Timeline overview: what to expect from start to finish
A typical Toronto main-floor refinish covering 800-1,200 sq ft takes 4-5 working days from the start of sanding through to the final finish coat. Light foot traffic in socks begins 24 hours after the last coat of Bona Traffic HD. Full furniture return happens at 72 hours. Area rugs go back down at 14 days.
If you are using Rubio Monocoat 2C hardwax oil instead of Bona Traffic HD waterborne polyurethane, add 2-3 days before furniture goes back. Rubio cures more slowly, but it is spot-repairable for the life of the floor without requiring a full resand.
The table below covers the most common project types:
| Project type | Sanding days | Stain day | Finish days | Total | Walk-on at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen-and-recoat (no sanding) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 day | Same day |
| Main floor, no stain (800-1,200 sq ft) | 1 | 0 | 2-3 | 3-4 days | 24 hrs after final coat |
| Main floor + stain (800-1,200 sq ft) | 1 | 1 | 2-3 | 4-5 days | 24 hrs after final coat |
| Large open plan (1,400+ sq ft) | 1-2 | 1 | 2-3 | 4-6 days | 24 hrs after final coat |
| Main floor + stairs | 1-2 | 1 | 2-3 | 5-7 days | 24 hrs after final coat |
| Rubio Monocoat 2C finish | 1 | 0-1 | 1 | 3-4 days | 48 hrs; furniture at 5-7 days |
Day-by-day breakdown
Day 1 - Sanding
The day starts with Bona Dust Containment System setup: sealing HVAC returns, poly-sheeting doorways to adjacent rooms, and connecting the DCS extraction unit to the drum sander, belt edge sander, and orbital buffer.
Sanding follows the NWFA-recommended grit sequence: 36 - 60 - 80 - 100 - 120. Each grit serves a specific purpose:
- 36 grit - strips the old finish and levels high spots or minor cupping. This is the most aggressive pass and generates the most material.
- 60 grit - removes the deep scratch pattern left by the 36-grit drum.
- 80 grit - smoothing pass that begins to reveal the final floor character.
- 100 grit - pre-stain surface. The pores are open and uniform at this stage, which is critical for even colour absorption if a Bona DriFast stain is going down.
- 120 grit - final pass before finish. Removes machine marks and produces the clean, even surface that Bona Traffic HD bonds to.
Grits cannot be skipped. Jumping from 36 to 80 leaves sub-surface scratches that are invisible until the finish goes down - then they appear as a visible pattern through the stain, particularly on darker colour choices.
Minor repairs - Dutchman patches, crack filling, and board replacements - are completed before sanding starts. On a standard 800-1,200 sq ft floor in a Leaside or Lawrence Park home, the full sanding sequence finishes by mid-afternoon. The floor sits bare and ready for stain or first finish coat by end of day.
Day 2 - Stain (if required)
Projects going to natural or clear finish skip this day entirely and move straight to finish coats.
If a custom colour is specified, Bona DriFast stain is applied by hand using a lamb’s wool applicator and wiped back within the product’s open time. Bona DriFast is a solvent-based stain with a 4-6 hour dry time under standard conditions (18-22°C, 35-50% relative humidity). Oil-based stain formulations need 12-24 hours before the first finish coat can go down.
Custom stain matching - mixing two or more DriFast colours to hit a specific target - may add half a day for sample dry and client approval before the full application proceeds. Lighting changes significantly throughout a Toronto home as the sun moves, so approval is done with a dried sample viewed in both morning and afternoon light before committing to the full floor.
Days 3-4 - Finish coats
Bona Traffic HD is a two-component waterborne polyurethane. The hardener component is mixed immediately before each coat and activates a cross-linking reaction as the finish cures. This is what separates Traffic HD from single-component waterborne products - the hardener produces a surface that is genuinely commercial-grade in abrasion resistance.
