Do we have to move to refinish our hardwood floors?

You can do it room to room , but you should still stay somewhere else the night that stain and finish are applied to avoid breathing fumes.

It makes a horrible mess, no matter what they say. Bite the bullet and have the entire house done at once. I tried doing it room by room and by the end of room 2, I threw in the towel and did the rest of the house in one go. Yes, a bit of an inconvenience, but well worth it in the long run. Line up a cleaning crew to come in and clean the dust off the walls, etc., before you put everything back. If I didn't already have an RV, I would have pitched my tent in the backyard.

I've done room by room with custom stain mix but I wouldn't recommend it. Do the whole house for a consistent look. The newer lower VOC oil-based polyurethane is much more durable in the long run and I could stay in the house with no affect on me or the cats. I don't have a very sensitive nose though so if you do, leaving the house for a couple days might be the best. I had no problem with sawdust as the unit the used had a vacuum unit on it. My guys were very fast, thorough and came back 24 hours apart to put two coats on. One suggestion. If the baseboards aren't at wood floor level because there was carpet in the rooms previously, I'd pull the baseboards and have new trim installed after floors are done. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your insight!