There is nothing quite like the character of an older Colorado home. Whether you live in a charming mid-century ranch in Wheat Ridge, a historic property near Golden, or a mature family home in Arvada, those original hardwood floors are a treasure.
If your floors are looking a bit dull, scratched, or faded from years of high-altitude sunlight and foot traffic, you might be thinking about having them sanded and refinished. It’s an incredible way to bring the organic warmth of real wood back to life. But as you walk across the room, you might notice something else: a gentle slope toward one corner, a slight dip near the fireplace, or a distinct bounce in the hallway.
If you're asking yourself, "Can I still refinish my hardwood floors if they aren't perfectly level?" the short answer is yes, absolutely but the approach matters immensely. Let’s look at what causes uneven floors, how it impacts the refinishing process, and the steps required to ensure your project is a success.
Table of Contents
Diagnose the Dip (Why is the Floor Un-level?)
How Sanding Machines Interact with Slopes
What if the Wood Can't Be Saved?
Get Peace of Mind & Avoid the Headache with the Hardwood Refinishing Experts at Simply Floors
Diagnose the Dip (Why is the Floor Un-level?)
Before any sanding machine turns on, it is critical to understand why the floor isn't flat. An unlevel floor typically falls into one of two categories:
Natural Settling (Very Common): As homes age, they settle. Wood joists can sag slightly over decades, or a foundation can shift minutely. If the settling happened long ago and has completely stopped, it is generally considered a cosmetic characteristic of an older home.
Active Structural Issues (A Warning Sign): If the slope is severe, if doors suddenly won't close, or if you notice new cracks appearing in your drywall, there could be an active foundation issue or moisture damage in the subfloor.
Expert Note: Refinishing a floor fixes the surface appearance. It does not fix structural foundations. Active structural movement must be addressed by a professional contractor before any cosmetic floor work begins.
How Sanding Machines Interact with Slopes
When a professional refinishing crew walks into your home, they use a heavy piece of equipment called a belt sander (or drum sander). This machine is designed to cut a perfectly flat path across the wood.
If your floor has a mild, gradual slope across the entire room, the sander moves right along with it, beautifully removing the old finish. However, if your floor has sharp dips, high spots, or warped planks, a standard sanding process requires an expert hand to avoid two common pitfalls:
The Problem | What Causes It | The Risk |
High Spots | Planks that have crowned or crested upward over a joist. | The sander can cut too deeply into these spots, wearing down the wood's wearable layer prematurely. |
Low Spots | Dips, depressions, or individual sagging planks. | The flat drum of the sander can skip right over these areas, leaving old, dark stain behind in the low spots. |
To overcome these variations without ruining the character or longevity of your wood, a skilled professional uses specialized techniques.
They will often sand at careful diagonals to flatten out minor waves or utilize hand-scraping and orbital trio-sanders to gently blend the low and high areas together seamlessly.
What if the Wood Can't Be Saved?
During our evaluation, we always check the "wear layer" of your existing solid or engineered hardwood. If the floors have already been sanded down multiple times in the past, or if flattening out the unlevel areas would require removing too much wood, refinishing might not be a safe option.
If that turns out to be the case for your home, don't worry. It actually opens up a beautiful opportunity to modernize your space.
Remove the Old Hardwood: The old, compromised wood is carefully pulled up to expose the raw subfloor underneath.
Prep and Flatten the Subfloor: This is where the real magic happens. Our installation teams use specialized self-leveling compounds or skim-coats to fill in the low dips and sand down the high ridges. While we don't lift the foundation of the house, we create a beautifully flat, stable substrate.
Install New Quality Flooring: Once the subfloor is flat, you can install gorgeous new solid hardwood, engineered planks, or incredibly durable, modern luxury vinyl planks. Because the foundation underneath is now flat, your new floors won't bounce, creak, or slope.
Get Peace of Mind & Avoid the Headache with the Hardwood Refinishing Experts at Simply Floors
Deciding whether to refinish an old floor or replace it altogether isn't a choice you should have to make based on a generic online article or a quick trip to a big-box warehouse. You need an expert eye to look at your actual home, assess the nature of the slope, and measure the remaining wood thickness.
We will come directly to your doorstep in Arvada, Centennial, Aurora, or anywhere across the Denver metro area.
We’ll assess your current floors, check the level of your subfloor, and—if a replacement makes the most sense bring a curated selection of premium samples right into your living room so you can see how they look next to your favorite furniture and in your home's unique natural light.
We Invite You to Call or Visit One of Our 3 Showrooms Today!
Our Service Areas Include: Wheat Ridge, Centennial, Denver, Arvada, Aurora, Golden, and Parker, CO
Arvada, CO
Address: 5945 Ward Rd Arvada, CO 80004
Phone: (303) 731-5380
Centennial, CO
Address: 8101 S Quebec St. #2 Centennial, CO 80112
Phone: (303) 731-5380
Aurora, CO
Address: 17034 E Quincy Ave. Aurora, CO 80015
Phone: (303) 731-5380
About Simply Floors Inc.
At Simply Floors, we believe the best place to choose your new flooring isn’t under the buzzing fluorescent lights of a warehouse, but in the natural light of your own home where your life actually happens. As a woman-owned, family-operated business serving the Colorado Front Range—from Arvada and Wheat Ridge to Centennial and Parker—we’ve traded the high overhead of "mega-showrooms" for a personalized shop-at-home experience that puts you in control.
Our mission is built on a simple promise to enthusiastically exceed your expectations by providing curated, high-quality selections and transparent pricing without the big-box stress. Whether you are replacing well-worn carpet or updating your forever home, our dedicated team handles every detail with "Excellence in the Ordinary," ensuring a seamless, professional journey from the first measurement to the final plank.
