Commercial Floor Stripping & Waxing
Strip-and-wax, scrub-and-recoat, and burnishing for VCT, vinyl, linoleum, terrazzo, and sealed concrete — done after hours by a locally owned crew so the finish is cured and the room is back together before your doors open.
Strip and Wax Floors Service for Birmingham-Area Facilities
A strip and wax floors service is not one job — it is two. Stripping removes every layer of old, discolored finish down to the bare tile. Waxing rebuilds the protective coating from scratch in thin, even coats. Skipping the first half is what produces the yellow, flaking traffic lanes most facility managers inherit from the last contractor.
When your floor needs a full strip
- Finish has yellowed, greyed, or gone cloudy across the whole floor
- Wax is visibly peeling, flaking, or lifting along traffic lanes
- Build-up has collected at edges, corners, and under furniture
- Buffing no longer brings back any gloss
- It has been more than 12–18 months since the last strip
When a scrub and recoat is enough
- The finish is intact but dull from foot traffic and grit
- Scuffs and scratches sit in the top coat, not the tile
- Edges and corners are still clean and free of build-up
- You are inside a quarterly or semi-annual maintenance plan
- You need the floor back faster and at a lower cost per square foot
We quote both options after the walk-through so you are not paying for a full strip when a recoat would hold. VCT and vinyl composition tile take the classic multi-coat wax system; sheet vinyl and linoleum take a lighter, manufacturer-matched finish; terrazzo and sealed concrete are maintained with the correct sealer and a burnishing schedule instead of heavy wax that would trap soil. Every job runs after hours, overnight, or across a weekend so the finish cures before your doors open.
Floors & Facilities We Refinish
VCT, sheet vinyl, and terrazzo each fail differently when they're finished the same way. We identify the surface during the walk-through and match the system to it.
VCT (Vinyl Composition Tile)
The workhorse floor in offices, clinics, and schools — and the one that genuinely needs stripping and waxing on a schedule to stay sealed and shiny.
LVT, Sheet Vinyl & Linoleum
Retail and hospitality floors that take a lighter finish or a manufacturer-specific product. We match the finish to the flooring spec so warranties stay intact.
Terrazzo & Sealed Concrete
Lobbies, corridors, and shop floors maintained with the right sealer and burnishing schedule instead of heavy wax that would trap soil.
Offices & Professional Suites
Office and professional suites refinished overnight or across a weekend so Monday morning walks onto a finished floor.
Medical & Dental Practices
Exam rooms, corridors, and waiting areas stripped and waxed between patient days with low-odor products and a documented visit log.
Schools, Churches & Daycares
Classrooms, cafeterias, and fellowship halls done over summer break, holidays, or Saturdays when the building is empty.
Retail, Restaurants & Gyms
Sales floors, dining rooms, and studio floors turned around overnight so the finish cures before the first customer.
Warehouse Offices & Break Rooms
The VCT pockets inside industrial buildings, coordinated with the concrete scrubbing we already run on your dock and production floors.
Multi-Tenant & Property Management
Common corridors, lobbies, and elevator landings on a scheduled rotation, billed per building with photos after each visit.
What a Strip & Wax Includes
A quoted price covers the whole job — not just the coats you can see. The failure most facility managers inherit is finish applied over a floor that was never properly stripped or neutralized: it looks fine for a month, then yellows and peels along the traffic lanes. Not sure whether you need a full strip or just a recoat? Read Floor Stripping vs. Waxing: What Birmingham Facilities Actually Need.
- Furniture and fixture move-out, edge scraping, and dust mopping
- Full-strength stripper with proper dwell time on every square foot
- Machine scrub and wet-vac removal of the old finish
- Neutralize and rinse so the new finish bonds instead of peeling
- 4–6 thin coats of commercial floor finish
- High-speed burnishing to a slip-resistant gloss
- Baseboard and corner detail most crews skip
- Everything put back before your doors open
- After-hours, weekend, or holiday scheduling
- Written quarterly or annual maintenance plan
Looking for Floor Care Near You?
We strip and wax floors across the Birmingham metro, with dedicated pages for Birmingham and Hoover covering the corridors where we work most.
Our 4-Step Strip & Wax Process
The same documented sequence on every job, whether it is a 1,200 sq ft dental suite in Hoover or 40,000 sq ft of school corridor.
Move Out & Prep
Furniture, mats, and trash cans are moved out or shifted section by section, edges and corners are scraped, and the floor is dust-mopped clean before any solution touches it.
Strip the Old Finish
Commercial stripper is applied, given full dwell time, then machine-scrubbed and wet-vacuumed off — including the built-up finish along baseboards and under fixtures that most crews skip.
Neutralize & Rinse
The floor is neutralized and rinsed so no stripper residue is left behind. Skipping this step is the single most common reason a new finish peels or turns cloudy within weeks.
Apply 4–6 Coats of Finish
Thin, even coats of commercial floor finish go down roughly 30 minutes apart, then we burnish to a slip-resistant gloss and set the room back the way we found it.
