Swell Contracting
Tidal Flooring · San Diego

Floor installation and refinishing costs in San Diego

New floors installed or hardwood refinished, anywhere in San Diego County. Answer a few questions and see a planning range. No email needed.

Marina · virtual assistant

What does the floor need?

5.0 on Google

12 reviews, read them below

CSLB C-15 licensed

Flooring #1002910

Written estimate

Free, after a look at the floor

Financing available

Ask at your estimate

Two offers

Two offers. One free estimate.

Both are written into your estimate, so there is nothing to remember and nothing to claim later.

Any floor job from

400 sq ft

Bona floor care kit, included

The spray mop, cleaner and pad that keep a new finish looking new. Handed to you when the floor is done.

Bona hardwood floor cleaning kit: spray mop, cleaner cartridge and microfiber pad

Add the garage

20% off

Epoxy garage floor with any hardwood job

Book refinishing or installation and the same crew does your garage in epoxy for 20% less.

See my price

Square footage is measured at the estimate. No deadlines, no codes.

Installation

Any floor, installed by our own crew

We take out the old floor, check and prepare the subfloor, and install the new one. One crew, one written estimate, and the Bona cleaning kit on any job of 400 sq ft or more.

  • Hardwood

    Solid or engineered, wide plank, herringbone and patterns. $8 to $18 per sq ft installed, materials and labor included.

  • Luxury vinyl plank

    Waterproof and hard-wearing for kitchens, baths and rentals. Priced at the free measure, with samples in hand.

  • Tile

    Porcelain, ceramic and stone for floors, baths and showers. Priced at the free measure.

  • Stairs, transitions and repairs

    The details that make separate rooms and materials read as one floor.

Wide plank wood floor finished through a furnished lobby, installed by Tidal Flooring
Installer tapping a wood plank into place over fresh adhesive
Before and after

Drag the line. Same floor, same room.

Nothing staged. These are our own San Diego jobs, photographed before and after the crew worked.

Drag to compare

Great room with vaulted beams, floor sanded to raw oak
The same great room with the finished oak floor reflecting the windows
Sanded bareFinished
Great room, oak, natural finish
Worn hallway hardwood floor with dull patches and scratches
The same hallway after sanding and refinishing, even color and sheen
WornRefinished
Hallway, red oak, sanded and refinished
Living room floor sanded to bare wood with the sander in the foreground
The same living room after staining and finishing
Sanded bareFinished
Living room, new stain and finish
Herringbone floor being sanded, drum sander in the room
The same herringbone floor finished, with a dining table on it
SandingFinished
Herringbone, sanded and finished

More from recent jobs

  • Oak floor freshly refinished to a high gloss, reflecting the room
    Project photoRefinished, high gloss
  • Light floor sanded to bare wood with the sander in the corner
    Project photoSanded to bare wood
  • Crew member sanding a wide plank floor in an empty room
    Project photoSanding wide plank
  • Stain samples applied across a sanded floor to choose the color
    Project photoStain samples on the floor
  • Wide pine floor finished in a sunlit bedroom
    Project photoPine floor, finished
  • Adhesive troweled on the slab with a laser line set for the first rows
    Project photoAdhesive and laser line
  • Crew member measuring a dark wood floor along the baseboard
    Project photoMeasuring for the estimate
  • Installer pressing a plank into place along the baseboard
    Project photoSetting the last row
  • Installer setting wide planks to a laser line over fresh adhesive
    Project photoPlanks to the laser line
  • Wide plank floor through a furnished lobby
    Project photoWide plank, installed
Do you need it?

Why a hardwood floor needs refinishing

The finish is a thin wear layer. Shoes, chair legs, beach sand and the dog wear through it a little every day. While the finish holds, the wood underneath stays clean. Once it is gone, every drop of water and every claw mark goes into the wood itself.

  • Grey or dark patches by the door and the sink

    Usually water that has reached bare wood. It gets worse with every mop.

  • A dull path through the middle of the room

    The top coat is worn through on the traffic lane while the edges still shine.

  • Scratches you can catch with a fingernail

    Past the finish and into the wood. A recoat will not hide these.

  • A lighter floor under the rug than around it

    Sun fade. Only sanding and new stain make it one color again.

  • Pet stains that will not clean off

    Surface stains sand out. Deep ones are checked at the estimate.

