Hi,



I have just moved into a 50-year-old house, that requires a lot of repair. My first challenge is the hardwood floors. They are totally dried out and have been murdered by nails and staples.



Is there anything I can do, short of replacing them to restore some of their original luster?



Any help will be appreciated.



Jeff.



Ottawa, Ont. Canada.

They may be able to be refinished.

It depends on how many times they have been sanded before.

And it may depend on whether they have wax on them. If all of the wax
is not removed it can cause probs with any polyurethane finish that you
apply now.

I had a 75yo house whose floors were trashed. I had not taken care of
them during a 15y renovation. My current H refinished them (it's his
line of work) and they looked absolutely beautiful.

So there is hope.

And it generally costs less to refinish them than most people supposed
so you might want to get some estimates.

Jeff Bulach wrote:
Hi,



I have just moved into a 50-year-old house, that requires a lot of
repair. My first challenge is the hardwood floors. They are totally
dried out and have been murdered by nails and staples.

Is there anything I can do, short of replacing them to restore some
of their original luster?

Any help will be appreciated.

Jeff.

You might want to consider the order in which you do your repairs:
people often do the floors last, after the earlier repairs have
splattered paint, plaster, solder, etc. all over them.

Most hardwood floors can be refinished to look pretty darn good, even
if they do have rows of staple holes, etc. -- it won't look like a new
floor, but it will look like a nice quality wood floor with some
character.

Jeff Bulach wrote:

I have just moved into a 50-year-old house, that requires a lot of
repair. My first challenge is the hardwood floors. They are totally
dried out and have been murdered by nails and staples.

Is there anything I can do, short of replacing them to restore some of
their original luster?

Join the club. In a 45 year-old house I got the floors refinished at
US$ 2.15/sq. ft approx. Best thing I've done for the house so far...I
got compliments even from delivery drivers. Cost included three coats
of oil-based poly. Took a while to get the job done, but it is great!
Only the deepest, most stubborn pet-urine stains from the previous owner
did not come off completely, all the rest looks like new.

--
Himanshu