The Short Answer: Several Hours, Minimum
Floor stripping and waxing takes several hours at minimum. For most commercial spaces, the job runs overnight or across multiple nights.
A quality strip-and-wax job does not apply one coat and call it done. When we do a strip-and-wax job at Frisco Brothers Janitorial Service, we apply 4 to 5 coats of floor finish, with full drying time between each. Rush the drying step and you get a cloudy, uneven finish that has to be stripped again. Do it right and the floor holds up for months.
Square footage is the primary variable. A 5,000 square foot commercial floor typically takes two overnight sessions or a weekend block. A school building with long corridors and a gymnasium may span multiple nights or require a full closure window. The full breakdown by floor size is in the table further down.
Plan the scheduling window around the coat count and the square footage, not just the size of the crew.
Why Floor Stripping Takes as Long as It Does
Most people expect floor work to move quickly: strip the old finish, apply new wax, done. The actual process has more steps, and each step affects the quality of the finished floor.
Here is what a professional strip-and-wax job looks like from start to finish:
-
Apply stripping solution. A chemical stripping solution is applied to the VCT tile or other hard floor surface to break down the old wax layers. Stripping solution requires dwell time to penetrate the buildup. Cutting that dwell time short leaves old wax residue on the floor, and new floor finish applied over residue will not bond properly.
-
Scrub, rinse, and neutralize. A floor machine scrubs the stripping solution into the old finish, loosening the wax from the floor surface. The floor is then rinsed and neutralized to remove all traces of stripping solution before any new finish goes down. Any chemical residue left on the surface will cause adhesion problems in the new finish.
-
Dry completely. Before the first coat of floor finish is applied, the floor must be completely dry. Moisture trapped under the first coat produces cloudiness and adhesion failures that cannot be buffed out. They have to be stripped again.
-
Apply 4 to 5 coats of floor finish, one at a time. The drying-time-between-coats requirement explained in the previous section drives the schedule here: four to five coats with full drying time between each adds several hours to the job before anyone can walk on the floor.
The distinction between stripping solution and floor finish matters. Stripping solution is the chemical that removes old wax from the floor surface. Floor finish (also called floor wax) is the protective coating applied after the floor is clean and dry. These are two separate products used at two separate stages of the process. A contractor who quotes a very fast job is likely skipping coats or skipping the full dry-down between coats.
Why does this matter to a facilities manager? Fewer coats means a finish that dulls faster and requires more frequent maintenance. The time commitment in a proper strip-and-wax job is a feature of the 4-to-5 coat standard, not a sign that the crew is slow.
For details on the full process and what a quote looks like, see the professional floor stripping service page linked in the closing section below.
How Square Footage Changes the Time Estimate
Square footage is the single biggest factor in how long a strip-and-wax job takes. More floor area means more passes with the floor machine, more floor finish applied per coat, and more total drying time accumulated across the coat sequence.
Here is a general reference for commercial floor stripping and waxing time windows:
| Floor Size | Typical Time Window |
|---|---|
| Under 2,000 sq ft (small office suite) | One overnight shift |
| 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft (mid-size commercial floor) | Two overnight sessions or one extended weekend block |
| Over 5,000 sq ft (large institutional floor, school corridor, gym) | Multiple nights or a full closure window |
These ranges assume a standard crew. Adding crew members reduces application time but does not change the drying time between coats. Drying time is driven by the floor finish chemistry and ambient air conditions. No amount of crew can compress that window.
A note on concrete floors: warehouse bays and industrial spaces with concrete surfaces follow a different process than VCT tile. Concrete floors often need sealing rather than a strip-and-wax treatment, and the planning window for that work is similar in scale. See our hard floor care services page for specifics on concrete sealing and polishing.
Strip-and-wax work is not typically done during business hours. Each coat of floor finish needs uninterrupted drying time, and foot traffic during that window leaves marks in the finish before it sets. After-hours scheduling is the standard for this reason.
