Guide
Floor Polishing and Strip and Seal Costs in 2026
The cost to strip and seal vinyl floors, recoat timber or have boards fully sanded and polished, with indicative 2026 prices per square metre. It is written for anyone who looks after a commercial floor budget: facilities teams, shop and office owners, and property managers. It covers the numbers, how often you will pay them, what pushes a quote up or down, and why regular maintenance costs far less than replacing a floor. For our other practical guides, see the Cleaningia guides page.
Figures reviewed 27 September 2026
What it costs
What does it cost to strip and seal vinyl floors, or polish timber?
The cost to strip and seal vinyl floors is typically about $6 to $12 a square metre in Australia. Recoating timber runs about $20 to $40 a square metre, and a full sand and polish in Melbourne about $25 to $55. Small jobs often meet a minimum charge, and staining or gap filling costs extra.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Vinyl strip and seal | About $6 to $12 per sq m |
| Timber screen and recoat | About $20 to $40 per sq m |
| Timber full sand and polish | About $25 to $55 per sq m |
| Stain added to a sand | About $8 to $15 per sq m extra |
| Gap filling between boards | About $3 to $8 per sq m extra |
| Timber minimum call-out | About $300 to $500 |
| Buffing, scrubbing, concrete upkeep | Usually priced per visit |
The ranges come from Australian price guides published for 2026, cross-checked against each other. They describe the usual band, not a price for your floor, and Melbourne jobs tend to land in the middle to upper part of each range.
Vinyl is the cheapest to restore because nothing is removed from the floor itself. The old sealer is dissolved and scrubbed off, the floor is rinsed, and fresh coats of sealer go on. Timber costs more because the work is slower and, in a full sand, a thin layer of the wood itself is removed to get back to clean timber.
Routine machine work between restorations, such as spray buffing vinyl or burnishing polished concrete, is usually priced per visit rather than per square metre, and costs a small fraction of a full restoration. That is where most of the savings in a floor care plan come from.
How often
How often will you pay for it, and is maintenance cheaper than replacement?
A busy commercial vinyl floor usually needs a strip and seal every one to two years, and timber a recoat every few years before it ever needs sanding. Keeping to that schedule costs far less than letting a floor wear through, because replacing commercial vinyl or sanding timber back costs several times more.
| Floor | If maintained | If neglected |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial sheet vinyl | Strip and seal at about $6 to $12 per sq m, every one to two years | Worn-through vinyl replaced at about $35 to $55 per sq m installed, plus downtime |
| Coated timber | Recoat at about $20 to $40 per sq m while the coating is intact | Full sand at about $25 to $55 per sq m, which also removes timber each time |
| Polished concrete | Regular burnishing and guard coat top-ups | Re-grinding and re-polishing, a far bigger job |
The timber point is easy to miss. Solid boards can only be sanded so many times before the tongue starts to show, and engineered boards have a thin wear layer that may allow one sand or none. Every recoat that saves a sand extends the life of the floor, not just its appearance.
For vinyl, the saving is about the surface underneath. The sealer is a sacrificial layer: it takes the scuffs and grit so the vinyl doesn't. Once it wears through in the traffic paths, the vinyl itself starts to scratch and stain, and no amount of sealing makes it look new again.
How often your particular floor needs attention depends on traffic, grit and the products used for daily cleaning. Our pages on floor stripping and sealing and timber floor polishing set out typical intervals by type of space.
For budgeting, it helps to treat floor care as a yearly line item rather than a surprise. A floor on a plan costs a predictable amount each year; a floor left until it looks bad usually lands as one large bill at the worst possible time.
Other floors
What about tile, polished concrete, safety vinyl and rubber?
