Refinishing · Rebuilt guide
Screen and Recoat vs. Full Refinish: When to Discuss Each
When a screen and recoat makes sense for your floor, PHR's current base price, and why we still need to see it in person.
Direct answer
A screen and recoat is our $3-per-square-foot base option. It's for a floor with light scratches and only a little finish fading, where the wood itself is still in good shape. It's not the right fix for bare wood, deep scratches, stains soaked into the wood, structural damage, an unknown old coating, or every dull-looking floor.
A closer look at wood
Every floor has details worth seeing.
This PHR-supplied floor photo shows wood detail, not a promise about your home. Use the guide below to understand the question, then look at the actual floor before you choose a path.
These two services aren't the same thing
Our older material used 'buff and recoat' and 'screen and recoat' to mean the same light-touch service. This site now just says screen and recoat, and treats it as its own service — separate from full sanding and refinishing.
What screening does — and does not do
Screening lightly abrades the existing finish so a fresh coat can bond to it. It is not a full sand-and-refinish, which removes the finish down to bare wood. AHF Products describes screening as one way to create that mechanical bond, but the exact finish system still controls the instructions.
Why a dull floor still needs an exact check
A screen and recoat can help with surface wear such as dull traffic areas, light scratches, or slight splintering. It is not a promise for every floor. AHF notes that some poorly maintained floors do not qualify. The finish already on your floor, its condition, and the current finish-maker instructions are part of the decision.
What we can't tell from a photo alone
Looking at a floor isn't enough to know whether an old coating will accept a new topcoat, or whether damage is only in the finish layer. Old cleaners, wax, coatings, bare spots, stains, water history, and how the floor was built can all change what service you actually need.
- A quick online self-check is not a guarantee that a service will work on your floor.
- Tell us about any cleaning products you've used and any past floor work when we visit.
- A product's instructions apply to that exact finish system — not to every floor we haven't seen.
When a full refinish makes more sense
Deep scratches, exposed wood, stains soaked into the wood, major damage, a color change, or other issues can mean a full refinish is the better option to discuss. We confirm the real path for your floor after we've seen it.
- Our calculator only shows the screen-and-recoat price for light-wear floors.
- It won't invent a repair charge or a final price range.
- Your written scope spells out the exact service and what's not included.
Start with a real number
Use our calculator to get the base price. Then book an in-home visit so we can confirm whether a recoat is actually the right call for your floor.
Sources & methodology Read the underlying guidance
Make the next step practical
See your starting price, then look at the floor together.
This guide helps you get started. Your in-home visit is where we look at the floor, talk through your goals, and build the written plan.