Caught early, a floor needs only a fresh top coat. Left for years, it needs a full sand. Both are on this page, and the estimate tells you which one you are looking at.

A crew member sanding a worn hardwood floor down to clean wood
Refinish or replace

Price both, then decide

A lot of worn hardwood can be refinished instead of replaced. If yours has life left, we tell you.

Refinish

Sand, stain and finish

Scratches, worn paths, sun fade and old color sanded out. Pick a new stain if you want one.

  • $4 to $9 per sq ft
  • Screen-and-recoat from $2 per sq ft when the finish is intact
  • 400 sq ft or more: a Bona floor care kit, included

Install

New floors, installed

Hardwood from $8 per sq ft installed, materials and labor included. Luxury vinyl plank and tile are priced at the free measure.

  • Hardwood $8 to $18 per sq ft installed
  • Luxury vinyl plank and tile priced at the free measure
  • 400 sq ft or more: a Bona floor cleaning kit, included
  • Any hardwood job: 20% off an epoxy garage floor

Applies to any floor job of 400 sq ft or more, refinishing or installation. Square footage is measured at your estimate. Details are confirmed in your written estimate.

Garage add-on

Garage and concrete floors, same crew

The 20% garage offer is not a referral. Our own crew levels, seals and coats concrete. Here is some of that work.

  • Garage floor finished in gray flake epoxy with a coved edge
    Gray flake epoxy
  • Garage floor in black epoxy with white flake, high gloss
    Black flake epoxy
  • Garage floor in blue-gray flake epoxy
    Blue-gray flake epoxy
  • Polished concrete floor with exposed stone, reflecting the windows
    Polished concrete
Bare concrete retail floor with marks and dust
The same retail floor sealed, reflecting the ceiling lights
BeforeAfter
Retail floor, sealed concrete
Concrete entry ramp before coating
The same entry ramp after coating, with a uniform sheen
BeforeAfter
Entry ramp, coated

20% off applies to an epoxy garage floor booked with a hardwood refinishing or installation project. Eligible size and scheduling are confirmed in your written estimate.

How it works

From this page to a finished floor

  1. Step 1

    Planning range, now

    From our 2026 San Diego pricing and the size you gave.

  2. Step 2

    Free estimate visit

    We look at the floor, measure, and check the subfloor or the wear layer.

  3. Step 3

    Written estimate

    Scope, color, sheen and price in writing, with financing options if you want them.

  4. Step 4

    Our own crew

    Tidal Flooring's own crew. C-15 licensed, insured and bonded.

Financing

Financing available

Ask about financing at your walkthrough. We go over the options with your written proposal, so you can plan the project and the payments together.

Reviews

What neighbors say about our floors

The written Google reviews, word for word.

“We were so happy with the work done by Swell. Wow! We had purchased a home with dark cherry wood. After years living there we needed a change. I couldn't believe how easy (and how neatly) Swell did the transition to us to this light, beautiful, high quality wood floor. We are so happy and I would…”Read the full review
Tamar Koosed Posted on Google, 9 months ago
“Our home floors are the most beautiful after working with Ben and his crew. Plus, these are nice amazing humans. COULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY enough! It's like I have a new home now. Thank you Ben too for the patience in helping us select the right wood!”
Tamar Benzaken Posted on Google, 3 months ago
“I was referred to Swell Contracting by several neighbors for their high-quality flooring installations, and they truly exceeded our expectations. From start to finish, the care and attention to detail were outstanding. The pre-construction process was seamless—they walked us through every step so…”Read the full review
Caroline H. Posted on Google, 9 months ago
“Swell Contracting, Inc. exceeded every expectation. Ben and his incredible crew transformed my home by replacing my old wood floors with absolutely gorgeous new ones, and the entire experience was seamless from start to finish. They handled everything—carefully removing all of the furniture, taking…”Read the full review
Gentille Koosed Posted on Google, Edited 3 months ago
“The purpose of this letter is to formally and publicly recommend Swell Contracting Inc. for the excellent of their Flooring Services. In my opinion, the level of service that Swell Contracting Inc. extended to our family was far beyond our expectations. I have never written a letter like this on…”Read the full review
ROBERT TELLEZ Posted on Google, 7 months ago

Next step

Find out what your floor needs

The planning range takes about a minute. The estimate visit is free, and we recommend the least your floor needs.

Licensed · Insured · Bonded · CSLB B #970145 · C-15 #1002910

CallText project photos