Can I sand and recoat my timber floors, and how many times?

The limit is physical. On a tongue and groove board, only the timber above the tongue can be removed before the tongue is exposed and the board loses its fixing integrity. On a solid board that allows several sandings across decades. On an engineered board the wear layer may be only a couple of millimetres.

Check before committing

• Whether the boards are solid or engineered, which you can often see at a doorway threshold or a floor vent.
• How much material remains above the tongue, which a floor sander can assess by lifting a vent or a board.
• Whether the floor has already been sanded, and how many times.
• Whether nail or staple heads are near the surface, since these damage the machine and mark the floor.
• Whether there is a previous coating that requires specific handling, and in older homes whether it contains anything hazardous.

Practical realities

It is dusty, and even with extraction the dust travels. It is disruptive, since the floor is unusable while coats cure. Coating type matters more than most people realise: water-based coatings cure faster and smell less, solvent-based coatings are traditionally more durable, and hardwax oils are easier to spot repair but need more maintenance.