DIY guideFloors

Find out how thick the wood floor wear layer is

Before anyone sands, find out how much wood is left to sand. A floor vent or a threshold shows the boards' edge, and a ruler reads it.

7 steps

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The wear layer is the wood on top that sanding takes away. Once it's gone, the floor can't be sanded again.
Lift a floor register straight up out of its hole. The cut edge of the boards shows round the opening.
No vent? Look at the floor's edge at a doorway, the top of the stairs or a step down, where a board's end shows.
One piece of wood all the way down: it's solid. A thin layer of wood on plywood layers: it's engineered.
Hold a ruler to the edge and measure the wood above the tongue, or the top layer. Take a photo with the ruler in it.
Set the register back in its hole and press it flat.
A paper-thin top layer, nail heads or the tongue showing, or no edge you can see: ask Handyman for a flooring pro before anyone sands.

Handyman says: Too thin to sand? I'll find a floor pro.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.