Strip and seal: when hard floors need it and what it involves

A hard floor needs a strip and seal when the sealer has worn through and mopping no longer makes it look clean. The tell-tale signs are traffic lanes that stay grey after a scrub, a yellow or patchy look where old layers have built up, and scuffs that do not come off. If the floor looks dull but comes up with a good scrub, it does not need stripping; it needs a scrub and recoat, which is quicker and cheaper. This guide explains how to tell the difference, what a strip and seal involves, and the maintenance plan that stops you paying for it again in two years.

How a sealed floor works

Vinyl, linoleum and sealed concrete floors are protected by a layer of sealer, sometimes called floor finish or polish. The sealer takes the scuffs, the chair marks and the grit so the floor underneath does not, and it is what gives a new floor its even shine. Daily mopping cleans the sealer. Periodic burnishing restores its shine. A scrub and recoat removes the dulled top coat and adds a fresh one. A strip and seal removes everything down to the bare floor and starts again.

Each step up the ladder costs more and takes longer, so the aim of a maintenance plan is to stay as low on the ladder as possible for as long as possible.

Strip and seal, or scrub and recoat?

Ask three questions about the floor:

1. Do the traffic lanes come clean with a scrub? If a machine scrub brings them back, the sealer is intact. Recoat.
2. Is the floor yellow, patchy or showing old layers at the edges? That is build-up. Strip.
3. Is dirt sitting in the surface rather than on it? The sealer has worn through and the floor itself is soiled. Strip.

A good contractor checks this at the walkthrough and recommends the cheaper option where it will work. Be wary of anyone who quotes a strip and seal without looking at the floor, or who recommends it for every floor regardless.

What a strip and seal involves

Done properly, the job runs overnight or over a weekend:

1. Preparation. Furniture and movable items are shifted, the area is signed or taped off, and the safe work method statement for the task is followed, because strippers and wet floors are hazards.
2. Stripping. The old sealer is removed with the right stripper for the floor type, worked in sections with a machine, and by hand along edges, corners and under fixed fittings where the machine cannot reach.
3. Neutralising and rinsing. The floor is neutralised and rinsed until the water runs clean. Stripper residue left behind stops the new sealer bonding, which is the most common cause of a finish that fails within months.
4. Inspection of the bare floor. Damage, lifting tiles, gouges and stains are noted and reported before anything goes on top of them.
5. Sealing. Thin, even coats of sealer, usually three or four, with full drying time between each. Thin coats cure hard; one thick coat stays soft and scuffs.
6. Curing. The final coat is left to cure with the floor out of use until it is safe to walk on, usually by the morning.
7. Reinstatement. Furniture goes back, with felt pads recommended under chairs and desks that mark the floor.

Safety data sheets for the stripper and the sealer should be supplied for your register. Safe Work Australia's guidance on hazardous chemicals at safeworkaustralia.gov.au explains why.

Floors that are not suitable

Bare concrete, timber, natural stone and tiles with grout are different jobs with different products. Some floors are too worn or damaged for sealing to be worthwhile, and a contractor should tell you that rather than seal over the problem. Delta's hard floor strip and seal page explains what is confirmed at the walkthrough before anything is quoted.

The maintenance plan is the point

A strip and seal is expensive to repeat and cheap to avoid. The plan that keeps a floor at the bottom of the ladder looks like this:

The frequencies depend on traffic. A practice corridor cleaned daily with disinfectant wears its sealer faster than a meeting room floor, so it needs recoating sooner. The plan should be written into your cleaning scope with dates, the same way carpet steam cleaning is scheduled, so it happens on time. In Delta's portal the burnishing and recoat dates sit as scheduled tasks and the inspection score records the result.

Where strip and seal is usually needed

• Office kitchens and corridors, which take the heaviest wear in most offices and can often be done on their own without stripping the whole floor
• Medical and dental practices, where frequent disinfectant cleaning wears the finish and the floor needs a sealer that stands up to it
• Strata lobbies and common rooms, which carry everyone's grit and are the first thing a visitor sees
• Showrooms and commercial premises with sealed concrete or vinyl floors that customers walk on

Next step

Scrub a small patch of the worst traffic lane. If it comes clean, you need a scrub and recoat; if it stays grey, you need a strip. Either way, book a free walkthrough and the owner calls you within 30 minutes during enquiry hours to look at it and give you a written price per job. Practices along Logan Road in Mount Gravatt and showrooms in Woolloongabba are typical of where this work is scheduled as part of a regular scope. If you are planning floors alongside other periodic work, the end of financial year deep clean guide shows how to bundle it.

Questions people ask

How long is the floor out of use for a strip and seal?

Usually overnight. The strip, rinse and coats are done in the evening and the floor is walkable by the morning. Large areas or floors that need extra coats may be done over a weekend.

How often does a sealed floor need a strip and seal?

With periodic burnishing and a scrub and recoat when the top coat dulls, most commercial floors go one to three years between full strips. Without that maintenance, the sealer wears through much sooner.

Can only the worn areas be done?

Often, yes. Corridors and kitchens wear faster than meeting rooms, and stripping and resealing those areas can be enough, with the join between new and old sealer managed so it does not show.