The new floors in our kitchen are easy to overlook among the other major updates—new layout, a widened doorway to the living room, new cabinets and countertops—but they’re a huge reason the space and the entire first floor now feel fresh, open, and updated. Here’s a clear recap of the whole flooring process, including timeline and cost, for anyone considering a similar upgrade.
This before photo shows how dramatic the change is. The image below was taken from the exact same spot as the after shot above—and we do not miss that faux brick linoleum.
From the front door you can see how disjointed the original first-floor flooring felt. We had hardwood in three main rooms (living, dining, and office) but they weren’t connected because of slate in the foyer and linoleum in the kitchen. There were five abrupt transitions, often capped with metal strips—hardly a seamless flow.
Now the main level reads as one continuous swath of hardwood—no transitions, no steps, and no noticeable color change. Cohesive flooring helps visual flow, makes spaces feel larger, and brings the warmth of wood into the kitchen. Getting there, however, was a multi-step process that took time and some disruption.
We hired professionals for the job because it was a weeks-long process and we couldn’t use the kitchen until it was finished. While we’ve installed prefinished hardwood ourselves upstairs, blending new boards with existing ones and then sanding and staining to match perfectly felt like a job best left to pros. We worked with a local company we trusted, which eased a lot of the stress.
Demo
The first step was removing the old linoleum and slate. The flooring crew completed the demolition in about a day and a half, which included removing and later reinstalling quarter round and plumbing fixtures (our powder room toilet and sink). Attempting this ourselves would have required renting heavy tools and spread the work over multiple noisy, dusty evenings—so hiring the crew was the right call. They left exposed plywood in the foyer, half bath, and kitchen; fortunately the subfloor was in good condition and required no replacement.
Some patches of existing hardwood revealed the footprint of previous built-ins. To ensure a seamless look, the installers removed selected existing planks so the new boards could be staggered and blended into the old floor rather than creating an obvious straight seam.
Installation
After demo, the team patched in new boards and used wood putty to fill small gaps and repair any nicks. They feathered the new planks into the existing floor for a smooth transition, then proceeded to lay the rest of the flooring in the kitchen. The wood was delivered a week before installation so it could acclimate—critical to prevent later gaps or buckling.
It took two installers a couple of days to finish the kitchen, then they moved on to the foyer, half bath, and closets. At some doorways it wasn’t possible to guarantee perfect alignment with floors in other rooms, so they installed turnboards—two planks set perpendicular at thresholds. These sit flush with the floor, create a smooth transition, and ended up looking like an intentional decorative detail rather than a patch.
Although it might seem logical to sand and stain before cabinet installation, the flooring and cabinet teams recommended installing cabinets first. Cabinet installation can be rough on floors, so this order reduced the risk of scratching brand-new stain. It also allowed counter templating and production to happen while the floors were being finished, which condensed the timeline.
Moving Out
With cabinets in place, we had to clear our entire first floor. This was a major inconvenience—everything from small items to appliances had to be relocated. We stored large furniture in a rented storage pod and moved many smaller items upstairs or into the garage. The dining room was particularly overloaded since we had moved most of the kitchen into it.
We also discovered wear marks in the office from wheeled chairs. That became a small problem we addressed after the floors were refinished.
Sanding
Sanding removed the old finish and prepped the surface. It’s a dusty process, so we stayed upstairs behind a taped plastic barrier to keep dust contained. Sanding required a large drum sander for the main floor and a smaller hand sander for the edges—another reason we were glad to have professionals handle the job.
After sanding there were dark outlines near the baseboards where quarter round had been removed; those areas were not missed by the sander but were simply exposed trim that would later be painted and reinstalled.
Staining & Sealing
We tested stain samples near the stairway to match existing stair treads. After trying Jacobean, Special Walnut, and Provencial (and a blend of Jacobean + Provencial), we chose Provencial for a classic medium tone that matched the stairs closely.
Once stained, the floors required three coats of polyurethane sealer with light sanding between coats. The installers advised staying off the floors while the sealer cured and then waiting 48 hours before walking on them, plus an additional ten days before placing heavy furniture or rugs to avoid impressions. The finish we chose was satin, which added depth and a subtle sheen that tied everything together with the stairs.
Moving Back In
After the recommended cure time and some final touch-ups—cleaning sanding dust, caulking, and painting quarter round—we moved furniture back in. The entire process from demo to walking on the finished floor was about 16 days, followed by another 10 days before heavy furniture could be returned to protect the finish.
The result is a seamless transition between the new kitchen floors and the existing living room hardwood. It’s nearly impossible to spot where the new boards join the old without comparing an older photo. The foyer now has warm, smooth hardwood instead of cold slate, which is kinder on little knees and helps the whole first floor feel cohesive.
To protect the office floor from wheeled chairs, we removed the chair casters and added furniture pads. The chairs still roll and swivel easily, but the pads prevent new wear marks.
Cost and scope: about $3,400 for materials (3/4″ solid oak hardwood for three rooms) and roughly $4,100 for labor, which covered demo, removal/reinstallation of quarter round and plumbing, laying and patching new hardwood, sanding, staining, sealing the first floor, and reinstalling trim and plumbing. Our entire first floor is approximately 1,300 square feet—roughly 650 sq ft of existing hardwood and 650 sq ft replaced with new hardwood.
It required time, inconvenience, and a meaningful investment, but the payoff is a dramatically improved, cohesive first floor that feels finished and thoughtfully updated. We’re already looking forward to future projects now that this big step is completed.
More Hardwood Floor Refinishing Projects
If you want to read more about specific refinishing projects, check out these posts which cover matching original hardwoods to new flooring and restoring historic pine and oak floors:
- Refinishing Mid-Century Oak Floors in Our First House
- Refinishing Historic Heart Pine Floors in Our Beach House
- Repairing Historic Oak & Pine Floors in Our Duplex
- Clear Sealing Our Refinished Floors in Our Florida House