Does the preview account for how our specific wood species takes stain?

Yes — the render is generated from a photo of the actual floor, so the grain pattern, board width, and existing patina of that specific wood are what the stain sits on top of. It shows a customer roughly how a color will read on their red oak or white oak; it's not a substitute for a physical test patch on species known to blotch, like maple, birch, or pine, where we still recommend sanding a small hidden area before committing the whole floor.

Can it show the difference between a water-based and an oil-based finish?

It can generate separate previews for a water-based finish, which keeps the stain color true, and an oil-based finish, which lays down an amber tint that deepens over the first few years. Showing both side by side matters because that amber shift is the top reason homeowners who chose oil-based finish call back a year later confused about why their 'gray' floor looks warmer than the day it was done.

Does this work on engineered hardwood, or only solid wood floors?

It works the same way on engineered floors as solid — one photo, multiple stain renders, since it's rendering what's on the surface either way. What a photo preview can't tell you is how many more sandings that floor has left, since engineered wear layers range from under 1mm to 6mm; that's still a job for a moisture meter and a sanding gauge, not a camera.

Can it preview a screen-and-recoat job, not just a full sand-down?

Yes. A full sand-and-refinish preview shows a new stain on bare wood; a screen-and-recoat preview keeps the existing color and just shows the sheen restored, which is the right visual for customers who like their current stain and only want the finish refreshed. Setting that expectation up front avoids the awkward call-back where a customer assumed a color change was included in a recoat quote.

Will the preview match an exact stain brand and color, like a specific Bona or DuraSeal shade?

It gets a customer close enough to decide, not close enough to skip the physical sample entirely. Named stain colors are useful references for the render, but pigment can shift a shade depending on the wood underneath — treat the preview as what gets a customer from 'I have no idea what I want' to 'I want option three, let's confirm it with a chip,' not as a swatch-exact match.

Can it show sheen level, not just stain color?

Yes — matte, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss can each be rendered on the same stain, since sheen changes how much light bounces off the floor without changing the underlying color. It settles the low-sheen-versus-high-gloss debate almost as fast as the color debate, especially with clients who've seen matte floors trending online but have never lived with one.

Who owns the photos of our clients' floors, and how long are they stored?

That's your call, not ours — it's your software. We build the storage and retention policy around what your flooring business needs — whether that's purging photos once the job closes or keeping a before/after library for your own marketing — and make sure it meets CCPA, GDPR, or any other regulation that applies to how you store customer images. No training on your data, ever.

What does a floor refinishing preview tool cost?

There's no off-the-shelf plan, so there's no published price list. Share your details and we'll discuss project scope and pricing on a free consultation call — see /pricing for details.

Flooring

Homeowners Pick Their Stain Color Before You Ever Touch a Sander

Photograph the existing floor during the walkthrough, generate photorealistic previews in every stain and sheen option on that exact wood grain, and get the color signed off in the same visit — not three bids later.

Custom-built for your industry · No commitment

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What is a floor refinishing preview preview?

A floor refinishing preview tool uses AI to generate a photorealistic image of a customer's own hardwood floor in different stain colors and finish sheens before any sanding starts. A contractor photographs the existing floor during the estimate, and the tool renders that same board width, grain pattern, and room light in options like natural, gray, or dark walnut, in matte, satin, or gloss — so the customer picks a color they've actually seen on their own floor instead of guessing from a two-inch sample chip.

Why it matters

Refinishing a red oak floor runs roughly $3–$8 per square foot depending on region and coat count, which puts a typical 1,000-square-foot main floor job at $3,000–$8,000 — real money a homeowner won't commit to sight-unseen. The industry's standard way of showing color today is a two-inch stain chip or a test patch sanded into a closet corner, and neither looks like the finished floor under the customer's actual light, next to their actual trim and cabinets. That gap is where jobs stall: bids sit open for weeks while a couple debates gray versus honey oak, and by the time they decide, they've often called a second or third contractor for a fresh set of eyes.

Who uses this

The estimator or sales rep running the in-home walkthrough opens this tool — not a separate design department. The whole point is closing the stain decision in the same visit the tape measure comes out, before the customer has time to shop three more bids or let the decision go cold.

Heard this from a homeowner mid-walkthrough?

"My spouse wants gray and I want to keep it natural — we're not sanding until we can both see the floor, not just a paint chip."

"The sample looked way lighter in the store than it does under my kitchen lights."

"What if we hate it once it's sanded — can we lighten it back up, or are we stuck with it?"

How floor refinishing preview previews work

Three steps. Under 10 seconds. No design skills needed.

Photograph the existing floor

Capture the room as-is during the estimate — worn finish, current color, and the home's actual light — the same walkthrough you're already doing to scope the job.

Generate the stain and sheen lineup

Turn that one photo into renders across natural, gray, golden oak, and dark walnut, each shown in matte, satin, and gloss, all on that floor's real grain and board width.

Present it on-site and lock the color

Pull the comparison up next to their cabinets and trim before you write the estimate, so the stain decision closes in the same visit instead of dragging into a second and third bid.

Common questions about floor refinishing preview

Straight answers. No jargon.

Let's build the version made for your business

Every preview on this site is a variation of the same engine, tuned to one industry. Tell us about yours, and we'll show you exactly what we'd build for it.

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