Flooring timeline

The sequence is: material delivery and acclimation, then tear-out, then subfloor repair, then install, then trim, then cure. Every one of those can slip, but only the last two are predictable. Contractors who promise a fixed finish date before seeing the subfloor are promising something they can't control.

Subfloor discovery is the biggest schedule risk. Repairing a damaged 150-square-foot area is a $250–$750 job that can be done in the same visit; a full replacement at $3.50–$12 per square foot, or joist work at $125–$315 per joist, is a different project with its own schedule.

Refinishing timelines are dominated by finish chemistry. Oil-based polyurethane dries within about 24 hours; water-based takes about 2–4 days. Drying is not curing. Ask your finisher when you can walk on it in socks, when you can move furniture, and when rugs can go back — those are three different dates.

Plan where you'll live. Refinishing means the room is unusable and often smells; a whole-floor job can make a kitchen or a bathroom inaccessible for days. Sorting that out in advance is much cheaper than deciding on day two.

How to choose

Don't accept a firm end date before the subfloor is seen

It's a guess. Ask instead for a schedule with a stated contingency for subfloor findings.

Build in acclimation time

Compressing it to hit a date is the most common cause of floors that move after install.

Get three separate cure dates in writing

Walkable, furniture-safe, rug-safe. They aren't the same day.

Schedule around the rooms you can't lose

Kitchens and bathrooms out of service for days is a real household problem. Plan it.

Water-based finish buys speed at a price

Oil-based dries within about 24 hours; water-based takes 2–4 days. Ask which your finisher is using and why.