Each coat of Bona Traffic HD requires 2-4 hours of dry time before the next coat goes down. Between coats, the surface is lightly abraded with a 150-grit screen to improve inter-coat adhesion and remove any dust nibs that settled during cure. Two coats is the standard for residential projects; a third coat adds $0.50-1/sq ft and is specified for high-traffic areas like hallways, open-plan kitchen-dining spaces, and entryways in Riverdale, Leslieville, and similar older Toronto neighbourhoods where the floors see sustained daily traffic.
Temperature and humidity in the space matter during cure. Bona Traffic HD requires 18-26°C and 35-50% relative humidity to cross-link correctly. Toronto winters with forced-air heat push indoor humidity below 30%, which extends dry times. Summer humidity above 60% slows cure as well. Toronto Quality Wood Flooring monitors conditions during the finishing days and adjusts coat timing accordingly.
Day 5 - Final coat and handover
The third coat (if specified) goes down, and cleanup of the work zone is completed. A written cure milestone card is left on-site covering the specific walk-on and furniture return dates for the finish product used.
Cure milestones after the final coat
The finish continues curing after it is dry to the touch. Bona Traffic HD reaches full rated hardness at 72 hours. Rubio Monocoat 2C takes 5-7 days for furniture return.
- 24 hours - light foot traffic in clean socks only. No shoes, no bare feet with grit on them, no rubber-soled slippers.
- 72 hours - light furniture returns. Lift and place - do not drag. Bona Traffic HD is at full cure at this point.
- 7 days - heavy furniture returns. Sofas, beds, dining tables, heavy appliances.
- 14 days - area rugs go back down. Rugs placed earlier trap off-gassing vapours under them, which can leave a discolouration shadow in the finish. Use a breathable natural fibre rug pad, not a solid PVC or rubber-backed mat, when rugs return.
The most common mistake after refinishing is placing an area rug before the 14-day mark. It is also the mistake that is hardest to fix without another full sand.
What extends the timeline
Large area (1,500+ sq ft)
Floors over 1,500 sq ft typically require 2 sanding days rather than one. The drum sander covers roughly 600-700 sq ft per day at full grit progression. Add 1-2 days for sanding.
Stairs included
Stairs require hand sanding, edger work at the nosing radius, and careful finish application on both treads and risers without drips or pooling at the spindle bases. Each staircase flight adds 1-2 days to the overall project. Stair nosing work is priced separately at $60-120 per tread.
Custom stain match
Half a day is added for sample dry and approval before the full stain application begins. This is non-negotiable for heritage floors in Cabbagetown, Annex, or Rosedale homes where matching an existing stain on adjacent rooms is required.
Major board repairs
Board replacement, Dutchman patches on large areas, or addressing severe cupping from past moisture events adds 1-2 days before sanding starts. The repairs need to cure and stabilise before the drum sander runs over them.
Rubio Monocoat 2C
Rubio applies as a single two-component coat - no multiple finish layers - but the cure time before furniture is 5-7 days rather than 72 hours. For families who cannot wait a full week before moving furniture back, Bona Traffic HD is the practical choice. For heritage floors in Forest Hill or Rosedale where the flat matte oil finish is the aesthetic target, Rubio is worth the additional wait.
What cannot extend the timeline: skipping between-coat dry times
The one area where shortcuts create real failures is rushing between finish coats. Applying the second coat of Bona Traffic HD before the first has fully dried traps moisture under the surface. The entrapped moisture later tries to escape as the finish fully cures, causing bubbling, clouding, or delamination. Toronto Quality Wood Flooring does not apply second coats early regardless of scheduling pressure. The written quote includes the specific dates for each coat so there are no surprises.
Book a free in-home estimate
Toronto Quality Wood Flooring provides free in-home estimates with a fixed-price written quote within 48 hours. The quote includes the start date, day-by-day schedule, final coat date, and specific cure milestones so you can plan around the project. Contact Toronto Quality Wood Flooring to schedule your estimate across Toronto, North York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.