Why Schools and Large Facilities Plan Around Summer Break
Schools, gyms, and churches face a scheduling constraint that smaller commercial spaces do not. The floor cannot have anyone walking on it while the finish dries, and institutional buildings are rarely empty during operating hours.
School corridors and gym floors take some of the hardest daily use of any commercial surface. The floor finish absorbs foot traffic, equipment movement, and cleaning cycles throughout the school year. By spring, most school floors need a full strip and rewax to restore the finish and protect the underlying VCT tile from further wear.
The solution most school and institutional facilities use is the closure window. Strip-and-wax work gets scheduled during summer break, holiday closures, or spring break, because those are the only times the building can be cleared of people for the hours the job requires. A school corridor that runs 200 feet does not get stripped and rewaxed on a Tuesday afternoon.
Churches face the same constraint on a smaller scale. Most church facilities can schedule floor work during the week when the building is closed, but a large fellowship hall may need a multi-night window to complete all coat passes with proper drying time between each.
For school facilities managers, the practical implication is that floor contractors fill their summer windows early. If your school’s floors need work, scheduling before the calendar fills is the right move, not waiting until June when every other district facility is calling the same contractors.
Frisco Brothers works with schools and institutional facilities across Collin and Denton counties. See the schools page for more on how we approach floor work in educational settings.
Frequently Asked Questions About Floor Stripping Time
How often should commercial floors be stripped and rewaxed?
Most commercial floors need a full strip and rewax once or twice a year, depending on foot traffic and floor condition. High-traffic areas like school corridors or medical office reception rooms may need it more often. Routine buffing between full strip jobs helps maintain the floor finish and extends the time between full strip cycles, so you are not pulling the entire wax buildup every few months.
What is the difference between floor stripping and floor buffing?
Floor stripping removes the old wax layers entirely, down to the bare VCT tile or hard floor surface. Buffing (also called burnishing) polishes the existing wax layer to restore shine without removing it. A strip-and-wax job resets the floor from scratch. Buffing is maintenance between full strip cycles. If the floor has significant buildup or visible yellowing, buffing alone will not fix it. The old finish has to come off first.
Can a strip-and-wax job be done while the building is in use?
Not typically. As covered in the section above on after-hours scheduling, drying-time interruption damages the finish before it sets. Most contractors schedule floor stripping after business hours, overnight, or during a planned closure. For smaller spaces, an after-hours shift may complete the job in one night. Larger floors usually require multiple nights or a full weekend. Final cure, where the floor reaches full hardness and sheen, takes 8 to 12 hours, so heavy foot traffic should wait until the morning after the final coat is applied.
How long does floor wax take to dry between coats?
Drying time varies by product and conditions, but 20 to 45 minutes between coats is a common range under normal temperature and humidity. Final cure takes longer; most contractors recommend waiting 8 to 12 hours before heavy foot traffic resumes. Rushing the drying step produces a cloudy or uneven finish that has to be stripped again, which means more time and more cost than the original job.
Ready to Get a Floor Stripping Quote?
If this post gave you a clearer picture of what a strip-and-wax job involves and how to plan your scheduling window, the next step is a site visit.
Frisco Brothers offers a free walk-through quote for floor stripping work. We look at the actual square footage, the current floor condition, and your building’s schedule before putting a number together. That walk-through is how we make sure the quote reflects the real job, not a rough phone estimate.
Our professional floor stripping service page covers what the process looks like and what to expect from a Frisco Brothers crew. When you are ready to schedule, call us at (214) 618-0816 or use the contact form on that page.
Frisco Brothers Janitorial Service has been doing commercial floor work since March 2001. Erik Larrson brings 30+ years of floor care experience to every strip-and-wax job. We are bonded through Hartford Insurance, hold a 5.0 rating across 56 Google reviews, and operate with 26+ staff serving Frisco and surrounding cities across Collin and Denton counties.