pro isn’t worth the risk of having to redo everything.
With water-based finishes, you can walk on them in socks after 24 hours, and put furniture back after 48 hours. Oil-based takes longer – you’re looking at 3 to 7 days before you can really use the space normally. Most Austin families go with water-based for exactly this reason. You can’t live somewhere else for a week when you’ve got kids, pets, and work schedules to deal with. The cure time is different from dry time though – water-based is fully cured in about 2 weeks, oil-based can take up to 30 days for complete hardness.
No, and this is where a lot of people get disappointed after spending money on screen and recoat. If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail and it’s cutting into the actual wood (not just the finish), screen and recoat won’t fix it. What happens is we add new finish on top, but that groove in the wood is still there underneath. Sometimes it’s even more visible after because the new finish is clear and shiny, which makes imperfections stand out more. Deep scratches, gouges, dents in the wood – those all need full refinishing where we sand down to raw wood and start fresh.
We can get pretty close, but honestly, it’s never going to be a perfect match – and you should know that upfront before deciding. Wood ages and changes color over time, especially with sun exposure. So even if we use the exact same stain that was originally applied, the new section will look different than wood that’s been there for 10 or 20 years. What we typically do in situations like that Westlake home I mentioned is refinish the worn section, then do screen and recoat over everything including the refinished part. That way there’s a fresh coat of finish over the entire floor, which helps blend things together better. It won’t be invisible, but it’s way less noticeable than just refinishing one spot and leaving it.
You already know something needs to happen. Let’s figure out whether that’s repair, screen and recoat, full sand and finish—or maybe just one board and you’re good.
