What it does
Several small heads rotate independently under a larger rotating plate, so no single scratch direction dominates. That is what lets it erase the difference between the belt machine's linear cut and the edger's circular one.
The same machine does the other job that saves people the most money on this site: a screen-and-recoat. It abrades the existing finish enough for a new coat to bond, without touching the wood underneath — a day of work instead of a week, and no wear layer spent.
Why it matters to your floor
- This machine is the difference between a floor that reads as one surface and a floor that reads as a field with a border around it.
- It is also the machine that makes the honest recommendation possible. A shop that owns one can tell you your floor needs a recoat rather than a refinish. A shop that does not has a commercial reason to sell you the bigger job.
What happens without it
Selling a full sand to a floor whose finish is merely dull.
You spend several times the money and one of the limited number of sandings your floor has left, for a result a recoat would have delivered.
How to tell, before you sign
- Ask directly: 'does this floor need a full refinish, or would a screen and recoat do?' A shop that answers 'recoat' on a floor that only needs one has just told you a great deal about how it operates.
- The tell that a recoat is not enough is wear through the finish into bare wood in the traffic lane. Once there is bare wood, a recoat cannot fix it.
These questions are meant to be asked of everyone quoting you, not only of us. A trade that cannot answer them is telling you something useful.
Read further
Hardwood floor maintenance in Ontario
Humidity, cleaning, and recoat schedules for hardwood floors and stairs that have to survive a GTA winter and a GTA summer.
Dust-contained sanding in occupied Toronto homes
What 'dustless' sanding actually means, how long you are out of the room, and how to refinish a condo without becoming a problem on the floor WhatsApp.