Verified flooring case study • Berlin, CT • Completed September 2026
Hardwood Floors and Stairs Refinished
Remove the carpet and restore the existing hardwood in the living room, entry, and stairs with a natural finish
Case study published
Residential Project · Residential Home
- Engagement
- Residential Project · Residential Home
- Refinished floor and stairs
- 282 sq. ft. of hardwood and 12 stair treads
- Completed
- September 2026
The problem
Can hardwood hidden under old carpet be sanded and refinished?
Carpet covered the living room, entry, and stairs, with solid hardwood underneath. Hardwood that has lived under carpet often keeps its boards but loses its finish — sanding takes the surface down to fresh wood, and a new finish restores it. The photographs follow the living-room floor from the sanded stage to the finished result.
The stairs got the same treatment as the floors: all 12 stair treads were refinished along with the living room and entry. Stair treads take concentrated foot traffic, and finishing them separately from the floor would leave the most visible part of the house looking patched.
The question was whether to stain the wood or leave it alone. The homeowners' floors were left natural without stain, finished with a water-based coating, so the living room, entry, and all 12 treads carry one consistent natural finish.
Project overview
The goal, materials, and finished scope.
In September 2026, Floors Now restored the existing hardwood in a Berlin home's living room, entry, and stairs. The crew removed and disposed of 352 square feet of carpet, sanded and refinished 282 square feet of hardwood flooring, and refinished all 12 stair treads. The wood was left natural without stain and finished with a water-based coating. The photographs follow the living-room floor from the sanded stage to the finished result, with views of the refinished hardwood from the entry beside the stairs and across the living room.
Project facts
- Completed
- September 2026
- Documented scope
- Residential hardwood floor and stair refinishing
- Property type
- Residential Home
- Rooms
- Living room, entry, and stairs
- Flooring
- Existing hardwood with a natural water-based finish
- Project goal
- Remove the carpet and restore the existing hardwood in the living room, entry, and stairs with a natural finish
Project photography
The finished result.
Each image and caption identifies the portion of the verified project that is actually shown.
Scope of work
What we did, step by step.
Carpet removal followed by hardwood sanding and a natural water-based finish.
- Removed and disposed of 352 square feet of carpet
- Sanded and refinished 282 square feet of existing hardwood in the living room and entry
- Refinished all 12 stair treads
- Left the wood natural, without stain, and applied a water-based finish
- Completed the project in September 2026
Common questions
Questions homeowners ask about this kind of project.
Why does the carpet have to come out before refinishing?
Yes. We removed and disposed of 352 square feet of carpet to expose the hardwood underneath before sanding and refinishing. If the carpet had stayed, there would have been no floor to refinish — removal is what makes the restoration possible.
Do you refinish stair treads along with the hardwood floor?
Yes. We refinished all 12 stair treads in the same natural water-based finish as the floors, so the stairs and the living room and entry read as one surface instead of two different treatments.
What does a natural finish mean on hardwood?
No stain — the wood keeps its own color and grain, sealed under a water-based coating. In this project the floors were left natural without stain and finished with a water-based finish.
Do you remove the old carpet as part of a refinishing project?
Yes. We removed and disposed of the 352 square feet of carpet first, which exposed the hardwood in the living room, entry, and stairs for sanding and finishing.
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