You might know this as gym floor refinishing. Same work, either name. We sand, refinish and recoat wood gym floors, and repaint game lines, logos and lettering. We schedule around your season, because the floor has to be out of service while it cures.
Board condition, cupping, dead spots underfoot, and subfloor moisture are checked. Refinishing over an active moisture problem locks the damage in and wastes the whole cost.
The existing finish is abraded to give a mechanical key, the floor thoroughly tacked, and one or two coats applied. This is the routine cycle that most facilities should be on.
Multiple sanding passes remove all finish and surface damage, allowing board replacement, repair of cupping, and a genuine reset of the surface.
Damaged, water-stained or loose boards are cut out and replaced, with new material woven into the existing pattern and left to acclimatize before sanding.
On a full sand, all lines and center-court artwork come off with the old finish and have to be laid out and repainted. On a multi-sport floor this is a significant share of the total.
Sealer then multiple coats of gym-grade finish, either oil-modified or waterborne, applied to the specified slip resistance and cured before the floor returns to play.
If you are seeing any of this, call us before it gets more expensive.
| What you are seeing | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Finish dull, floor still smooth | Routine screen and recoat is what is needed |
| Players report the floor feels slick | Wrong maintenance chemical or finish; test slip resistance |
| Boards cupped across their width | Humidity control problem; fix before refinishing |
| Hollow or dead spots underfoot | Subfloor or fastener failure; sanding will not address it |
Boards, fasteners and subfloor are inspected and moisture readings taken. A floor that is cupping from humidity needs the cause fixed before any sanding is scheduled.
The space is sealed off, HVAC managed so finish fumes are not distributed through the building, and access controlled. In an occupied school this planning is most of the logistics.
For a recoat, screening with the appropriate abrasive. For a full refinish, successive sanding passes to bare wood, followed by repairs and acclimatisation of any replacement boards.
On a full sand, lines are laid out, taped and painted, and artwork reproduced, with dry time between colors. This step frequently governs the overall program.
Sealer then finish coats with abrasion between. Return to play waits on cure, not on dry-to-touch, and rushing it produces exactly the finish failures the job was meant to fix.