Working in an Occupied Building
Most of our strip-and-wax work happens in buildings that open the next morning. The job is planned so your operation never notices we were there.
- Wet-floor signage and cordoned sections on every floor in progress
- After-hours, weekend, and holiday scheduling so the finish cures before you open
- Low-odor stripper and finish available for medical and occupied office space
- ANSI/NFSI slip-resistant finishes, burnished to a gloss without glazing
- Furniture moved and reset section by section so your space stays usable
- Walk-through with you before we start and after the last coat cures
Why Facilities Pick Us Over the Franchise Networks
Most of the national names that bid floor care contracts in this market sell nationally and deliver through a local franchisee or branch office.
BBB A+ Accredited
Cleaning Concepts Plus is an accredited business with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
20+ Years on Central Alabama Floors
We've stripped and waxed Central Alabama VCT since 2004 — long enough to know what each floor type tolerates.
Locally Owned, Not a Franchise
The owners quote your floor and the same uniformed crew works it. No franchisee, no rotating subcontractor.
When a franchise network wins a floor care account, the contract and the crew usually sit with two different companies. Cleaning Concepts Plus is locally owned and operated in Central Alabama: the owner walks your floors, writes the scope, and answers the phone when a finish issue comes up. You work directly with our uniformed local team — never a franchise call center.
Floor Stripping & Waxing FAQs
How much does floor stripping and waxing cost in Birmingham, AL?
Pricing depends on square footage, how much old finish has to come off, the number of coats, and how much furniture we move. A small office suite is a single-night job; a school corridor or church fellowship hall is usually quoted as a weekend project. Recurring scrub-and-recoat added to an existing janitorial program costs far less per visit than a standalone crew mobilization. We walk the floor, measure it, and give you one flat price in writing — no hourly billing and no surprise trip charges.
How long does a strip and wax take?
Most Birmingham-area jobs run a single overnight shift per 3,000–5,000 sq ft. Stripping and rinsing takes the bulk of the time; the four to six finish coats go down about 30 minutes apart. The floor is walkable within an hour of the last coat, but keep carts and mats off for 24 hours and skip wet mopping for about 72 hours while the finish fully cures.
Do you work after hours so we don't have to close?
Yes — almost never a closure. Nearly all of our strip-and-wax work in Birmingham, Hoover, and the surrounding metro runs overnight, on weekends, or over a holiday closure so the finish cures before your doors open. For larger buildings we section the work one wing or corridor at a time so operations keep running while we move through.
Which areas around Birmingham do you serve for floor waxing?
Birmingham, Hoover, Bessemer, Helena, Pelham, Alabaster, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Trussville, Leeds, Moody, and Calera. Our crews live across the Birmingham metro, so same-week scheduling is usually available throughout the area.
Which floors should be stripped and waxed?
VCT (vinyl composition tile) is the classic strip-and-wax floor, along with LVT, sheet vinyl, and linoleum. Terrazzo and sealed concrete are maintained with the right sealer and burnishing schedule instead of heavy wax, and polished concrete, epoxy, and most luxury vinyl plank should never be waxed. We'll tell you straight if waxing is the wrong call for your floor.
How often should commercial floors be stripped and waxed?
Most VCT floors in Birmingham-area offices, clinics, and retail need a full strip-and-wax once or twice a year, with a scrub-and-recoat every three to four months in between. High-traffic entries, corridors, and cafeterias wear finish faster and often move to quarterly recoats, while low-traffic back offices can stretch to a single annual strip. Weekly damp mopping and monthly burnishing between services is what actually makes the finish last.
What is the difference between floor scrubbing and floor waxing?
Scrubbing is cleaning — an auto-scrubber lifts soil out of the floor and off the existing finish. Waxing is protection — after stripping the old finish, we lay down multiple thin coats of commercial floor finish that take the wear instead of your tile. Scrubbing alone on a worn floor just cleans dull tile; waxing without a proper strip traps the old dirt under the new coats.
Is waxed flooring slippery?
Not when it's finished correctly. We use commercial finishes that meet the ANSI/NFSI slip-resistance standard and burnish to a gloss without glazing the surface. Slip complaints usually come from over-applied finish, skipped burnishing, or wet mopping with the wrong detergent — all of which a proper maintenance program prevents.
Related Services
Floor Scrubbing
Machine floor scrubbing for facilities of every size — from small suites to large warehouses — including polished concrete, tile & grout, and VCT care.
Pressure Washing
Commercial pressure washing in Birmingham & Hoover, AL — building exteriors, sidewalks, loading docks, dumpster pads, and parking areas washed to restore curb appeal and remove slip hazards. BBB A+, locally owned since 2004.
Janitorial & Commercial
Recurring janitorial programs for multi-tenant office buildings, mixed-use properties, retail, churches, schools, and clinics — with day porter coverage and one invoice across your portfolio.
Request a Free Quote
Tell us your square footage and floor type and we'll schedule a free on-site walk-through — you get a flat price in writing, usually within one business day.