I have a question about the proper way to prepare a wood floor for re-finishing.

I experienced flooding due to a burst water source in my house and I hired a contractor to re-finish my oak floors.

Only parts of my floor were damaged (swelling and cupping). Other parts of my wood floor were unaffected by the water damage.

My floors were originally finished 12 years ago using Boda Traffic HD (satin finish). My contractor has told me that to prepare the floor for re-finishing, he intendsto sand the damaged parts of the floor to bare wood, but to only lightly sand the existing finish on the undamaged areas (thus not sanding all the way to bare wood). He then plans to apply the Boda Traffic HD to the entire floor, so in some areas the Boda would be covering bare wood, and in other areas it would be applied on top of an existing layer of Boda finish.

Is this a good idea? For longevity and uniformity of finish, should my contractor sand the entire floor to bare wood before re-finishing? Or is it okay to only sand parts of the floor to bare wood? If he does the latter, will parts of the floor look different or will the finish not last as long in some areas since it’s being stacked on top of a layer that’s already 12 years old?

Have you contacted your Homeowners insurance agent? The damage may have been covered by your policy. If so, the usual industry standard is to completely refinish all the flooring so that the color matches, as if you were before the damage.