Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Montgomery, Alabama
What it costs, and what Montgomery's housing stock does to the job.
Floor refinishing in a 1978-median city
The median Montgomery home was built in 1978 and 10.3% of the city’s housing predates 1940. For floor refinishing specifically, that is not background color — it is the thing that decides the job.
The best refinishing prospects in the state are here, and it is not close: original oak under carpet is a routine find in these neighborhoods rather than a lucky one, and refinishing runs about a third of the cost of a new floor. Sanding is also the moment a weak board announces itself, so agree in advance what happens if one has to be replaced — on a floor this old, matching the replacement stock is the hard part, not the labor.
Montgomery splits at about 10% prewar against a 1978 median. The older core has raised-floor houses with real crawl clearance; the postwar expansion around it is largely slab. Which one you have changes both what an inspector can see and what a flooring job is likely to find when the old floor comes up.
What it costs in Montgomery
Montgomery / East labor runs below the Alabama baseline, which is why the range below sits under the statewide $3–$8. Installed, materials and labor together:
| Work | Montgomery range | Alabama range |
|---|---|---|
| Refinishing existing boards | $3 – $8 a square foot | $3 – $8 a square foot |
An estimate, not a quote. These are planning ranges for Alabama, not a quote. What you actually pay depends on your rooms, your subfloor and the material you choose.
Extras are where a Montgomery job most often moves away from the band: removing the old floor, prepping a plank subfloor, and stairs. The cost estimator prices those separately against your own room.
Questions worth asking before you book
- What is the subfloor, and what does it need? 10.3% of Montgomery homes predate 1940 and the median build year is 1978, so plywood or OSB is the likelier answer here and a plank subfloor is the exception worth ruling out. How to identify yours.
- Is the old floor coming out or being covered? Covering costs less and is sometimes the safer answer, but it costs you height at doors and at the bottom stair riser.
- What is the cut-and-waste allowance? Ten percent is normal; older or irregular rooms take more, and cuts are labor.
- What did the slab read, and what did the boards read? An installer who measured both has told you more than a classification code could. What Alabama licenses, and what it does not.