Each is priced differently because each needs a different kind of work. Tile and grout are deep cleaned and the grout resealed, polished concrete is burnished and topped up rather than sealed, and safety vinyl and rubber usually shouldn't be sealed at all. Ask for a method first, then a price.
| Floor | Usual work | How it tends to be priced |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic and porcelain tile | Machine scrub, grout deep clean, grout sealer | Per sq m, with grout sealing as an extra line |
| Polished concrete | Scrub, burnish, guard coat top-up | Per visit on a plan; re-grinding is a separate trade |
| Safety vinyl | Deep scrub with the maker's recommended cleaner | Per sq m or per visit, no sealer cost |
| Rubber flooring | Scrub and neutral clean, sometimes a dressing | Per visit, depending on area |
Safety vinyl is the one to be careful with. Its grip comes from a textured surface with embedded particles, and many manufacturers advise against applying a floor polish or sealer because it fills that texture and reduces slip resistance. A contractor who offers to strip and seal safety vinyl like ordinary vinyl should be asked to show the maker's care guide first.
Polished concrete looks as if it needs polishing, but a properly ground and densified floor mostly needs keeping clean and occasional burnishing. If it has gone dull and scratched through, re-grinding is a separate specialist job with its own, much higher, price.
Tile costs are mostly about the grout. The tiles themselves clean quickly; grout lines hold years of dirt and need scrubbing, sometimes with a steam or extraction tool, before they are sealed. Expect the grout sealing to appear as its own line, because it takes as long as the clean.
On any mixed floor, such as vinyl in the kitchen, tile in the bathrooms and carpet in the offices, ask for a quote that lists each area and its method. It makes the price easier to check and stops the wrong product ending up on the wrong floor.
What changes the price
What makes one floor quote higher than another?
The biggest factors are the condition of the old finish, the size of the area, how much furniture has to move, when the work can happen, and how many coats go on. A floor with years of built-up sealer, a small area that hits the minimum charge, or a weekend-only site will all cost more per square metre.
Build-up and condition
Layers of old polish, often from topping up without ever stripping, need extra stripping passes. Black heel marks, adhesive and stains add time too, as does repairing damaged vinyl before sealing.
Area and layout
Large open floors are cheaper per square metre than many small rooms, corridors and toilets, where edges and corners take most of the time. Very small jobs usually meet a minimum charge.
Furniture and access
Desks, shelving and equipment have to be moved and put back. If staff clear the floor beforehand, the price drops. Lifts, stairs and parking also affect how fast machines get in and out.
Timing
Evening, weekend and public holiday work costs more because wages do. Multi-night staging, so a business can keep trading, adds setup time for each section.
Number of coats
Two coats of sealer suit a quiet floor. A busy entry or food area needs four or more, which means more product, more drying time and more labour.
Finish and safety
Some sites need a particular sheen or a slip-resistant finish. That can mean a specific sealer or extra testing, which is worth paying for in wet or high-traffic areas.
On timing, the Cleaning Services Award sets minimum pay of $27.08 an hour for a full-time level 1 cleaner on weekdays, rising to $40.62 on Saturdays and $54.16 on Sundays, according to the award published by the Fair Work Commission as of July 2026. Floors are usually done out of hours, so that difference shows up in the quote.
Slip resistance is the one thing not to economise on. Slips are among the most common workplace injuries, and WorkSafe Victoria's page on preventing slips and trips names floor surfaces and cleaning as key factors, so ask what sealer a contractor will use and whether it suits the space.
Get a quote
How do you get floor quotes you can compare?
Give every contractor the same information: floor type, area, a few photos including close-ups of the worst spots, what furniture needs moving, and when the floor can be closed. Then ask each one to state the number of coats, the product and the timing, so you are comparing the same job.
A quote that just says "strip and seal, 250 sq m" leaves too much open. Two coats and four coats are very different jobs, and so are a quick scrub-and-recoat and a full strip back to bare vinyl. If one price is much lower than the rest, check which of those it is.
For Melbourne floors, our floor polishing service page covers vinyl, timber, tile and polished concrete, including after-hours work. You can also send photos and the area using our quote form, and a fixed price comes back.
Questions
Pricing questions about floor work?
Two things people ask before they commit.
Is floor work always priced per square metre?
Does after-hours work cost extra?
Need a price for your floor?
Photos, the floor type and a rough area are enough to start. We will confirm the coats and timing in writing.