For many homeowners, a hardwood floor is a must-have feature for a home. It brings a beautiful look to a room, is long-lasting and easy to clean, and doesn’t harbor dust or other allergens.

Hardwood floors periodically need some work to look their best, and this is especially true if your floor is old or has only recently been exposed after being covered by carpeting. Some floors can be rejuvenated by a restoration effort or by refinishing. In other cases, though, it makes the most sense to replace the flooring altogether.

You should start by deciding if hardwood floors are right for you in the first place. Between the squeaking of floorboards and lack of muffling qualities, they’ll be much louder than carpeted floors. Anita Alvarez, writing for Angie’s List, says hardwood floors can also be cold in the winter.

If you decide to keep the floor as it is, refinishing can work wonders. Chris Anzalone, writing for SFGate, says this process will bring back the shine to the hardwood. You can also refinish on your own, which in turn tends to make it a more inexpensive option than replacement.

Look for damaged planks that might not be salvageable. Wendy A. Jordan, writing for HGTV, says boards that have suffered from woodworms, termites, and other pests can be individually replaced if there aren’t too many of them.

Alvarez says homeowners should keep in mind that it might be difficult to find a replacement board that matches the look of the floor. If you do not mind such variations, or the difference in appearance caused by factors such as darkening nails, then refinishing might be the preferable option.

Plenty of unsightly blemishes on wooden floors can be corrected through refinishing or other restoration methods. Jordan says squeaky floorboards can be quieted with an extra nail or two, while other damage can be patched or sanded out.

If the hardwood floor is relatively young, restoring it tends to make more sense than ripping out the boards and starting anew. However, refinishing will be much less effective on older floors. Once the board has been sanded or refinished enough, it will be difficult to further modify the surface.

In some cases, refinishing might be more of a hassle than it is worth. Joe Provey, writing for home improvement professional Bob Vila, says the process can involve a lot of time and effort and ultimately be only slightly less expensive than replacing the floorboards. Anzalone says it is a messy process that might put your floor out of commission for four or five days as you wait for it to dry.

Replacement is the preferable option if the issue with the floor is not a few scuffs and scratches but rather the structural integrity itself. Floors that are warped, have excessive movement between boards, or uneven will benefit from a more significant overhaul. The subfloor itself might also need to be fixed.

Some problems are more difficult to solve with refinishing. Alvarez says floors that were carpeted sometimes have a sticky adhesive which is difficult to remove. Water damage will also require replacement.

Floors can last a long time before they need a full replacement, however. Heritage Hardwood Flooring of Lebanon, Maine, says floors that are three-quarters of an inch thick can be refinished 10 times and that refinishing should take place about once every decade. In this case, replacement becomes a once in a century job.