Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Reading, PA
What it costs, and what Reading's housing stock does to the job.
Floor refinishing in a 1938-median city
The median Reading home was built in 1938 and 56.9% of the city’s housing
predates 1940. For floor refinishing specifically, that is not background color — it is the thing that
decides the job.
Rowhomes are the best refinishing candidates in Pennsylvania. They were built in runs, to one specification, with narrow-strip oak as standard, and an enormous number of them had carpet laid straight over that oak in the 1960s and 70s. The floor under your carpet is very likely the original, very likely sound, and very likely never sanded.
Reading has the oldest housing stock of the nine cities on this site: 56.9% of its homes were built before 1940. Brick rowhomes of that vintage share a floor assembly — narrow-strip hardwood over diagonal plank, joists running wall to wall — which is genuinely good news, because it is a known quantity and it is usually worth refinishing rather than replacing.
What it costs in Reading
Central PA is the Pennsylvania labor baseline, so the range below matches the statewide $3–$8. Installed, materials and labor together:
| Work | Reading range | Pennsylvania range |
|---|---|---|
| Refinishing existing boards | $3 – $8 a square foot | $3 – $8 a square foot |
An estimate, not a quote. These are planning ranges for Pennsylvania, not a quote. What you actually pay depends on your rooms, your subfloor and the material you choose — final price depends on your project.
Extras are where a Reading 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? With 56.9% of Reading
homes predating 1940, a plank subfloor is a realistic assumption rather than an edge case.
How to identify yours. - Is the old floor coming out or being covered? Covering costs less and is
sometimes the safer answer — particularly over
9×9 tile — but it costs you height at doors and
at the bottom stair riser. - What is the cut-and-waste allowance? A century-old house is rarely square, and
cuts are labor. - What is your PA Home Improvement Contractor number? It is legally required to
be on the estimate. How to check it.