Sometimes. It depends entirely on one number that most owners have never been told, and it is worth finding out before anybody starts.
No obligation. Takes 30 seconds.
Floor Sanding and Polishing Brisbane connects Brisbane and greater Brisbane property owners with qualified, licensed local floor sanders for engineered floors. Tell us the rough floor area and what condition the boards are in and we'll match it to a licensed contractor covering your suburb. Firm per-square-metre price after an inspection.
An engineered board is a thin layer of real timber bonded to a plywood or high-density core. That top layer is the wear layer, and it is all there is to sand. A 6mm wear layer will take two or three full sands. A 3mm layer will take one, carefully. Anything under about 2mm should be recoated rather than sanded, and a click-lock floating floor with a 0.6mm veneer cannot be sanded at all.
The cleanest way is to lift a vent or a threshold and look at the edge of a board. The layers are visible: solid timber on top, then the cross-banded core. Failing that, the original invoice or the product name usually gives it, and most manufacturers publish the wear layer thickness. A sander who says they will 'have a look on the day' is guessing with your floor.
Because the machine does not know it is engineered. A drum sander set for solid hardwood takes off more than a thin wear layer can spare, and once the core shows through there is no repair — the board is replaced or the floor is covered. Where the wear layer is marginal, the answer is a light screen-and-recoat rather than a full sand back to bare timber.
Engineered board is common in apartments and newer builds here, partly because it moves less than solid timber in our humidity. That stability is real, and it is the reason a lot of engineered floors look fine and only need a recoat. The failure we see most is not wear, it is water — a leaking dishwasher or a balcony door, which delaminates the layers rather than staining them.
Brisbane.
Where this job typically sits. Access is usually a bigger cost driver than size.
| Job | Indicative price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Sand and polish, per square metre | $35 – $60 /m² | The standard way this is quoted. Covers sanding plus coats. |
| Typical 3-bedroom house (~110m²) | $3,800 – $6,500 | Whole floor, sanded and finished. Condition drives the range. |
| Single room (~15m²) | $700 – $1,200 | Small jobs carry proportionally more setup. |
| Carpet lift and staple removal | $8 – $15 /m² | Often quoted separately. Staples and tack strips take real time. |
| Board replacement | $90 – $200 per board | Matching an old profile costs more than the timber does. |
| Extra coat of finish | $8 – $14 /m² | Three coats is standard; a high-traffic hallway may want four. |
| Stain or colour change | $10 – $20 /m² | On top of sanding. Sample it on your actual timber first. |
| Parquetry restoration | $70 – $120 /m² | Slower and more skilled than strip flooring. |
| Recoat only (no full sand) | $18 – $30 /m² | Where the finish is worn but the timber is sound. Far cheaper. |
| Moisture assessment | $150 – $300 | Worth it on any floor that has been wet or looks cupped. |
Prices are indicative only and usually quoted per square metre. What a floor costs depends on its condition, the timber, how many coats it needs and whether boards have to be replaced. You get a firm price after an inspection.
The core job — taking a tired timber floor back to bare wood.
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The finish itself — water-based or solvent, and how many coats.
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Lifting carpet to find — and rescue — the original boards underneath.
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Replacing damaged, cut or borer-affected boards before sanding.
Read more →Tell us the suburb and the floor area and we'll get it to the right person.
Call 0468 158 248