How to best approach this wood floor found under carpet
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I removed some carpet today and found wood floor underneath. I removed more and found spots where it looks like my father in law tried to fix the floor. What is the best way to go about this? I believe he sanded it and never finished what he was doing.
16 answers
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If it was mine; I would sand it all down and refinish so it looks consistent. You may be able to "tie in" just staining in the spot but with the time lapse difference I think you will see the edges and to refinish all over the spot, the unsanded vrs sanded wood will probably accept the stain different. If you plan to paint it would probably not be a problem. Just my thoughts. Good luck and what a wonder find under the carpet!
Moxie
on Apr 06, 2015
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Most of what I can see of the wood looks in pretty good shape. I can't tell how your room lays out, but would it be a possibility to put a rug over the area that is not the same? I agree that something was done to that one section of the flooring. (As weird as it sounds, depending on where that section lays in the room, sometimes they would just finish around the edges of the room and put a rug in the middle section.) As close as all the board ends are on the right hand side of the different area I am thinking that there was some patching of the wood done at some time by an amateur. A professional would not have installed that way. There needs to be more of a stagger between the board ends. Make sure you pull out ALL the staples that were in the floor from the cushion before attempting any sanding of the floor!
Kathy Munson
on Apr 06, 2015
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@Elizabeth Davis a lot of times you can sand and refinish, usually with a slightly darker stain. Any imperfections come out as interesting character. You could have a hardwood refinisher to come in for an estimate and opinion.
Gail Salminen
on Apr 06, 2015
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Yes I agree with the getting a professional to refinish these floors. They appear to be beautiful oak planks from your photo. It is a permanent feature of your home & I would not take a chance on doing it yourself.
Jan Loehr
on Apr 06, 2015
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As a retired builder "mostly tired. LOL. you can rent a sander and do it your self and stain or just put a couple of coats of clear finish and it will look great. Home depot has a sander that uses 3 I think 7" disk and is very easy to use and rents for around 50 a day. If the floor looks good after you sand it then I would just put clear finish on it. Use a water base finish and it dries in minutes put it on with a pad not a roller and you will save a lot of money and feel great that you did it your self. repost pic after it is finished please. Hope this helps.
Ray Phillips
on Apr 07, 2015
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Ray are you seriously going to turn someone loose with a drum sander that has never used one? The marks that will result in the floor will have to then be cleaned up by a professional and will prob take her floor down enough that it could be the last ever sanding on the floor. Also the different grades of sanding paper to pay for, the stain, the buffer to rent to apply the finish to perfection and the poly. By the time they are done the customer will have spent a considerable amount of money and prob never get their floors to look like they would with a professional. A lot of extra money spent......
Chris Knutson
on Apr 07, 2015
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I would have it professionally sanded and have 3 coats of Bona Traffic HD, in satin finish, put on. (a water based product that is durable and stops the floor looking orange colored like oil based finishes) Put area rug down if you can't afford a refinish job right now. Since you plan to finish it later, you could clean the floor, try to blend some stain in and put a coat of paste wax on the floor and buff it to a shine. That might look fine for awhile. You can buff with towels by hand, or rent a buffer.
512181
on Apr 07, 2015
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I just finished doing this and had to patch several places. I used unfinished oak slats, and stained them. Sanded the whole floor to match (several times) then used a light poly finish it. Looks great and am so glad I kept the hard wood floors.
Priscilla G
on Apr 07, 2015
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I agree that this can be done without a "professional". Just study up, on YOUTUBE, E -HOW etc.. Go slowly and you should be fine.
Me
on Apr 07, 2015
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Or watch Rehab Addict!
K
on Apr 07, 2015
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Not sure about products in your country however you can purchase a product that can strip and clean the hardwood no sanding required. Look at the heating vent on the floor to see how thick the wood is, some woods you can only sand once or twice depending on the thickness of the wood. Two options sanding, or stripping the wood with a product made for that purpose. You can rent professional sanders if you want to do it yourself and save money.
Hot air
on Apr 07, 2015
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When we built our house, we used reclaimed hardwood from an old Woolworth's store instead of buying new. After he put the flooring down, my husband went to the local rental yard and hired out an industrial floor sander to take off the top layer of varnish. BE WARNED, though, they are difficult to control. When I told him about your problem, he also suggested you hire someone to do it. You can always phone to get prices .. that way, at least you'd know.
Pigaloo Pwincess-o'Eberyfing
on Apr 07, 2015
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@Elisabeth Davis I have never worked with wood floors in a home. However, I have refinished Gym Floors and other Athletic type floors. We always clean first of all spots stains or anything that we do not want to be seen. We also check all of the floor for areas that may not be level. After cleaning, measuring, use a some type of stripping product to remove any wax or materials that may have been used on the wood. You may find after all of this work the floor may not need to be sanded at all. Go to one end of the floor or any place you can to get a full depth measurement of the wood. If the wood is to thin, you may not be able to sand it down. Just one more thing, if you decide to sand, do not sand in just certain spots do sand the the whole floor. Goo Luck
Tagwatts1
on Apr 07, 2015
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When my parents passed, they lived in a house built in the late 1800s. They had lived in th house for nearly 40 years, and before them the couple that built it had lived there. The house always had carpeting due to being in Iowa and before insulation was improved. When we pulled up the old carpeting, we discovered 1" thick maple flooring. We had a processional floor finisher sand and patch the nail holes in the floor9ng, upstairs and down, including the steps. The flooring turned out beyond fabulous. We hung strip insulation under the downstairs flooring from the basement rafters. (exposed) which kept the floors warmer that the old carpeting. It addedd so much charm to the house. There were no high or low blotches or stains as we had the entire floor sanded and stained all at the same time. Use a professional floor re-finisher. I find they have a guarantee.
John
on Apr 07, 2015
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My husband just did two rooms in rental we purchased. Rented sander it wasn't a drum sander believe they called it orbital sander and used three different grits of sand paper. make sure to use tack cloth to get all dust off floor and either stain and then finish with oil base poly finish dries in short time used two coat of gloss it looks wonderful. We did not stain as this was 1930 house so wanted it to go with rest of house. Husband said very easy. Rent and sand paper cost $100. for 2 rooms and used gal and half of poly finish think it was around $30 a gal. Rooms total approx 300 sq ft. Make sure it is a dry day so finish so will dry well.
Betty Miller
on Apr 07, 2015
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If you love the flooring, have it refinished. If you don't, paint t! I have painted two floors in my home, the rest are wood-love both looks; depends on the room.
Melinda Lockwood
on Apr 07, 2015
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