How to prepare clients for floor sanding and refinishing
Emptying rooms, dust, finish choice, drying and curing, when to walk on it and when furniture goes back: how floor sanders plan refinishing days with clients.
5 min read
A sanding and refinishing job goes well when the client knows in advance what it asks of them: empty rooms, a few days without using them, ventilation, and patience while the finish cures. Before the first day, agree which rooms are done and in what order, how the client will get around the house, which finish is used and why, and the times when they can walk on the floor in socks, put furniture back and lay rugs. Write it down; a floor marked by a chair dragged too early is a callback you can avoid.
Before the first day
- Empty the rooms: furniture, rugs, curtains that touch the floor. Agree what you move and what the client moves.
- Plan the route: the client may need another way to reach the kitchen or bedrooms while a room is out of use.
- Check the floor: protruding nails, loose boards, deep stains and gaps to fill are noted and priced before sanding starts.
- Power and parking: sanders need suitable sockets; your van needs to be close for the machines.
- Sample the colour: for a stain or a tinted oil, a test patch in a corner avoids a surprise across the whole room.
Dust and ventilation
Modern sanders with good extraction keep dust down, but some fine dust still escapes. Tell clients to close doors to other rooms, cover what can't be moved, and expect a final clean on your side before the finish goes on. Finishes need ventilation as they dry; some have a smell for a while. If anyone in the home is sensitive to smells or dust, discuss the products and the timing with them.
Oil or lacquer
Lacquers form a hard film on the surface, are easy to clean and need sanding to repair worn areas. Oils soak into the wood, give a more natural look and can be refreshed locally, but need regular maintenance. Explain the difference in terms of the client's life: children, pets, a busy hallway or a quiet bedroom. Leave them the product name and maintenance instructions.
Drying, curing and walking on it
Drying between coats lets you apply the next one; curing is the time the finish takes to reach full hardness. A floor can be walked on in socks well before it is cured. Give the client the times from the product sheet for each stage and remind them that heavy furniture and rugs come last. Rugs laid on a finish that hasn't cured can leave marks or trap the finish under them.
Pets and children
Claws and toys scratch a soft finish. Ask clients to keep pets out of the rooms until the finish allows it, put felt pads under furniture before it goes back, and trim pets' claws. For a family home, a durable finish and a mat at the entrance to the room are worth discussing.
Planning the days
Sanding and finishing a room takes several visits: sanding, filling and cleaning, then each coat with drying time in between. In a lived-in home, doing rooms one after another lets the family keep part of the house. Plan the order with the client and give them each day's arrival time, what you'll do and when they can use the room again.
Booking refinishing jobs with Book
On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a "Floor assessment" service that clients book online, with short slots and a description asking for the rooms and their size in the optional note, which you read in your new-booking email. Once the quote is accepted, open slots for a "Sanding and finishing visit" service on the agreed days and book the client into each one yourself from your calendar; with one place per slot, those days no longer show on your public page. Add the client's email and they get a confirmation with a calendar file for each visit.
| Service | Example slot | Example price |
|---|---|---|
| Floor assessment | 30 min | Free |
| Sanding day | 8 h | €350 |
| Finishing coat visit | 2 h | €90 |
| Maintenance oiling | 3 h | €150 |
Durations and prices are examples: set your own. If a coat needs longer to dry and you must shift the next visit, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.